The Eight is the luxurious Chinese restaurant at Grand Lisboa Hotel and the one and only 3-star Michelin establishment in the city that serves Chinese cuisine. After going through the sliding door, we finally made it to the spacious dining room where stunning black and red colors set the tone for us in dramatic fashion.
They have a very comprehensive menu here so we had to spend a fair amount of time going through it page by page. Soon after we placed our orders, a small amuse bouche including two small nibbles was ready for prime time - chilled abalone with yuzu jelly and minced pork tart with diced vegetables.
What a lovely start this was! The abalone was of course the star here. Umami-rich flavor with just the perfect texture. Love the yuzu jelly with that refreshing mix of sweetness, bitterness and acidity to go with the abalone.
Our palates were ready for action at this point and first up were steamed dumplings with lobster, black truffle and asparagus (黑松露翡翠龍蝦餃). This was a pretty nice start. Really enjoyed the pleasant truffle aroma coming from the dumplings. Couldn't exactly tell whether the wrapper was made with asparagus or spinach but it helped to give the dish a little earthy kick.
Of course, we had to lay our hands on their signature dim sum - puff pastry with abalone, morel mushrooms and diced chicken (原隻鮑魚羊肚菌雞粒酥). An entire piece of abalone, which was served lukewarm, sat on top of a puff pastry with diced chicken, morel mushrooms and a very delicate sauce.
This was one dish that would definitely water your mouth in a hurry.
This one looked really good on paper - deep fried egg white foams with Iberico pork and black truffle (高力松露黑豚肉). Most of us should be familiar with the sweet version of this from the Shanghainese cuisine which most often than not has red bean paste and sometimes banana in the middle (高力豆沙). They have thrown in a western twist by using Iberico pork and black truffle which was quite clever in their own rights.
It came with a pretty interesting texture - very light and soft on the outside (like a very soft bean curd) but somehow it still felt slightly weird as a savory dish.
We had a little too much food to eat on this trip so we decided not to consume any more meat on this afternoon. Just a simple poached vegetables with lily bulbs and birch seeds (百合杞子浸時蔬) to stay healthy and also wrap things up before dessert.
Dessert was roasted almond tea with bird's nest (燕窩杏仁茶), one of my personal favorites.
They're no longer serving Portuguese egg tarts as their petite four. This time a beautiful rose shaped coconut pudding (or panna cotta) with mung beans with some bird's nest and gold foil on top. Very elegant.
The second part of the petite four was a small cup of sweet tea which our server chose to call "concentrated tea" (濃茶). Thought it tasted a lot like the Malaysian Teh tarik (literally 'pulled tea' 馬拉紅茶) with lots of sugar. Very nice. I was almost tempted to ask for a second cup.
It was an excellent dining experience as they went above and beyond to deliver us a mix of outstanding food and high-quality service. I would not hesitate to rank it right up there with some of Hong Kong's heavy hitters including Spring Moon (Peninsula), Lung King Heen (Four Seasons) and Tin Lung Heen (Ritz Carlton).
Food Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Grand Lisboa Hotel Macau, Avenida de Lisboa, Macau, Macau
Tel: +853 8803-7788
Website: www.grandlisboa.com/en/food_and_beverage/index_id_1.html
Post a Comment
Please tell us what you think