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It's all Hairy Legs' fault.
While he was in Macau 4 days ago for the Michelin Guide ceremony, he stopped by Robuchon au Dôme for a meal, and Chef Julien Tongourien made him Oncle Joël's signature black truffle tart. Now, this is not something you see often, because 1) it's gotta be during truffle season, 2) the quality of the truffles must be sufficiently high to ensure enough pieces can be cut in the same shape, and 3) the food cost for this is so high that most of the L'Ateliers around the world simply can't make it work economically.
But this is au Dôme in the Grand Lisboa Macau, and if anyone could do it, it would be Julien. I quickly asked for a table for lunch today, and inquired whether it would be possible to have the truffle tart. I was happy that the answer to both questions were in the positive, and looked forward to getting my friends their first experience with it. I had prepped them beforehand about the whole series of chariots that would be pushed in front of us, and that's something that is not often seen outside of France and Europe.
The weather is completely crap today, and there is almost zero visibility from the windows, so I was perfectly happy being seated in the private room.
For lunch service, one can still choose among the 3-, 4-, or 5-course menu in addition to the full tasting menu, so we all opted for 4 courses since we also would have the extra course of the truffle tart. In fact, I was surprised my friend didn't choose the 3-course lunch. As for me, all of my choices today included black truffle... because it just felt like that kind of day.
As management very kindly provided us with a bottle of Champagne, there was no need to push the Champagne trolley to our table. This was a shame, because I really enjoy seeing the sight of that trolley.
Our first order today would be from the bread trolley. Paul pushed this into the room, and I gotta say this is still very beautiful to behold.
吃喝玩樂 - Diary of a Growing Boy
A chronicle of all things fun - eating, drinking, traveling... plus the occasional ranting
March 18, 2024
March 17, 2024
B's detour day 4: death by jasmine
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While I'm generally a creature of habit, I do occasionally try out new restaurants where I've received positive feedback from friends. This time around in Macau, I was determined to check out Imperial Court (金殿堂) at the MGM Macau. In my years of somewhat frequent visits to Macau, I had never once dined in one of the MGM casinos. In fact, I've never even stepped foot in either of the casinos. So this would be a first... But the evening did not start well. The second I stepped foot into MGM Macau, my olfactory senses were overwhelmed by the house perfume that permeated every corner of the casino, including the restaurants. I love the scene of jasmine, but I don't want it shoved up my nose for the whole 2 hours or so. And certainly not while I'm dining or trying to enjoy a nice bottle of wine. Once again I'm trying to be conservative when ordering, which was why I could't order up the sunflower chicken that Foursheets loves so much, because it only comes as a whole chicken. Oh well... Our amuse bouche was a green pepper stuffed with cuttlefish mousse, which was very tender and nice.
While I'm generally a creature of habit, I do occasionally try out new restaurants where I've received positive feedback from friends. This time around in Macau, I was determined to check out Imperial Court (金殿堂) at the MGM Macau. In my years of somewhat frequent visits to Macau, I had never once dined in one of the MGM casinos. In fact, I've never even stepped foot in either of the casinos. So this would be a first... But the evening did not start well. The second I stepped foot into MGM Macau, my olfactory senses were overwhelmed by the house perfume that permeated every corner of the casino, including the restaurants. I love the scene of jasmine, but I don't want it shoved up my nose for the whole 2 hours or so. And certainly not while I'm dining or trying to enjoy a nice bottle of wine. Once again I'm trying to be conservative when ordering, which was why I could't order up the sunflower chicken that Foursheets loves so much, because it only comes as a whole chicken. Oh well... Our amuse bouche was a green pepper stuffed with cuttlefish mousse, which was very tender and nice.
Labels:
Cuisine - Cantonese,
Dining,
Macau,
Wine
B's detour day 4: birthday menagerie
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One of the places I really wanted to take my friend on her trip was The 8 (8餐廳), since it's one of my favorite restaurants when it comes to Cantonese food. We have not been able to get some dim sum for my friend so far, and this happens to be the perfect place to get that checked off. Nobody does dim sum like the way they do it here. But first, I took us on a short sightseeing tour around Largo do Senado with its historic buildings, as it's part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then we strolled around and made a stop at the Porthos Macau shop for some interesting almond cookies made with Porthos canned sardines. After a few days of my eating program, I have been instructed to cut down on the ordering. This is pretty easy to do with dim sum, and I figured we could focus on the wines instead... Abalone with celtuce stem Blackberry and passion fruit jelly Steamed dumplings with crystal blue shrimp in goldfish shape (藍天使蝦金魚餃) - BUT OF COURSE we would start our lunch with this! I've been loving these "goldfish" for years, and they continue to deliver. Lately they've added a dab of goldfoil on the dorsal fin.
