With so many Asian/Oriental related food choices to pick from, the result of numerous new eateries sprouting up around town. It is therefore a rare sight to see a lineup formed by potential customers outside a particular restaurant, all waiting to get in….this was exactly the spectacle we observed at 3.00pm from inside this restaurant!
The aforementioned remark pertains mainly to new eateries with monotonous, one-dimensional ‘ Hot-pot, Spicy Sichuan, Hand pulled noodles and/or Dumpling ‘ theme. As such, to discover a restaurant specializing in ‘ Macau style Portuguese food was a refreshing and welcoming revelation!
To avoid the long weekend crowd, our party of four arrived after 2.00pm for a late lunch at this new found hidden neighborhood gem. The menu contained an attractive array and a good variety of authentic and traditional sounding Macau style Portuguese food augmented by some popular S.E Asian favorites……Hainanese Chicken Rice, Malaysian Curries…etc. The Macau food related segment of the menu contains perennial Macanese favorites like Pasteis de Bacalhau ( Salt cod fritters ), African Chicken, Macau style Pork-chop in a Bun and the ever popular Baked Portuguese Chicken Rice.
For our late lunch, we decided on the following:
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Pasteis de Bacalhau
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Cream of Potato Soup with mixed vegetables
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Hainanese Chicken Rice
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Baked Macau style Portuguese Chicken Rice
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Baked Whole Pork Loin (Char-Siu Style) topped with creamy Tomato sauce
and Sunny side up fried egg. -
Baked fried Grouper Fish Fillet with Creamy Tomato Sauce
All the main dishes were topped with delicious and well balanced sauces, seasoned to our liking. The greaseless and savory Salt Cod Fritters were crispy, fluffy and light……Tasty and addictive. The soup, rich, creamy and flavourful.
With so many places claiming to offer the most authentic creation of Hainanese Chicken Rice, it is therefore an almost impossibility to settle for ‘ The One ‘! IMO, the main thing was for the dish to offer a delectable taste profile that happens to fit our palate. This was exactly the case with the version we ordered! Stand out dish was the - ‘Baked Char-Siu Filet with creamy Tomato sauce Fried Rice’…different and appetizing!
All in all a delightful, enjoyable and relaxing, casual family lunch!
