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A mere 3 hours after lunch ended, the bunch of us gathered again and headed to the Hotel Lisboa across the street. The venue for dinner was
Guincho a Galera, the Portuguese restaurant occupying the former home of
Robuchon a Galera. This is the international outpost of
Fortaleza do Guincho, a restaurant outside Lisbon with a Michelin star.
I wasn't the least bit hungry, and sat at the dinner table with a blank and defeated look for about the first hour while the rest of the gang discussed what to order. I had just about managed to get rid of enough alcohol from my system as we were being served our complimentary wines… In short, I was a party-pooper most of the evening...
2010 Bacalhôa Chardonnay Cova da Ursa - big nose of toasty oak, mineral, lemon, ripe, a little sweet with a hint of vanilla. Not bad at all.
We decided to order a set dinner to share, and a number of other dishes were recommended to us. There was always gonna be too much food…
Bolinhos de bacalhau - beautiful, crispy layers on the outside. Served with tomato confit/salsa that was a little spicy, and a lemony yolk sauce.
The interiors were drier than I expected, and actually a little under-seasoned.
Salada do lavagante com cenouras estufadas, tâmaras e vinagrete de citrinos - a nice lobster salad, with the lobster meat firm, chewy, springy and bouncy. There was a very big lobster here… The use of citrus fruits like grapefruit was nice.
Abalone e frutos do mar marinado com ervas aromáticas servidos com legumes e puré de coentros - with pieces of baby abalone.
Robalinho com crosta de bacalhau numa gelata de gaspacho - interesting pairing of seabass with cod, in a
gazpacho "jelly"…which had liquefied by the time I got to it. Part of the set.
Tarte de figado do ganso e trufa servida com maçã glaceada - country liver
pâté with chunks of black truffle baked inside pastry. Served with figs and grapes on the side.
Da Nazaré - sopa de peixe - the seafood soup was pretty decent.
Das Beiras - um caldo da carnes e enchides DOP - decent consommé with slices of Portuguese ham. Part of the set.
Das Lisboa antiga - caldo verde - with chunks of potato and potato mash, along with both thick and thin shreds of spinach, deep-fried till crisp.
Arroz de marisco da nossa nobreza, lavagante, caranguejo, camarão selvagem amêijoas - this seafood rice was OK. The Boston lobster claw was pretty big… Part of the set.
Cataplana de marisco - more seafood, cooked in copper pots which were specially ordered from Portugal.
Carne de porco do Montado com amêijoas - the pork was pretty tasty with lots of flavor, and slow-cooked so it was pretty tender and juicy. Not sure why it was paired with clams, though…
Leitão assado com puré de batata e legumes - would I ever say no to suckling pig, even when I'm stuffed and in no mood to eat? Hell, no! This was very awesome…especially the crispy crackling. If only I weren't in such bad shape… The set portion is half the amount shown in the picture.
Galinha Africana com milho e legumes salteados - OK, so this ain't exactly Portuguese cuisine, but African chicken is a classic Macanese dish and we're in Macau… Flavors in the sauce included lime.
Arroz de pato de Lisboa - very different from the typical versions I'm used to having. The duck here was not shredded meat from the leg, but duck breast.
2008 De Pancas Touriga Nacional Reserva - our complimentary red was sweet, ripe, plummy, forest, dried herbs, pine and cedar. A little sharp and alcoholic.
I was too full and did not participate in the round of dessert, and sat around while the gang sampled a variety of items...
This was way, way too much food, especially for someone who wasn't in any shape to eat in the first place. I really wish I were in better condition tonight, instead of feeling (and looking) defeated...
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