One of the places I really wanted to take my friend on her trip was The 8 (8餐廳), since it's one of my favorite restaurants when it comes to Cantonese food. We have not been able to get some dim sum for my friend so far, and this happens to be the perfect place to get that checked off. Nobody does dim sum like the way they do it here. But first, I took us on a short sightseeing tour around Largo do Senado with its historic buildings, as it's part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then we strolled around and made a stop at the Porthos Macau shop for some interesting almond cookies made with Porthos canned sardines. After a few days of my eating program, I have been instructed to cut down on the ordering. This is pretty easy to do with dim sum, and I figured we could focus on the wines instead... Abalone with celtuce stem Blackberry and passion fruit jelly Steamed dumplings with crystal blue shrimp in goldfish shape (藍天使蝦金魚餃) - BUT OF COURSE we would start our lunch with this! I've been loving these "goldfish" for years, and they continue to deliver. Lately they've added a dab of goldfoil on the dorsal fin.
March 16, 2024
B's detour day 3: the awakening
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One of the regrets this week is that I was unable to bring my friend to dine at Sichuan Moon (川江月), the restaurant which featured Sichuanese cuisine as imagined by chef André Chiang (江政承). It was decided last year that the restaurant would close, and the space was taken over by Chef Tam Kwok Fung (譚國鋒) for the creation of Chef Tam's Seasons (譚卉) - a Cantonese restaurant where the dishes are based on the 24 seasons (二十四節氣) in the Chinese lunar calendar. The restaurant just earned its first Michelin star two days ago, so coming here gave me a perfect opportunity to congratulate Chef Tam in person. We happen to be in the middle of jingzhe (驚蟄), the season when hibernating insects are awakened by the sound of thunder. While the restaurant has put together a set menu specific to this season, Chef Tam was always gonna brings us something special... Steamed free-range chicken with scallion oil (蔥油葵園雞) - Chef Tam hits it out of the park on his first at bat. This is Foursheets' current favorite chicken, and I can't tell you how happy she was when this arrived. Wonderful stuff.
One of the regrets this week is that I was unable to bring my friend to dine at Sichuan Moon (川江月), the restaurant which featured Sichuanese cuisine as imagined by chef André Chiang (江政承). It was decided last year that the restaurant would close, and the space was taken over by Chef Tam Kwok Fung (譚國鋒) for the creation of Chef Tam's Seasons (譚卉) - a Cantonese restaurant where the dishes are based on the 24 seasons (二十四節氣) in the Chinese lunar calendar. The restaurant just earned its first Michelin star two days ago, so coming here gave me a perfect opportunity to congratulate Chef Tam in person. We happen to be in the middle of jingzhe (驚蟄), the season when hibernating insects are awakened by the sound of thunder. While the restaurant has put together a set menu specific to this season, Chef Tam was always gonna brings us something special... Steamed free-range chicken with scallion oil (蔥油葵園雞) - Chef Tam hits it out of the park on his first at bat. This is Foursheets' current favorite chicken, and I can't tell you how happy she was when this arrived. Wonderful stuff.
Labels:
Cuisine - Cantonese,
Dining,
Macau,
Michelin-starred Restaurants,
Videos,
Wine
B's detour day 3: Macanese family-style
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One of the main items when I convinced B to make a detour to come visit me was a visit to Macau. While Hong Kong has always been a great destination, I've always felt that fine dining in Macau is a better deal - and it's easy to understand why. So I booked us a car to cross the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and, thanks to some unscheduled stops, checked in to the Grand Lisboa Palace more than an hour later than expected. Which is how we arrived at La Famiglia on Taipa around 1½ hours later than the time of our original reservation. I had asked for recommendations for restaurants which are more Macanese and not just serving Portuguese cuisine, and I decided to check out this one. Pastéis de bacalhau - these were pretty decent. On the dry side but still tasty. Chamuças de porco - these samosas were also pretty decent.
One of the main items when I convinced B to make a detour to come visit me was a visit to Macau. While Hong Kong has always been a great destination, I've always felt that fine dining in Macau is a better deal - and it's easy to understand why. So I booked us a car to cross the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and, thanks to some unscheduled stops, checked in to the Grand Lisboa Palace more than an hour later than expected. Which is how we arrived at La Famiglia on Taipa around 1½ hours later than the time of our original reservation. I had asked for recommendations for restaurants which are more Macanese and not just serving Portuguese cuisine, and I decided to check out this one. Pastéis de bacalhau - these were pretty decent. On the dry side but still tasty. Chamuças de porco - these samosas were also pretty decent.
Labels:
Cuisine - Macanese,
Cuisine - Portuguese,
Dining,
Macau
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