Macau Restaurant Recommedation: Restaurante Il Teatro, The Wynn, Macau.....The First Choice in Macau for a Business Lunch or Romantic Dinne

Published in The Peak Magazine, Asia Edition, May 2007

I love Italian food. Who doesn't?

So, on one of my trips to Macau to film that city’s reinvention of Las Vegas, I decided to taste which culinary treats the Las Vegas casino kings were offering their high rollers, the ones who would actually stop gambling to eat.

I decided to try the newly-opened Wynn Macau. I made arrangements to go Italian at Restaurante Il Teatro and try its seasonal menu, which had been designed by Chef Aldo - a Sicilian who has worked in Monte Carlo, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, Moscow and recently, as executive chef for the Mandarin Oriental, Jakarta.

Il Teatro and its modern Italian selections have become quickly the businessman’s favorite venue for lunch or dinner, when they choose Western cuisine over Asian. Perhaps this is because Il Teatro makes everything from scratch… panne, grissini, focaccia... homemade mascarpone….and, of course, the pastas.

Steve Wynn is known for his attention to detail. You see this clearly when guests are seated. Anyone carrying a purse or even laptop is offered a tiny side chair about half a meter in height to rest parcels and whatever you’d like to keep in sight or use during the meal. A nice touch, Steve!

Though both VIP private dining rooms were filled that evening and the place was almost completely full, I was able to have a special menu of six dishes selected by Chef Aldo, one dessert and what I like to call a “palate cleanser.” All of the dishes were paired with great wines selected for us by Attilio, the personality at the door. (The food and wine pairings were outstanding!)

We sipped a flute of Cuvee Brut from the Taltarni vineyard in Victoria, Australia with our first appetizer of red prawns carpaccio which the Japanese would call “ama ebi sashimi.” (Supposedly, the high acidity of the sparkingly wine breaks down any fat found in the prawns, which were extremely fresh and according to Chef Aldo, they were flown from Italy and were not from China or Thailand.) Normally, the menu offers scallops instead of prawns, so this was a twist, but it worked!

A well-presented goose liver escallop with Italian Deliziia apple and a 25 year-old balsamic sauce was next. I thought that it was not seared long enough to give the centre portion of the liver a warmer feel to it when it touches the tongue.

Next was what the Chef calls a “typical ancient soup” made from eggs and white truffles was next. I’m not usually crazy about soup, but this soup was special. It was very smooth and delicate, with a wonderful aroma and flavour.

Great tasting tiny ravioli with beef, truffle butter and parmesan cheese followed, and was quickly praised by both Paul and myself. It was exquisite with a glass of Simon Hackett Brightview Chardonnay from the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The wine had a melon and white peach aroma, with almost a creamy butterscotch taste.

Then, we were pleasantly interrrupted by a refreshing lemon & grappa sorbet shot with orange zest.

A glass of 2001 Chateau Rolan de By, Medoc was offered to compliment a the roasted piece of wagyu beef tenderloin with grilled fresh lobster medallion in a light truffle sauce that followed. As opposed to earlier, when the goose liver was undercooked to the centre, this very sought-after beef was overcooked just a touch, which seemed to disappoint Paul since he was so looking forward had so looked forward to it. (Tip: ask for the beef to be undercooked or even rare!)
The barramundi - again an import from Italy and not Australia - was served with the best porcini mushrooms I’ve had in a long time. Another glass of Brightview Chardonnay went well with it.

We finished up with a – you guessed it! – tiramisu with expresso and frangelico “homemade” mascarpone cream.

So what are you waiting for? Get yourself to Macau and I’m willing to bet that Il Teatro will “wynn” you over!