Maui: 3 Days, 3 Exquisite Meals

After a short hiatus, we're back on the food trail, this time 3 days, 3 exquisite meals in Maui!

Day 1 - Sarento's On The Beach

Picture the perfect beach.

Picture that same perfect beach with a red-stained sky and an orange ball of fire descending - on cue - into the blue ocean.

Now, insert that vision into a frame of softly blowing palm trees and you get Sarento's On The Beach in Kihei which was named after the owner's uncle, Sarento, and not the famed Italian city by the Mediterranean, Sorrento.

Sarento's million dollar sunset beach view makes the menu prices totally acceptable!

This will be your romantic dining experience of your visit to Maui . Food quality is good and maybe even very good for some dishes. The tender Kobe meatballs left us (we shared every dish!) craving for more when it disappeared in minutes! Our other two "fresh catch" dishes: Ahi Ahi and Mahi were equally satisfying after the Mahi was sent back for another minute on the grill. The only letdown was the Caiparinha which was below this Brazilian traveler's benchmark.

We found our sunset dinner table at Sarento's, now it's your turn! Ask for the beach view when you give the attentive, Michael Santa Maria, a call.

Spaghetti & Snake River Ranch

Kobe Meatballs Pomodoro Sauce & Pecorino Romano

Maui’s Fresh Catch – Mahi Mahi, Zuchinni Linguini, Herb Pesto Caponata, Served Medium Rare, Goat Cheese Gnocci, Triple Blanched Garlic Purée Puttcanesca Sauce.

Grilled Hawaiian Ahi

Day 2 - Da Kitchen Restaurant in Kahului

Da Kitchen is definitely "local, unique and fun" and not because it was on Andrew Zimmer's Bizarre Foods!

It has its own personality, separate from the typical Hawaiian drive-in or plate lunch takeout. Yet, it retains its local comfort food standard to attract NFL-sized clients everyday of the week (except Sundays as we found out!) who demand well seasoned dishes and American portions!

This haunt attracts even out-of-towners like Reggae band "Katchafire" & actor Jamie Foxx who's favorite dish is the Katsu Chicken which he is rumored to have ordered 3 nights in a row.

We found the "Kalbi Ribs" to be tasty and the unpretentious "Maui Fried Noodles" was a good surprise....the noodles are locally made & delivered by a Ma and Pa team from nearby Pa'ia.

I've already recommended - via my private email list - Da Kitchen to friends and fellow food bloggers who have rushed to the town of Kahului looking for Chef Les' signature creation "Deep Fried Spam Musubi" - did we say "spam?" - and a chance to meet up with the personable investment banker sounding or lawyer looking, Les, and his charming "personality at the door," Myriah Brown.

Fried Spam Musubi (pronounced MU-su-be)
Spam wrapped in seaweed,

panko battered, deep fried,

and drizzled in

homemade teriyaki sauce.

Kalbi Ribs

Misoyaki Butterfish (Black Cod)

with Shitake Mushrooms

Maui Fried Noodles

Fresh noodles from Pa'ia

Kalua Pig

with Lomi Salmon

Day 3 - Koiso Sushi

A special discovery highlighted by fellow food blogger, Bruce of Maui Angels, who helps people remember their wedding day in pictures when he's not eating or blogging.

Koiso is a decade old, cozy, husband and wife run Sushi parlor in Kihei known more to locals and those reading the Japanese-language tour guide books.

Koiso offers very high quality sushi and sashimi. Even though you don't get the quail egg with your uni sushi or the fried shrimp heads unless you ask. It's well worth the drive.

A fresh - and lighter than normal meal - was exactly what the "doctor" ordered before a long flight back to Narita Airport for us.

Try the "fresh today" whiteboard recommendations and you can't go wrong, but be sure to make a reservation in advance, seats are limited at the bar and the only table in the place! I did say "cosy!"

Top Right Clockwise:

Sweet Shrimp, Scallop,

Yellow Tail, Tuna,

Sea Urchin

Saigon "Pate Choud" in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

A DELICIOUS FIND IN A NEW BURB IN HO CHI MINH CITY

I can hear what my 12,000 readers are saying now.... what is he talking about?.....isn't Saigon the former name of what is now known worldwide as Ho Chi Minh City?

The word "Saigon" evokes a panache for life. The kind of life found in the city of Ho Chi Minh City. A city with a cultural legacy which any visitor must unravel before he (or she) can say that they really touched this city's soul. And, this goes to my 12,000 "travel to eat" blog readers, too!

Recently, I had the benefit of experiencing this city through the daily lives of two of its returning residents......Michel and Thieu, two mature Vietnamese - French residents who lived in Saigon, Paris, San Diego, D.C., Orange County and Tokyo over the years.

They are a tad older than me, but much richer in their philosophy of life....filled with optimism and generosity!

They took me to a neighborhood patisserie for some pate choud ("choud" means hot in French.)

The neighborhood in question - Phu My Hung - sprang to life practically overnight when a Taiwanese developer took up the challenge and turned marsh land into a booming suburb.

This patisserie is a venue created by a former pastry chef who worked for five years under the eye of a French chef in Ho Chi Minh City's famed Caravelle Hotel.

Pate choud - when made perfectly - is an exquisite, light, but flaky pastry puff about 4-5 cm in height with a small amount of minced pork inside.

Though there's a heavy French influence in Ho Chi Minh City, I had always thought that pate choud was a Vietnamese original, but Michel corrected me by underscoring that it's a French concoction!

Well, the one I ate (actually I had three!) was perfect in every way........flaky......light.......with a wonderfully fragrant portion of pork in its cavity!

