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The hotel may not be open yet. But the shops just has their soft launch yesterday… here are the details.
THE SHOPPES AT FOUR SEASONS FACT SHEET
Blended with heritage, quality, tradition and artistic innovations, The Shoppes at Four Seasons is the first luxury shopping mall in Macao. With the finest array of more than 180 luxury brands around the globe, this shopping mall is redefining the retail in luxury that is beyond comparison.
The 211,000 square feet mall is located in the heart of the premier Cotai Strip. The shoppes are connected to the Grand Canal Shoppes of The Venetian-Macao-Resort-Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip. The mall itself is feast for the eyes with its high ceiling, Portuguese facades and ornate detailing along the corridors. The creation of high end shopping haven is perfect for the discerning few to wind down in style.
Brands
More than 180 best brands of the world will be housed all under one roof. More than 60 brands hitherto unavailable in Macao will be found in The Shoppes.
Limited editions
Indulgence in the world of luxury, The Shoppes at Four Seasons is launching dozens best of the best limited editions products from the luxury brands.
Mall Concierge
Located at the Mezzanine floor of The Shoppes at Four Seasons, the mall concierge can provide information on restaurant and shops locations, promotions, personal shopping guides and image consultancy services as well as transfers and ticketing to ensure your leisure shopping at ease.
Image Consultants
Wandering in the world of top-notch luxury brands, you are urged to meet our image consultants who are there to provide you the latest trends in fashion world as well as wardrobe recommendations on the sought after brands to match your style and personality.
Private Shopper
After receiving a handy checklist from our image consultant, you will need a private shopper to help treasure hunt your beloved luxury goods in an efficient way.
Hotel delivery service
Do not worry about the number of shopping bags you will carry as the majority of the shops will send your predated items to the doorstep of your hotel room within 24 hours to ensure your happy shopping worry free!
Limousine ride
Complimentary limousine ride to one destination in Macao is at your service upon spending MOP50,000 or above in the same day.
Some girls have ALL the luck. While I put on weight just LOOKING at Portuguese Egg Tarts, this pretty lass, Natsuko Sone, eats more than a Sumo wrestler and is a tiny 43 kg!!!
The 22 year old is a mere 5 feet 4 inches tall. Known as Gal Sone, she wears thick make-up and girlie clothes and looks every-inch the trendy Harajuku girl. But while most girls in her platform shoes watch their intake, in order to fit their cutsie clothes, Gal Sone can eat 183 pieces of sushi in half an hour, or 200 pounds of food in one meal.
In Japan, she is known as a FOOD FIGHTER. Here, the team of waiters are presenting her with her just desserts.. mmmm.
Her favourite saying before downing a gigantic mountain of food is “I can eat this easily!”.
Obviously enjoying her meal. She likes to say mid-way through: “This is delicious”
All gone!
She is a celebrity in her homeland Japan, where she appears on tv shows and travels the world in her job as a celebrity food fighter. She has her own show - “Gal Sone Eat A Lot In The World”, she gets to travel the world and eat signature dishes in seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong and now, MACAU.
Natsuku stopped over in Macau recently to film a portion of her show at MGM Grand Macau, where she ate:
11 Shark Fin Soups
6 French courses
10 desserts
Imperial Court Chinese restaurant and Aux Beaux Arts Brasserie prepared the dishes and we assume MGM footed the HUGE bill.
Next stop for Gal Sone is Bangkok. Where we can only imagine the amount of Tom Yum soup and Pad Thai she’ll consume.
Although her Macau eating adventures will only be broadcast in Japan on September 16 at 7pm, you can watch Gal Sone in action here, as she challenges Japanese magician Cyril Takayama to an eating contest.
Looks like even Cyril’s magic can’t help him here!
Sure, everyone knows about Portuguese egg tarts – those creamy flaky melt-in-your-mouth pieces of heaven. But when you step into an authentic Portuguese or Macanese restaurant, chances are, the dessert menu won’t even feature egg tarts.
Last night, I took a few friends out for Portuguese food, and decided to introduce them to non-tart desserts. We went to O Porto Interior, which is just by A-ma Temple and the Maritime Museum in Macau peninsula – about 4 minutes drive from the Macau Tower.
This is now going to be my default location to bring tourists who want to try “local Macau cuisine”. On the same stretch, within 2 minutes walking distance of each other are 3 very well respected and popular restaurants – O Porto Interior, Litoral and A Lorcha.
O Porto Interior has framed black and white pictures of celebrities on their walls. It’s apparently popular with celebrities and government officials.
The interior has a Chinese and Portuguese feel. Wooden bird cages hang from the rafters but the key colors in the restaurant are Chinese lucky red.
