Glad I dined at Laurel

It was the last day in Macau and I had a budget of MOP$8XX left.

Originally planned to dine at Gusto but it would mean I would still have quite a lot of cash left because the portions there are rather big.
Stumbled upon Laurel which is near the entrance of the Galaxy hotel.

Browsed the menu and the items looked luxurious so decided to dine there.
They were expensive you could only order a few dishes.

The decor and ambiance was grand just like a palace.


I loved the chandeliers and twinkling lights on the blue ceiling.


There is a nice little bridge to the other side of the restaurant too.


Before you order, there are a few compulsory charges:
-tea
-snacks


-chili sauce


All these charges are clearly stated on the ordering form.

I wanted to order the silkie chicken soup but it was sold out so ordered this other soup.
One of the soups cost $420 per person!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Prawn dumplings:

The prawn dumplings were a little disappointing because there was nothing amazing about them.
They tasted like the average prawn dumpling in Hong Kong.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Double boiled chicken with American ginseng and Chinese herbs:



The soup was amazing, it was strongly flavoured with chicken and really sweet that you could not taste the bitterness of the American ginseng. There was so much dried scallops in it as well and the taste of the soup had a concentrated taste which made is rich.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised crab with garlic and vermicelli in a pot:

This is a must eat item because there was so much garlic and spring onions in every strand of vermicelli which gave it a refreshing crunch and flavouring.
Each noodle was nicely tossed and it was glistening with a lovely golden colour yet it was not oily.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Braised sea cucumber and ducks feet:


This dish tasted how it should but it did not give me any surprises.
It should have been served earlier or later when there were no other dishes because by the time I got to this dish it was just warm and did not taste as good as it should when it was hot.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
If I had read the reviews, I would have ordered the pork trotters pot instead of the prawn dumplings and sea cucumber.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Laurel Chinese Restaurant,
Galaxy Casinos and Hotel Complex
Macau SAR of China

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I love this little teaser

Just a quick teaser for Shui Yue.

This was an off menu item that they prepared for me.

It was so sweet that they remembered these little crabs.
They were fried to perfection and because they were freshly done, the taste was not rancid.
Although the crabs did not have a strong taste, they were sprinkled with seaweed powder which gave it that extra freshly caught from the sea feeling.

The crabs were too cute to eat and they all looked alive on the plate.

Crabilicious crab products @ Kanizen

I have always wanted to check this place out but there is no menu at the front of the restaurant and you cannot see what is inside which makes it even mysterious!

Hence explains why there are so many celebrities dining there.

When I attempted to dine there it was hard getting a table because it was always fully booked even on a Monday!

Finally got a table but the place where I sat did not have those cute tiny crabs but it wasnt a bad seat because there was a celebrity sitting opposite.

When you enter the restaurant there is tank of crabs and you have to enter another door into the restaurant.

 

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crab roe paste:

crab roe paste

 

The crab roe paste was lovely and thick and its unami taste was strong.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tempura:

Hokkaido egg tempura (front)

 

The tempura platter contained a tempura egg yolk which was my favourite, it was still molten inside and the exterior of the egg yolk was light and crispy.
As well as the yolk there was a crab claw, but the crab taste was not that strong.
The crab perilla leaf dumpling was better though it had tasty crabmeat inside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ginger ice cream:

Ginger ice cream

 

To finish off there was ginger ice cream and the sweetness was just right, it had pieces of ginger in it and the texture of the icecream was nice and smooth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

麥菲茶餐廳 Mathy dishes in 2012 versus 2011

The dishes here in general taste good and the Chef has been very creative, however the Chef seems to have changed lately because the dishes have not been so creative.
Some dishes have been repeated on the menu such as the pickled vegetables with pork belly hakga style but not as good as it was a year ago.
Hope the food will taste like it did a year ago because there is a serious competitor nearby.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pickled vegetables with pork belly hakga style:

2011

 

The 2011 version was much better, the sauce was like gravy and the pickled vegetables were more prominent.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

The 2012 version is very watery and it only had one type of pickled vegetables, in 2011 there were two different types.
Althought this is Hakga Style, I have tried the real thing at a Hakga village and it contains wood fungas as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crab with glass noodles - 2011

 

They offer a lot of crab dishes, the crab is fresh and meat comes off easily.
When the crabs are small, they will give you three.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Steamed crab legs in egg white and Huo Diao Wine

After trying the hot pot, found out there were some other dishes to try so went back for the Steamed crab legs in egg white and Huo Diao Wine.
I have always wanted to try this dish but not many places have it.
The difference here is the crab, you are given crab legs instead of a whole crab and they do not have chicken oil on the egg white and it does not have 陳村粉 as served at The Chairman in Central.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steamed crab legs in egg white and Huo Diao Wine:

 

When it came the dish was piping hot, I tried the egg white first and I could not taste any Huo Diao Wine, however after letting the dish cool down for a while it tasted much nice and you can taste the wine.
The texture of the steamed egg was smooth.
The crab legs were managable and with the aid of scissors the crab meat came off easily.
The crab meat was fresh and the unami taste was present.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bamboo Piths:

 

 

Had the hot pot a well and this time they were promoting bamboo piths which were impressively clean without sand.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★