Macau: The Eight

The Eight is a Michelin 2 Star restaurant located on the second floor of the Grand Lisboa hotel.

It's decor is extremely oriental with lucky 8 symbols, golden koi carp fishes on the wall and a huge dazzling sphere made with crystals just above the water in the middle of the restaurant.

We had a private room that day.

Above the table, there was a huge oriental chandelier made of old Chinese coins.
It just felt like Royal dynasty there.

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Amuse Bouche:

On the left was abalone slices with fresh grapefruit pieces beneath it and lime juice which was refreshing and on the right was diced beef organs and peppers which gets your appetite ready for the meal.
The amuse bouche varies from day to day.
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Dim sum assortment:
As they wanted to us to try their dim sums, they put together an assortment.
There was Steamed Superior River Shrimp Dumplings in Fish Shape $42 (3 pieces), Steamed “Shanghainese” Dumplings with Chicken Essence and Vintage Dried Tangerine Peel
$38 (4 pieces) and Steamed Pork Dumpling with Abalone $98 (3 pieces).

The fish shaped dumpling was appealing and the fish eyes were black sesame seeds, the orange colouring on the fish was natural carrot juice. Inside the fish dumpling, it was fresh river shrimp which made it springy.
Next I tried the steamed pork dumpling with abalone which was really luxurious and the abalone sauce enhanced the dumpling.
Last I had the Shanghainese dumpling which was quite a challenge because there was so much chicken essence inside it. The taste was really nice because the tangerine peel had a nice bitterness to it balancing the greasiness of the pork.
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Deep-fried Barbecued Pork Roll

The fried pork roll looked intricate with the net wrap on the outside which was extremely crispy, inside there was sweet succulent roast pork.

(This is a new item on the menu)

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Crispy Frogs Leg with Spicy Salt (Regular)$138

The frog meat was extremely springy and the texture was similar to firm garoupa fish.

On the side there was some purple sweet potato mash as garnishing which tasted delicious because it was natrual and sweet.

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Barbecued Pork $95

The pieces of barbecued pork were huge and extremely thick cut!
Each piece was tender and juicy and full of barbecue flavour.
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Double-boiled Minced Pork in Supreme Broth with Bird’s Nest 每位 (per person) $300

This dish is normally made with fatty pork to give it that soft and springy texture.

But here they have replaced it with generous amounts of Bird's nest stuffed in the centre.

On top of the minced pork, there was another generous dollop of bird's nest.

The bird's nest in supreme broth was delicious and protein rich and it tastes better savoury than sweet.

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Braised Pomelo Skin with Crystal Prawn $280

The prawn was huge, it was as big as a clenched fist, it was sliced in a way that it resembles a flower.

It was so crisp and springy that you could hear a noise when you put your knife in it.
Then I tried the pomelo skin and that was wonderful, I loved the mushy silky texture and the rich gravy.
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Fried Glutinous Rice Topped with Roasted Duck in “Pei Pa Style” $328

The duck was mind blowing because it tasted like roast suckling pig and the flavour that they used to marinate it too, on top of the duck was refreshing lime juice to balance out the strong flavours.

The glutinous rice beneath it was nice and crispy.

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Braised Lamb Brisket in The-8 Style $280

The braised lamb was also delicious, the skin on top was extremely crispy and the meat was soft and supple that it was similar to duck.

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30 Years Vintage Tangerine Peel Chicken $195 (half) /$390 (whole)

The chicken was tender and fully flavoured with their tangerine peel which had a nice zesty bitter taste.

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Sautéed Seasonal Vegetable with Gingko and Fresh Bean Curd Skin

The gingko nuts were nice and creamy and the beancurd skin was soft and full of flavour after absorbing the water that the vegetables give out during the cooking process.
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Lotus Rice with Roasted Goose and Abalone in Casserole (Regular) $320

When this was served, the duck broth was put in the last minute, vaporizing and giving the rice more duck flavour.

The rice was loaded with goodies! When I was eating it, I found so many chopped up ingredients which don't show on the photo such as chopped dried squid, preserved eggs!!
The grains of rice were distinct and had a nice chew to it.
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Steamed Whole Crab and Shrimps with Stewed Rice and Shark's Fin in Lotus Leaf $480

This dish is bound to amaze anyone with the glistening vegetarian sharks fin and crab roe bursting from the crab.

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Baked Alaska with Red Bean Sherbet (For 2 People) $100

The cake had sugar on top which was set on fire giving a delicious caramelized top. I loved the egg white pieces on the outside and it was covered in a thin layer of meringue. The cake inside was not too sweet and the red bean sherbet was nice and light with pieces of red bean and a strong coconut flavour.

