We decided to embrace the tackiness of Macau and stayed at the Venetian. As you can see below, the Venetian is all restraint and elegance. Even better, the frescoes are in great condition, far superior to the crappy ones you see in Italy. The "Grand Canal" runs through the middle of the Venetian flanked by Italian masterpieces such as Gucci, Armani, Versace and the flagship of Italian cuisine, Starbucks.
We had lunch at Robouchon and were incredibly disappointed. After previous experiences at 3 Star restaurants my previous suspicions have been confirmed and I am content to never place much value in the substance of the Michelin guide's higher certified restaurants. I have no interest in eating over-worked food in pretentious surroundings served by well dressed glassies.
However, I did eat one of the greatest cheeses I have ever tasted. It was a camembert from Champagne however unfortunately I got the name of the other camembert that was served and so am none the wiser. Stay tuned, I have sent emails to ask for the name and to see if I can marry their pastry chef.
Then began the great Portuguese egg tart hunt. After getting lost in the casino for 20 minutes and then stumbling upon the canal which was worth another 30 minute wander I ended up in another hotel. The concierge called ahead to confirm that the bakery was open only for the first taxi driver to not know the location. 10 minutes later the second taxi driver talked it through with the concierge and we finally had agreement. 15 minutes later I end up at a different egg tart bakery, my second preference - Lord Stow's. After my initial disappointment at not finding Margaret's Cafe e Nata I got stuck in to Lord Stow's. They are pretty damn good although a little too eggy. But with pastry like that, I can forgive many many sins.
Dinner at Fernando's was a great rustic bookend to the day and although my belly looked like I had a cheese-baby, we still managed to eat several plates of great food highlighted by an incredible plate of clams.
In Hong Kong we ate dinner at a fantastic private kitchen. Liberty Private Works served a seven course meal (accompanied by our beautiful BYO Lakes Folly) each course of which was beautiful. After the butter-fest of Robouchon the dishes were delicate, simple and fresh and I can highly recommend it to everyone.
Amanda is normally my salami mule as HK has some great delicatessens, however this time I smuggled my own cured meats. An incredible salami is calling to me from the fridge as we speak and the voices in my head won't stop.
No comments:
Post a Comment