吃飯了嗎？

Lord Stow's Bakery

Andrew Stow was the main man responsible for the revival of the Portuguese egg tart in Macau, and partly responsible for launching the (short-lived, unfortunately) fad in Taiwan. Now that the fad has ended, but Lord Stow still occupies its own little culinary niche in Macau. In fact, Margaret's Cafe, the other famous egg-tart establishment, was founded by Mr. Stow's Chinese ex-wife.

Unlike Margaret's Cafe, which is in the heart of Macau's glittering casino district, Stow's Bakery is located in the outer island town of Coloane. The bakery is located in the town square, and they have expanded to also offer a restaurant and a sandwich shop in the area. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to stroll around Coloane as much as we should have, but the bakery made for a perfect dessert stop on our way back to Cotai after a nice meal at Fernando's.

We didn't care to make a careful comparison between Stow's and Margaret's egg tarts. They're both more than good enough for my standards and I'd be happy to chomp down half a dozen or so any time. Instead I controlled my gluttonous urges so we could slowly savor the flaky tart shell and the rich, eggy filling, and still have some left over to bring back to Taiwan with us.

Lord Stow's Bakery
澳門安德魯餅店
1 Rua da Tassara
Coloane Town Square
Macau
+853-28882534

Ristorante Fernando

Every tourist destination has a restaurant famous to tourists as the "authentic" purveyor of the local cuisine, but locals look down upon as a tourist trap. Fernando's restaurant is kinda like that in Macau. I'm not usually a fan of touristy places, but Fernando's is a local institution, and it's not as if we had anything better to do in Macau until our late flight out, after I got wiped out at the gaming tables.

It was an expensive cab ride from The Venetian in Cotai out to Hac Sa Beach on the very edge of Coloanne. Got there just as they were opening up for lunch and there wasn't any of the big crowds that some reviews had warned about. The restaurant is just as famous for its relaxed beach-side setting as for its rustic Portuguese food, but it had rained hard earlier in the morning so it wasn't quite practical to sit outside. The red-checked plastic tableclothes and cheap pitchers of sangria wouldn't be out of place along Portugal's Atlantic coast, although the Cantonese-speaking waitresses break the illusion a bit.

We ordered a simple salad, a quarter roast chicken on fries, and a plate of Macau-fried-rice with Portuguese sausage. Nothing fancy, but solidly satisfying, and it's unique enough to us. The meal comes with excellent gluten-rich home-baked bread. And a whole big pitcher of cool, fresh-mixed sangria, complete with half a bottle of red wine and a couple shots of brandy.

I should've just ordered glasses of the wine punch instead, but we managed to finish the entire pitcher by the end of the meal. The fruity sweetness of the mixed punch and the cool drink in the sultry air fooled the wife into chugging way too much sangria. Thankfully the beach was nearby so we could rest on a bench and let her peacefully sleep off the alcohol in the seaside breeze.

Ristorante Fernando
Praia de Hac Sa, 9
路環黑沙海灘9號
Colôane, Macau
+853-28882264

Morton's of Chicago

There's so much great food out here in Asia, but the one thing that's missing is a good steak. Sure, there's the fancy Japanese beef, which is tasty and all, but they always cut it up on the teppanyaki or slice it thin for the shabu-shabu, which only distances one from the full-grown bovine. Nobody does the big-slab-of-beef thing better than the classic American steakhouse, and The Venetian Macau chose wisely to bring in the high-end American chain.

After a terrible time at the gambling tables, it seemed much wiser to piss away money on a fancy meal instead of on a game of chance. The interior was almost cliche in its dim, dark-wood-paneled interior. No high-powered halogen-spots here. Thankfully they put us at a relatively bright table near some table lamps. The restaurant was about half-full at best, which was fine with us after a day amongst the bustling Macau streets. The waiter rolled out a cart showing off the different cuts of beef available and rattled off a well-coached spiel about all the offerings on the menu.

Sure, the salmon and lobster and fancy starters sounded interesting and tasty and all, but KISS is the way to go here, especially since all the side-dishes are a la carte and the bill adds up fast. Bone-in rib-eye, medium rare for me. Petit Filet Diane, mushroom sauce on the side for her. Skip the side dishes, and leave more room for red meat. At least the huge loaf of garlic-onion bread came for free.

And boy was it a fine piece of meat. Perfectly seared on the outside and medium-rare pink in the middle, simply flavored with salt and pepper. Asked for steak sauce out of habit but there was no need. The SO's Filet Diane mushroom sauce made for a tasty little side dish, and a big glass of robust Cabernet was a no-brainer pairing.