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Black and White Sesame Pudding with Sesame Ice-cream (per person) $40

Beautifully presented, the pudding was rich in sesame taste and not too sweet, and the sesame icecream was coated in black and white sesame seeds giving it extra sesame flavour.
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Puff Pastry with Sweetened Winter Melon Paste and Served with Pear Sherbet (per person) $40

The puff pastry was really cute, filled with wintermelon paste and the pear sherbet was refreshingly sweet with real pear in it.

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Portuguese egg tarts:
These were cute Portuguese eggs tarts which I could not resist because of the miniature size.

There was vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon powder to further enhance the taste of the eggtarts, cinnamon was the best in my opinion.

Lastly there was a cup of tea to finish.

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The Eight is a great and affordable place for luxurious food, the portions are big too.

Address:
The Eight, Grand Lisboa, 2nd fl, Avenida e Lisboa | Macau Peninsula, Macau
853-28283838

http://www.grandlisboahotel.com/dining-the_eight

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Hokkaido green tea latte @ Arome Bakery

Arome Bakery Room 東海堂 (Admiralty)
After trying most of their drinks, Hokkaido green tea latte was the last one in the series to try.

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Hokkaido green tea latte:

The taste of this was bit too bitter for my liking and it was too grassy compared to other green teas.
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Coffee Academics in Wan Chai

The Coffee Academics (Wan Chai)
For coffee lovers, there is a new coffee joint in Wan Chai, joining the fun with Rabbit Hole, Mansons Lot and Coco Express.

It is located right next to Fook Lam Moon where the tycoon's of Hong Kong hang out.

Coffee Academics obviously made a crowd at the opening with lots of celebrities and guests at their opening.

They even recieved some flowers from famous coffee lover Moses Chan.

Inside the coffee shop, there was a hip coffee bar.


There were attractive stools near the bar area.


As I do not drink coffee, I ordered a spinach and cheese pie.
The chocolate Madeleines were interesting too because they looked liked round flat cup cakes.

The apple and ricotta crumble cake cwas creative too.

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Spinach and cheese pie:

It was nice that it came with salad unlike other places where they just reheat the pies and plonk it on a plate with nothing.
I was expecting the salad to be ordinary salad with olive oil but the sauce was quite different and nice because it tasted like strawberry vinaigrette.

As for the pie, it was the usual spinach pie filled with canned spinach with a dull green colour.
The cheese in the pie was a nice complement to the pie.
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Fine Italian dining at Don Alfonso 1890

Dining at Don Alfonso 1890 would be an unforgettable experience for Italian fine dining.

Located in the glitzy setting of Hotel Grand Lisbao, Macau, you are surrounded by huge crystal chandeliers and other sparkling dazzlers.

We sampled their tasting menu and two of their famous dishes, each course was perfect in every way without feeling heavy, and the best thing is that they do not use butter or cream but the finest olive oil so that each dish will not leave you bloated.

Our tasting menu was neatly rolled into a scroll on our plates.

Before the dishes came, there were various breads that are made daily at Don Alfonso paired with olive oil which come from Alfonso.

The green one was spinach bread and it was my favourite.

After the bread we had a pre-starter, the Amuse Bouche which was scampi with juicy peach slices beneath it topped with caviar and a duo of mustard sauce and lobster sauce.

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Artichoke in “Giudia style” with buffalo mozzarella, pennyroyal mint, black truffle and sauce of anchovies from “Cetara”

The artichoke was topped with buffalo mozzarella which made it more flavourful, the artichoke was wholesome and juicy.
It was garnished artistically with delicate small pennyroyal mint leaves, black truffle slices and dried anchovies which all gave the artichoke more depth in taste and texture.
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Zuppa di pomodori San Marzano con polpa di granchio e origano secco di “Punta Campanella”
Cream of organic “San Marzano” tomatoes with crabmeat and dried oregano from Punta Campanella

The tomato soup was really appetizing and the colour of the soup was rich balanced by the sprig of basil in the middle.

The crabmeat was delicious and springy and on the bowl it was sprinkled with powdered oregano giving bursts of flavour here and there.

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Riso Carnaroli al latte di mandorla e pepe bianco su carpaccio di gamberi rossi Siciliani e rucola selvatica
Carnaroli rice with almond syrup, Sicilian red prawns, white peppercorn and arugula

When this arrived, you could smell the lovely aroma of the red prawns.
Each mouthful was deliciously sweet and the texture of the Carnaroli rice was satisfying with a slight chew to it without being too hard or soft.
The white peppercorns were gentle and did not over power the rice.
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Kagoshima beef tenderloin with trio of sauces: green olives “Bella di Cerignola”, San Marzano tomatoes and horseradish

I loved this tenderloin, it was tender, soft and sweet.
It was so soft and retained its natrual juices which was complemented by the delicious sauces beside it that were not too overpowering.
As well as the beef, there were two pieces of rod shaped potatoes beneath it which I did not know they were potatoes until I ate them.
The potatoes were also as good as the beef, it was soft and silky and full of flavour with a crisp surface just like a good roast potato and the beef was totally complete with the potatoes.

