The Eating Guide in Macau

First time in Macau, and not sure what to do during the short 2-day-1-night getaway? Why not have a mini gourmet tour in the midst of your shopping at Macau?

Here's a compilation of my hits with Macau's food galore:

黄枝记

黄枝记 is rather famous in Macau, with quite a number of branches. From the web reviews, she is famous for her wanton mee and pork chop bun.



Personally, I like their wanton, but not their mee. It's the very thin and kind of tough type. Guess we, Singaporeans, are not used to their wanton mee.



I like their Pork Chop Bun. The bun is soft and crispy on the outside. And they aren't stingy with the pork chop. It is literally a big piece, like what I would have if I ordered Pork Chop in local kopitiam.

How to get there?
I went to the branch at Senado Square, the easiest to locate, and also the most convenient since it is at the tourist spot. It is near the fountain. You wouldn't miss the gold and yellow decor.

TIP
To get to Senado Square, you can take the free shuttle bus from Galaxy Hotel and alight at 新马路. The bus stop is opposite Macau Square. Just walk about 10 - 15 minutes and you will reach Senado Square. You can take the return bus along the same street as where you have alighted. The Galaxy Hotel staff are very sweet. On rainy days, they station themselves at the bus stops with umbrellas to shelter us as we board and alight the bus!

Lord Stow's Bakery

What's Macau without Portuguese Egg Tarts, right?



You definitely have to try them. They are the best Portuguese Egg Tarts I have ever tasted. Sweet, yet not too sweet; rich, yet not too rich. And certainly very fragrant. I liked the balance.

You can buy a box, which is about half a dozen. It costs slightly less than MOP 50 for a box.

Best to eat them fresh from the oven, like all pastries. If you leave them overnight as breakfast, like me, they became sweeter. And then it tastes, just like the ones in Singapore bakeries. Not special anymore.

How to get there?
Again, there are a few branches, but the easiest to locate is at Venetian Hotel. Most hotels have free shuttle buses to Venetian Hotel, so do catch a ride on them. Lord Stow's Bakery is located on the Mask Street in the shopping complex of Venetian Hotel.


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TIP
Don't underestimate the shopping complex in Venetian Hotel. It's HUGE! It took us quite a while to find Lord Stow's Bakery. Be armed with their map before you start searching. As a guide, the bakery is located near the man-made rivers/ canals.

The Eight 8

Enough of snacking? Now's for the main course! Have a star-studded dim sum lunch at The Eight at Grand Lisboa. This restaurant is awarded with 2 Michelin stars. :)

Some of the must try:

霸王淡水鮮蝦金魚餃


春风得意肠粉


脆香叉烧包


For more juicy details, check out my full review on my dining experience at Eight.

What I like best about Eight are the finely sculpted, delicious dim sum (some are so adorable that I can't bear to eat them), their service and the affordable pricing. We had a very full dim sum lunch, and yet it only cost as much as a typical lunch/ dinner at a franchised Chinese restaurant in Singapore.

How to get there?
The Eight 8
Grand Lisboa, Level 2
南灣葡京路新葡京酒店2樓


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Have fun exploring the eateries at Macau!

Michelin Star-Studded ~ The Eight at Grand Lisboa (Macau)

Finally! It's my turn to try a Michelin-star-awarded restaurant. Ever since I have heard about the gourmet indulgences my friends have when they dine at Michelin-star-awarded restaurants in Europe, I have been looking forward to my own gourmet indulgence. But cost has always been a factor hindering it.

Unknowingly, for this year's annual family trip, I stumbled upon The Eight, a 2-Michelin-star restaurant, during my course of research on Macau. And... the lunch menu, surprisingly, was within budget~ Yeah!

I'm so glad for my chance encounter... It is definitely the best start to my makan adventure at Michelin-star-awarded restaurants.



Located at Grand Lisboa, one of the iconic buildings in Macau, the restaurant had a very posh entrance. As we were led into the restaurant, projections of goldfish swam along with us as we entered the dining area.

TIP
Do note that they have a dress code. The dress code is smart casual. No slipper, no T-shirts and no sandals.

Lunch starts from 11.30am. Once the restaurant opened at 11.30am, diners started to stroll in. Luckily, I have made reservation! Soon, it was fully filled with customers, yum-cha-ing away.

Their waitress crew has different nationalities. Hence, do not worry if you are like me, extremely bad at Cantonese. They have someone who is a native speaker in English to attend to us.

TIP
Make an online reservation first via their website. On the website, it is stated that they recommend us to reserve two weeks in advance. I reserved mine one month in advance! :P

The first dish served was the appetizer, made of abalone and beef. It's on the house~ Everyone has a set, by the way. :)

TIP
Unfortunately, even if you don't take beef, you can't change the dish, since it's free.

Now here's the dim sum galore you have been waiting for~ some of them are really so cute, that it seems a pity to eat them...


霸王淡水鮮蝦金魚餃 Goldfish shaped prawn dumplings




春风得意肠粉

It is very long! And crunchy on the inside. Very different from our local Chee Cheong Fan.


脆香叉烧包

There are two options of ordering the Chau Siew Bao, you can have it steamed or pan-fried. This is the pan-fried one, which is recommended by the waitress. Only the bottom is pan-fried after it is steamed. The combination is wonderful! This is my mum's favourite.


原隻乳豬焗飯

Baked rice in roast suckling piglet. This is a recommended dish by reviewers on Openrice, hence I gave it a try too. We had to wait 45 minutes before it was ready. However, it was quite disappointing. I found it too oily. Perhaps it does not suit the tastebuds of non-locals.

Now's dessert time~


燕液雪人

Made up of two buns - red-bean flavoured and bird nest flavoured. Probably the most kawaii dessert~


白玉无花小凤酥配雪梨雪糕 Pear flavoured sherbet and pastry


鴛鴦金魚凍 Mango and almond flavoured jelly goldfishes


黑白芝麻布丁配芝麻雪糕

Black and White sesame pudding with sesame ice-cream. What's special is the ice-cream, which is mixed with real sesame seeds.

Finally it ended with Portuguese egg tarts and a very sweet milk tea. Mmm.. for the egg tarts, I still think Lord Stow's Bakery has the best Portuguese egg tarts. But the egg tarts and milk tea are on the house again, so.. no complaints. :P



Overall, besides the mouthwatering, kawaii sculpted dim sum, I also liked the service there. The timing which they serve the food is timed just nice. I've finished this dish, soon after some small talk, another one is served, and another. A continuous, yet right tempo, which keeps the dining momentum going. Just nice, which did not made me feel uncomfortable, like they are rushing me.

Other aspect of the service which I liked is their initiative. Seeing that there are four of us, they suggested to changed all dim sum presentations to fours instead of threes.

Altogether, 4 of we ate 12 dishes, but we only paid about MOP 810 (about S$130). I had expected about twice the cost, given the exquisite food and level of service we have received.

How to get there?
The Eight 8
Grand Lisboa, Level 2
南灣葡京路新葡京酒店2樓
If you go by cab, ask the driver to take you to 新葡京. (They remember Chinese names better.)


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The Eight is definitely the restaurant I will re-visit again when I am at Macau.

Just looking through Openrice reviews makes me crave for the other dim sum dishes which I have yet to try...

*drools*