Nothing like 16 ounces of animal protein to fill the belly up good, but there's always room for dessert. Too full for the heavy cakes and pies, but the creme brulee seemed like just the ticket, a classic dessert for a classic meal. Plenty big enough for us two to share.

Thankfully it was all costed in an unfamiliar currency so I charged it all without worrying about the total bill. Probably wasn't worth the money, by some objective measure, but it was exactly what I wanted right then and I'm thankful we can afford such luxuries once in a while. We did take away loaf of bread, which seemed to be the common practice, with them having a bag for it and all. So we had breakfast taken care of for the next couple of days, too, to bring down the cost-per-meal a little, kinda.

Morton's, The Steakhouse
Shop 1016
The Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel
Macau
+853 8117 5000

Margaret's Café e Nata

Just before I returned to Taiwan, there was a massive craze for Portuguese egg tarts. Celebrities sunk big bucks opening splashy bakeries in prime locations selling nothing but. Of course, like most Asian fads, the trend died out quickly and now I can't find any decent Portuguese egg tarts here. And no, the sad excuse of an egg tart they sell at KFC doesn't count.

I've been a big fan of the egg tart ever since Mom would bring back pink boxfuls of freshly baked goodies from the famous Golden Gate Bakery on her SF Chinatown outings. But they were the Hong Kong style with the smooth yellow egg custard filling. The more historical Portuguese-style egg tart, as inherited by Macau, features lovely dark caramel bits along the top of the egg custard, which is more creamy than the HK-style filling.

Margaret's Cafe is one of the more famous purveyors of Portuguese egg tarts in Macau. Located in an unassuming alley near the Lisboa casinos, with only a small sign along the main boulevard to point the way. Nevertheless the small bakery was packed with tourists and visitors scarfing down the egg tarts hot out of the oven, which is obviously the best way to have it. An iced milk tea went along nicely with the rich tarts, especially during the hot and stifling daytime.

The canopied seating area outside in the cobbled back-alley plaza gives it an European flair. The bakery also offers sandwiches which would make for a decent light lunch. Meanwhile, the locals dodged all the tourists and bought the more conventional breads to go. Considering all the butter that must have gone into the flaky crust, 7HKD per tart isn't all that expensive. And it's right along the conventional touristing route making it a good way to experience a local specialty.

Margaret's Café e Nata
瑪嘉烈葡式蛋塔
Edifício Kam Loi, Nam Van
南灣金來大廈
Macau
+853 2871 0032

義順牛奶公司

The old-time shop is famous for desserts and drinks made with milk from their own farm. Located right alongside the main historical square of Largo do Senado in Macau, it was perfect for a sightseeing pit-stop away from the stifling heat.

The interior was no different than your typical Hong Kong/Macau street-side restaurant with cheap chairs and cheap tables. Except the place was packed with tourists both coming and going, hustled along by the loud boss guarding the door. Not exactly Michelin-star service, here. The SO was desperate for an icy drink and the 西米霧 would do. Love the big icy mug engraved with their big cow logo. However the mini-tapioca was a bit too stiff and the ice-milk ratio was tilted the wrong way.

雙皮燉奶 is really their signature dessert, though, and that did not disappoint. A delicately congealed pudding made by slowly cooking milk, egg white, and sugar until it solidifies. An intense but pure milk taste with every spoonful. May be even better warm, but I was too hot and stuck to the cold version. Either way, definitely not for the lactose intolerant.

Yeah, I'm sure there is some cheaper and maybe even better hole-in-the-wall place in the back alleys somewhere. But it is famous for a reason, and it offers a fun taste of Macau without forcing you to go out of your way.

義順牛奶公司
Leitaria I Son
中區議事亭前地7號
7 Largo do Sehado
2857-3638

A Lorcha - 船屋葡國餐廳

Macau's colonial Portuguese heritage combined with the Chinese love for food creates a unique culinary mix, offering Old World European cuisine in the heart of Asia. A Lorcha is one famous example next to the A-Ma Temple, and our first stop right after landing in Macau and checking into the hotel. English, Portuguese, and Cantonese all cheerfully spoken by the polyglot staff. Mandarin, not so much. Didn't have reservations so had to wait until 2:00 for a table, but it was well worth it for the food and atmosphere.

Caldo Verde is a barely thickened soup flavored with slice of Portuguese sausage and cooked with greens. Bacalhau fritters were solidly packed with the reconstituted salt-fish, a Portuguese classic. A bottle of cold Portuguese beer hit the spot on a hot day, although I should've just gone with the Carlsberg on tap for the quantity over quality.

