May 9th, 2008 pkuan
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 – Sawdust Pudding
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.
April 7th, 2008 pkuan
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.
April 1st, 2008 pkuan
This is Yoshimi’s new friend
This is her dinner of Hainanese Chicken Rice
*Disclaimer*
The bird (above) is of no relation to the bird (top)
It is in fact, authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice, made by the original Singapore Meritus Mandarin Hotel’s Chatterbox Chef, who is now based in Rasa Singapura, which is located in The Venetian’s Festivita Foodcourt.
A few of us from the Macau.com team recently went out for dinner at 3-Monkeys restaurant, located in St. Mark’s Square in The Venetian Macao. Owned by a Singapore group, Solutions17, which also manage World Wide Wings - a sports bar offering 40 types of chicken wings and over 30 types of beer (that’s where Yoshimi’s chicken friend lives), Rasa Singapura, which specializes in Singapore dishes, all at The Venetian.
Other than the Hainanese Chicken Rice, which came with lashings of ginger, dark soy sauce and chilli, we also got the Singapore laksa. (above)
I realized I had bitten off a little more than I could chew when my dish of beef spare ribs arrived. (above)
That must be one big cow. And yes, that is genuine chilli padi and sambal to the right. Apparently the beef ribs is shipped over from the U.S. and takes up so much space, it is stored in a warehouse, and pulled out as needed.
After a soup, appetizers and picking at other people’s food, I managed to make a reasonable dent in the ribs.
I was even tempted when the sizzling fajitas were delivered to the table next door.
Apparently, the burgers here are to die for.
I have walked past 3-Monkeys on several occasions and always get distracted by the giant grinning plush toy monkeys that are hanging around the premises. It may be a family-friendly jungle-themed restaurant, but believe me, there is nothing childish about the portions of food - which are gorilla sized.
There are 300 toy monkeys altogether in the restaurant, collected from around the world. The owners say their friends grab whatever monkey they see on their travels bundle them up in glad wrap, chuck them in cargo and fly them over to Macau.
According to Gwen (above, far left), who runs sister cafe - the iconic Monkey’s Cafe in Orchard Towers in Singapore, many of them are so big, that many would require their own seat, if they were brought on board. And yes, we hear that the drycleaning bills are huge.
Despite the fact, they are the delight of many children, who squeal and clutch at the furry critters, grown-ups aren’t immune to the charms of a giant grinning soft toy monkey either.
For restaurant information, click here.
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