The Year of the Snake is in full swing and already bringing plenty of variety to Macao’s dining scene, with Philippine, French and Japanese cuisines expanding the city’s offerings. You might have also heard from your overjoyed Portuguese friends that Manteigaria, Portugal’s pastel de nata specialist, has opened a bakery at the city’s finance district. Read on for our list of new restaurants in Macao – and a bakery – to check out this February.
Manteigaria
What’s that aroma? It’s the unmistakable scent of Manteigaria’s freshly baked pastéis de nata, which have finally found their way to Macao, bringing joy to homesick Portuguese and earning a thumbs-up from curious locals and travellers. Portugal’s best artisanal egg tarts use whole eggs and real butter in their preparation (no traces of preservatives or margarine).
Sporting interiors strikingly like the branches in Lisbon, Porto or Paris, the Macao branch is the first in Asia, and enjoys a central location on the Avenida da Praia Grande.
[See more: Bites of heritage: How do Macao’s egg tarts differ from Portuguese pastéis de nata?]
Step inside and you’ll find bakers at work in the show kitchen. Every half hour, a new batch of velvety, brûlée-topped egg tarts emerges from the oven, their arrival announced by the chime of a bell. That’s a Manteigaria tradition to signal to passersby that the tarts are nice and warm.
Head over to Manteigaria as early as 8 am for your pastel de nata fix and an espresso on the side – and don’t forget to sprinkle your treat with cinnamon. For the Portuguese, there’s no other way to do it.
Hampton Court
Hampton Court (see featured image above) is the jewel in the crown of the Londoner Grand. Inspired by England’s Hampton Court palace, once the playground of Henry VIII, the venue is decked out in dark emerald tones, plush fabrics and brass details, blending old-world charm and contemporary luxury.
Before you reach the restaurant area, you’ll find the Bard, a sleek bar where seasoned mixologists (previously at Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill) sling both classic cocktails and signatures. It’s the spot for a pre-dinner drink, though it holds its own as a destination thanks to an expansive all-you-can-eat menu of refined canapés. For now, however, access is exclusive to guests staying at the Londoner Grand.
As for the restaurant, it’s open to all for buffet dinner, while breakfast and afternoon tea are also reserved for hotel guests. The buffet features a variety of stations, including seafood, sushi and sashimi, artisanal cheese, cold cuts, a noodle bar, carved meats, Western and Indian favourites, and more. Options are varied and generous.
[See more: From pub vibes to craft cocktails: Explore The Londoner Macao’s best bars]
Diners can also order from a seafood menu available at their tables. The Singapore-style crab doused in black pepper sauce, the steamed tiger grouper fillet sauce, and garlicky scallops are all exceptionally good.
As if the above isn’t enough, every hour a staff member goes around the room pushing a trolley filled with surprise gourmet dishes, announcing his arrival with the ringing of a small bell – your cue to sit back, relax, and take your time to enjoy all Hampton Court has to offer.
All of this comes, of course, at a hefty price, 988 patacas. It might well be the city’s priciest buffet but it’s splurge worthy.
Pinoy Street Café
For fans of Philippine cuisine, options have been slowly but surely widening. First DC Café opened its second branch at Broadway Macau, and now the folks behind the takeaway joint Pinoy Street BBQ & Food Shop have launched Pinoy Street Café.
This latest eatery is conveniently located just a stone’s throw from Senado Square, so don’t be misled by its name – it’s not actually on Rua da Alfândega (which everyone calls “Philippine Street” on account of the number of Philippine businesses there).
Pinoy Street Café caters not only to the local Philippine community, who often gather nearby after work, but also tourists exploring some of Macao’s main attractions and eager to try a cuisine that is becoming increasingly recognised internationally.
[See more: Ari Calangi’s guide to must-try Filipino food in Macao]
If you are new to Philippine food, both the sisig and adobong liempo are safe bets, if you’re not put off by pork. Lesser-known dishes among non-natives worth trying are the tapsilog – a peppery beef served along with punchy garlic rice, and a runny egg, traditionally enjoyed for breakfast in the archipelago – or the batil patong, a popular noodle dish from Tuguegarao City.
Best yet, a set lunch includes your choice of two dishes from the daily specials and will cost you just 45 patacas.
Hayyo Kitchen 喜好廚房
Hayyo Kitchen was once a Western restaurant in Taipa that has relocated to the peninsula and reinvented itself as a casual Japanese restaurant. Its clientele now includes office workers, students and teachers from the nearby Macao Polytechnic University.
Japanese crowd-pleasers like sashimi, sushi, sushi rolls, and the like are all featured on the a la carte menu, as well as comforting options like chawanmushi (Japanese savoury egg custard), miso soup and sashimi rice bowls. Set meals of 8 pieces of sushi, or other combinations including rice bowls, are available from 85 patacas.
[See more: Sushi master Miyakawa has ‘brought Japan to Macao’]
And if you thought seasonal, made-to-order dishes were exclusive to fine-dining restaurants, you’ll be surprised that you can enjoy them at Hayyo Kitchen too. The chefs will prepare snow crab, sea urchin, lobster, and seafood rice upon request, based on market availability.
Aux Beaux Arts
Although it doesn’t qualify as a new restaurant opening, a novel menu and new leadership seem more than enough reason to return to MGM Macau’s 1930s brasserie-style restaurant, Aux Beaux Arts.
The concept and menu have been designed by Olivier Elzer, Aux Beaux Arts’ consultant chef, who counts years experience at Michelin-starred restaurants like L’Envol and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Together with chef de cuisine Basil Yu, Elzer has designed a menu of French classics with modern twists, enjoyed in a refined setting.
[See more: The best independent French restaurants in Macao]
Highlights include the snails, served in snail-shaped ceramics borrowed from Elzer’s family collection, a fresh lobster salad with creamy avocado and burrata, and the signature skate wing (a delicate, cartilaginous fish akin to rays and sharks), on a bed of spiced butter sauce.
Whatever you choose to have, save room for dessert. The Paris Brest filled with praline cream and a side of mascarpone ice cream will knock your socks off. Wine enthusiasts will find their dining experience particularly rewarding, as the restaurant features a two-storey wine cellar in its basement, housing 6,000 bottles ranging from coveted vintages to lesser-known labels.
—With additional reporting by Don Lei
