Macao’s lively restaurant scene has been as busy as ever and we’ve rounded-up the latest restaurant openings to keep on your radar.
Whether you fancy premium seafood with a side of Moutai-infused cocktails, delightful Taiwanese fare in a modern eatery, or feel like exploring the vast cuisines of China, Macao’s culinary scene delivers.
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Drunken Fish
Wynn Macau’s newest casual dining addition, Drunken Fish, has taken over the former Il Teatro, boasting the same dazzling views over the swish property’s artificial lake.
Helmed by chef Henry Zhang (who previously led the kitchen at the Chinese restaurant Golden Flower) Drunken Fish presents jet-fresh, premium seafood sourced from around the world, prepared with techniques from China and Southeast Asia to create innovative dishes marked by bold flavours. A standout is the signature red-spotted grouper with pickled tomato and chilli, infused with China’s iconic Moutai liquor.
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It’s one of several dishes on the menu featuring Moutai – and the restaurant even has a bar fully dedicated to the sorghum spirit. Drunken Fish’s wine list also boasts some of the finest Chinese bottlings available.
UTM Café
Already well known for its Educational Restaurant – awarded a Michelin “green star” for sustainability this year – the Macao University of Tourism recently opened a cafe at the Mong-Há hill campus on the peninsula.
At UTM Café, Danish chef Hans Lee Rasmussen oversees a team of hospitality students as they cook and cater to gain hands-on experience in the food service. The menu’s strengths are its signature and Scandinavian sandwiches, which come as no surprise given Rasmussen’s origins. Choose from roast beef or smoked salmon, made with housemade white or rye bread. As for the signatures, you’ll find Vietnam’s street food staple banh mi and the ubiquitous deli favourite reuben.
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Also favourites among diners are Macanese traditional dishes such as African chicken and minchi (flavourful minced meat and potato hash), with a plant-based version also available.
UTM Café will launch its full menu around mid-October.
Chelsea Garden
Located on the first floor of Cotai’s new Londoner Grand hotel, Chelsea Garden is billed as a “contemporary food market.” Although the moniker and decor may hint at meals with a British accent, the menus of its many stalls present flavours much closer to home.
Stroll through the food hall and choose from a sweeping selection of over 250 regional Chinese dishes, featuring everything from Hong Kong café staples to the numbing flavours of Sichuan cuisine.
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Best of all, Chelsea Garden is open around the clock, which means it can cater to families out on a leisurely lunch as well as for the nightowls among you.
Tu a Ho
Next time you’re out and about on the Rua dos Ervanários, visit Tu A Ho, a modern Taiwanese eatery tucked down a nearby alley. Here, you’ll mark down your order on beautiful stationery and your food is served on handmade Taiwanese tableware that’s been handpicked by the establishment’s Taiwan-born owner.
She had the idea to open this mid-range restaurant to show that Taiwanese gastronomy is made of more than the popular street-food eats it’s often associated with. Tu A Ho (the name means “just right”) serves set meals only, and these come with a soup, main dish, three small sides, and dessert. Most of the ingredients used are flown in from Taiwan, including a selection of rice grains from the east side of the island.
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Whether you choose the homey shallot crispy chicken rice, sizzling shrimp rice, or braised pork with foie gras and pineapple rice, the food is lip-smacking good. And don’t forget to finish your meal with the strawberry and mung bean mochi.
With additional reporting by Don Lei.