It seems the Macanese love their sweet endings. In the same vein of their beloved egg tarts, most of their desserts are creamy, sinful, affairs – diabetics watch out. Most are surprisingly simple – cream, custard, fruit, milk and sugar is the main ingredients – and have a very homemade comforting texture. Comforting if you don’t think about the calories – that is.
Here are the 4 we tasted in no particular order:
Serradura literally translates to sawdust. That pile of “dust” is actually finely crushed biscuits, which top a bowl of cream, sweetened with condensed milk. Surprisingly simple, but I have yet to meet a person who didn’t polish the bowl clean. People have compared it to the much more complex tiramisu, because if its creamy sweet flavor. Savor a large spoonful and let the cream and biscuits dissolve in your mouth, into a creamy bliss.
Pudim Flan – Cream Caramel
Similar to crème brulee, this is custard topped with caramelized sugar. It reminded me of the fillings of the Portuguese egg tarts, with the crisp sugar shell giving way to the creamy sweet custard. It’s more custardy than eggy though.
Warning – this rates a 10 on the sweetness level. If you’re like my flatmate, and like the fillings of the egg tarts but not the shell, this is how you can have your cake – and eat it!
Banana Caramel
Like an ice-cream sundae, without the ice cream. The slices of banana compliment the think gooey buttery caramel sauce a treat. Reminds me the banana crepes my sister used to make for special occasions.
Stewed Apple
The healthiest of the lot, an entire apple, seasoned with cinnamon is stewed in its skin and served hot with syrup. The baked apple flesh tastes completely different from a raw apple – and is reminiscent of homemade apple pie. A good choice for those who want to steer clear of pastry and dairy, yet still want a sweet ending to their meal.
That said, I think it’d be twice as nice with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream.
For me, dining out is a very joyful and satisfying culinary experience. But it is rare to find good food in an environment which actually makes eating out fun. The Kitchen on Level 3 of the Grand Lisboa hotel manages to combine a fun dining environment with some seriously good food.
In Macau, it’s rare to find good bread, good salad (and I’m not talking about frozen shrimp with mayo or a lettuce leaves with thin slices of tomatoes drowned in Thousands Islands dressing), steak and fresh sashimi. At The Kitchen, you’ll find them all, and it’s designed so that greedy folk like me can have all of it in one sitting.
It’s a really fun concept too, because all the food, from the wagyu, prime rib, veal etc, are all displayed in a glass case. The salads buffet is for customers to help themselves to while waiting for their mains, and the live seafood in tanks await their fate while the sashimi displayed to the customers is simply mouthwatering.
It’s all incredibly fresh, hands-on and appealing. Diners are encouraged to interact with the chefs, who cook in the open kitchen either in the ovens or the grill. Discuss the finer points of grilling a 4-inch thick Porterhouse steak, and which of the 12 home-made sauces it will go best with.
Believe me, it looks delicious, smells delicious, and the taste isn’t a letdown.
One highlight for me was the homemade bread, baked fresh in front of your eyes by a German chef. There are two varieties of breads on offer – a buttery soft mint-chocolate brioche with virtually melts in your mouth and a totally satisfying country loaf – crisp on the outside and chewy in the inside. The bread is baked only after you arrive, and served up in whole loaves so you can see the steam escape when you slice it up.
I was tempted to rip into it with my hands – it has been that long since I’ve had freshly baked bread - but had to remind myself to show some restraint. A sad note is that these breads are not for sale, but are complimentary for diners, so you’ll have to come back here for your fix. If you ask nicely however, they’ll pack away a fresh loaf or two to take away – (FOC) free of charge!
We started with the sashimi, which was beautifully displayed in a crystal bowl.
The two fishbowls containing little Japanese crabs have more than just an aesthetic purpose. Those little critters are actually bar snacks which can be eaten whole (alive!) or deep fried and apparently taste good with sake.
I would like to say no crabs were harmed during the writing of this post, but Chinese writer Trevor - who is braver than me, ate two of these crabs, and proclaimed they were “tasty”.
Our porterhouse, while intimidating in size, actually went down a treat – especially when paired with the home made mushroom sauce recommended by the chef.
Save some room for dessert. The French chef makes the most divine lifght and fluffy creations which are well worth busting that diet for.
Guys and gals, don’t forget to pay a visit to the bathroom. You’ll be in for a surprise - the gent’s has a transparent moneybooth - activated by the wash basin. As for the ladies’ - check it out for yourself.
For more restaurant details, click here.
| Famous Hong Kong singer songwriter Eason Chan recently made a move on Macau, making the Venetian Arena his 10th stop on his "Moving on Stage World Tour", performing before sell-out crowds over two nights.
As Hong Kong's most popular male singer and highest selling male artist, Eason has been praised as one of the top singers of his generation. He's also planning some new moves for his China concerts later in the year, including the release a new album in Mandarin. Provided by Destination Macau. All rights reserved. |
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