The Galinha Africana (African Chicken) is a juicy half-chicken smothered in a slightly spicy sauce full of exotic spices. Very tasty and would've been great over rice except we had a tough time finishing the big portions as it were.

Feijorada is a hearty pig-knuckle and beans stew. Despite the Portuguese name, the dish didn't taste all that foreign to us since we're used to chomping on pig's feet.

The fresh-baked bread was excellent, too. The plain, crusty bread is such a refreshing change from the oily, soft Asian take on bread.

A Lorcha (船屋葡國餐廳)
289a Rua do Almirante Serigo
澳門河邊新街289號
Macau
+853 313 195

Forkers

The place offers forty-plus varieties of burgers with a huge list of topping possibilities. Super-popular with the young folks with us having to wait for a table even on a Tuesday night. Us in our work-clothes appeared to be the oldest diners in the room. Made us nostalgic for the student days.

The starters were a nice touch. Veggie salad was decent enough, with a choice of dressings, but the flavor of the potato salad was totally overpowered by dill. I was hoping for real avocado slices instead of mushy wannabe-guac on my California burger. The chili-cheese-fries is a cardiac-killer but oh-so-good. SO's mushroom-cheeseburger was solid and the home-made bun didn't fall apart with all the shroom and meat juices which was a plus for them.

The forty-some burgers seemed a bit gimmicky, and The Diner probably does the basic burger a bit better. But some of the other topping options did look appealing. The side dishes are good and the space itself is very nice. Plus the location is convenient to us. So I'm sure we'll give it a try again, but will make sure to call in a reservation first.

Forkers
佛克
台北市忠孝東路四段223巷10弄8號
No. 8, Alley 10, Lane 223 Chung Xiao East Rd. Sec. 4, Taipei
02-27719285

吉品魚翅海鮮餐廳

The uncles wanted to take grandma some place nice for the Mother's Day meal, and this high-end seafood restaurant certainly qualifies. The restaurant was fully booked for Mother's Day, but uncle had enough pull to get us into the even fancier private lounge upstairs. Of course, with it comes the expectation that we'd order well enough to justify the expensive space.

Getting over the minimum order hurdle wasn't a problem once you throw in the standard Chinese banquet fare like the shark fins, abalone, etc., etc. Normally I could take or leave shark fin, especially considering its environmentally unfriendly origins, although I don't quite have the chutzpah to be militantly outspoken against it. However, the signature soup here is a thick, whole fin lusciously poached in a thick, complex broth soaking into each cartilaginous strand. I just kinda had to bury my conscience and enjoy the dish.

Frankly the shark-fin soup was enough for a meal in itself both food-wise and $-wise, but there were plenty more to come. Although after the signature soup even the fresh abalone seemed a bit pedestrian in comparison. The fetishistically phallic sea-cucumber would scare off just about all the non-Asians, that's for sure. Actually, he roasted duck feet roasted with the abalone and sea cucumber were just as tasty, in its own way, in spite of being humbler stuff than the fancy seafood.

Thankfully the later dishes are a bit lighter in nature than the heavy-hitters. Steamed fish, and the like. A beef course to keep the cousin happy but that's not really what they do. The kitchen is surprisingly versatile, though, as they also offer Shanghai-style 小籠包 and 蔥油餅 and Hong Kong dim-sum items, in case you're still hungry. The Cantonese 臘腸飯 is fantastic except you're always too full to eat when they serve it at the end of the meal.

It was all awfully good, but I'm glad that I'm not the one footing the bill for the meal.

吉品魚翅海鮮餐廳(敦南店)
台北市松山區敦化南路1段25號2樓
02-27527788

CoCo Ichibanya

Was inspired to have a big plate of good-old Japanese style curry with katsu by an article in Wired pining for the thick, brown goodness. CoCo Ichibanya is an imported Japanese chain serving exactly that. There's one in the Taipei Main Station near where the SO works. Unlike me, she doesn't get Labor Day off, working for a governmental agency. So I went out to meet her there for lunch.

No surprises here. A thick pork cutlet breaded and fried. The big plate is filled with half rice and half curry sauce. You can choose various degrees of hotness for the curry, and choose extra or less white rice for a bit more or less money. Funny how her plate of eggplant-spinach curry cost just as much as my big-hunk-of-meat katsu curry.

A perfectly simple meal in a quiet, clean setting. Good thing I had the rest of the afternoon to sleep off the starch-and-meat induced digestive coma.

CoCo壹番屋(漢口店)
CoCo Ichibanya
台北市中正區漢口街1段19號B1樓
02-23822650