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Traditional homemade fusilli with Mediterranean calms and zucchini

The fusilli here is different from the usual screw shaped ones, they took the form of long curly strands which were perfectly al-dente covered in that rich zucchini sauce which was light and satisfying.
The clams were fresh from the sea and did not need seasoning.
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Spaghetti don Alfonso with San Marzano tomato and basil

After trying the fusilli, it was the Spaghetti don Alfonso which was spaghetti with San Marzano tomatoes and basil sauce on top.

Simple but perfectly delicious because the tomato sauce was tangy and wholesome with chunks of tomatoes.

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Pre-dessert:

From left to right, there was cherry, chocolate and lemon sorbet.
I started on the lemon sorbet which had the normal strength of a lemon so it was extremely cooling and refreshing.
Next I had the cherry which was pitted with the stalk attached, and the cherry oozed out with liquor.
Lastly I had the chocolate which was filled was smooth silky paste in the middle and encased in a delicately thin piece of chocolate.
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Sfogliatella Napoletana con salsa di amarena
Famous Neapolitan puff pastry slices stuffed with cinnamon and wild sour cherries

The Neapolitan here is unique and shaped like a flattened cone.
It was filled with delicious cinnamon cream inside with wild sour cherry sauce on the side.
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“Leuco fagon”  alle mandorle, albicocche candite in succo di limone, sorbetto di rose e baby melissa officinalis
Almond “Leuco fagon”, candied apricot in lemon juice, fresh rose sorbet, baby lemon balm

Beautifully presented with an array of delicate pastel colours.
The almond mousse was wonderfully dreamy.
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Piccola pasticceria:
After the fabulous meal, there were Petit fours which you can select to your hearts content.
The selection varied from nougats, truffles, candies to gourmet chocolates.

The yellow chocolate in the middle was filled with their signature Liquore de Limone.

It ended perfectly with a lovely cuppa.
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Address:
Don Alfonso 1890
3/F, Grand de Lisboa Macau, Avenida De Lisboa, Praia Grande
(853) 8803 7722
http://www.grandlisboahotel.com/dining-don_alfonso_1890-en
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Tasting @ Joy and Joy

Joy and Joy (Central)
Thanks to Joy and Joy for inviting me to their tasting event.

Heres what we tried:
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Drunken pigeon:

The pigeon meat had soaked the wine, giving a strong taste, and the meat itself is more flavoursome than chicken so it was a perfect paring of wine and pigeon. Duck would have been nice but duck meat is too strong and the skin is very fatty.
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Smoked vegetarian goose rolls:

These rolls are a good dish for vegetarians because it is light and healthy with lots of julienne vegetables wrapped in the beancurd skin.
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Honey glazed roasted pork:

Delicious succulent pieces of roast pork.
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Steamed minced pork dumpling with prawn:

The dumplings here are HUGE because of the prawns.
It was springy and meaty and the diameter of these dumplings were at least 1.5 inches.
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Deep fried wontons:

These wontons were so crispy filled with delicious springy prawns inside.
All you could hear was crack, crack and more crackling of the wonton skins.
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Double boiled fish maw with pig's lungs and freshly grounded almond soup:

The soup was extremely nice because there was a strong almond taste and fragrance.
There were lots of ingredients in the soup shown on the picture on the left.
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Deep fried scallop and prawn wrapped in bacon:

The prawns and scallops were an interesting fusion of East meets the West in the cuisine because they were wrapped in bacon giving it a smokey salty taste.
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Giant garoupa cooked in two ways - deep fried head and tail, sauteed garoupa filet:

Both the fried and sauteed styles were good, the fish was firm and springy.
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Poached baby cabbage with yunnan ham:


The soup was quite nice but perhaps a little salty.
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Braised rice casserole with chicken and abalone sauce:

The rice casserole looked like risotto because there was a lot of sauce.
It was rich with lots of chicken in it.
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Baked almond cream buns:



The almond cream buns reminded me of the ones at Dim Sum Bar.
It oozed with delicious almond filling in the middle.
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Steamed glutinous rice cakes with ginger juice:
The rice cakes looked like Thai layered puddings with the same texture, it was layers of white and brown with a ginger taste.
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Freshly grounded sweet walnut soup:
The sweet walnut soup was quite nice and not too sweet.
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