Michel claims that this pate choud is the best in Ho Chi Minh City and equal to the best in Paris!
Well, I've never tried the ones in Paris, but I have had pate choud in San Francisco, San Diego and New York City....but, never as good as this!

If you want to give it a try - it only costs 10,000 dong each or 60 American cents.....you'll need to travel out to District 7, Phu My Hung and visit the Sky Garden on the main boulevard....unit SB11-2

It's called Le Fraisier.

They don't have tables, but they will set one up for you so you can "have your cake and eat it too".....so, to speak!

While you're there cross the big boulevard and take a tour of the "Beverly Hills" of Ho Chi Minh City.......lots of Korean BBQ restaurants.....a few new Japanese restaurants.....one very nice Chinese restaurant and, a popular low cost Vietnamese soup place called "Ong Gia Pho" at 83/10 Nam Long 1 - Ha Huy Tap

Give it all a try on your next trip to "Saigon!"

PART ONE: PROMISED LUXURY IN VIETNAM

To my 15,000 readers - from Ho Chi Minh City Airport

AN OASIS IN HO CHI MINH CITY - COMING SOON!

In an area just outside Ho Chi Minh City, An Phu, an oasis for expatriate professionals and international schools, there is a new spa and dining experience coming to market....it's called Dragon's Nest.

Owned by Philipp Hardegger and managed by Michael Kloster, Geoffrey Deetz, their F&B consultant and the same owner of Black Cat (see below) who gave me a ring to come by for a visit on their soft-opening day.

Feeling somewhat confident about spa cuisine and facilities since I had reviewed previously for TRAVEL & LEISURE Thailand's famous Chiva Som over a 3 day stay.....I quickly accepted the invitation and found my way there within hours.

Taking over an entire villa of about 6000 square feet, Dragon's Nest is nicely appointed with great design touches like Vietnamese made chandeliers and light shades. I've seen a lot of Vietnamese interior design in my time, but this was really beautiful stuff!

On soft-opening day, it was our luck to have the power cut off to those beautiful chandeliers, so most of Dragon's Nest offerings were on "hold."

Due to the power issue, I passed on the full spa treatment and luncheon. However, I did manage a freshly squeezed orange juice (only fresh fruit available that day) from an over zealous staff and a great massage by a well-trained professional named Hung.

Dragon's Nest promises to be the sanctuary which well-heeled residents and visitors will one day adore....a spa, restaurant, massage, chill out terrace, pool, bar (great reds from California which Michael helped me sample!), a gym and beauty, nail & yogo studios.

With Michael and Geoffrey involved, I had no qualms about giving away my discount vouchers to some of Ho Chi Minh City's most attractive working professionals.

Now, I'll wait for the grand opening and for the kinks to be worked out.....where I'll update you on the cuisine and the rest of the facilities and I'll review Vietnam's version of the Orient Express.....stay tuned to this blog in January!

PART TWO: THE BIG CHEESE COMES TO VIETNAM

Move over Big Mac......Whopper....here comes The Big Cheese!

I was searching for a friend of mine, Geoffrey Deetz, from the Bay Area who was consulting for a restaurant in Vietnam. I managed finally to track him down in Ho Chi Minh City.

Geoffrey, a very talented chef and brewmaster, now has his very own place called "Black Cat" (named by Geoffrey supposedly to offset all of the bad luck other restaurants have had in that very location at #13 Phan Van Dat in the city's famous District One.)

Besides being known for some delicious Vietnamese - American sandwiches (called Banh Mi in Vietnamese) and spring rolls, Black Cat has the distinction of serving, perhaps, the world's biggest - always on available - hamburger.

Measuring a kilo and a half in size, this burger called "The Big Cheese" is the biggest I've ever seen or tried. Costing about US$13 (again that lucky number!), it's made with lean Argentine beef and smothered with 4 slices of cheese, six slices of bacon, 3 tomatoes, one whole onion, a head of butter lettuce and one sliced pickle. All of this sits nicely on a custom-made sesame seed bun.

I liked it and I liked it even more when I was told the pickle and the ketchup was homemade!

(My only disappointments were the service staff and the french fries which could not have been homemade!)

The back walls of Black Cat are adorned with those who came, ate and survived The Big Cheese.

According to Geoffrey, "The Big Cheese was created for the expatriate businessmen in the region who were hungry for a good burger"......after this burger, Geoffrey is sure they wouldn't want to see another burger for a month!

If The Big Cheese is not quite what you want, Black Cat offers a number of Vietnamese style curries and a unusual Mexican Fried Rice as well as some soups and salads.

Be sure to call (08-829-2055) Black Cat to get directions and before the world descends on them since they were listed by CNN.com to be amongst the ten top restaurants to eat in the world!

So, what are you waiting for?

NEW YORK - SINGAPORE - MACAU PLUS FIVE MORE CITIES IN THIRTY DAYS

It all began with a big craving for some New York City fun food......so, I found a ticket on United (big mistake!) and took off for JFK Airport......

I started with a stop near my old office on Park Avenue in the 50's.....

Who would ever think that some boiled cabbage in vinegar (saurkraut) and mustard on a foot long kosher sausage on a sesame seed roll (we call them hot dogs!) would taste so good! It filled the spot for a few hours as I walked through the galleries at the new Museum of Modern Art.

Then, as the magic hour approached and the rush hour crowds were beginning to thin, I decided to go just slightly upscale to Monster Sushi in the 40's near Broadway.....my usual sushi chefs whom I've been patronizing since I was with CNBC were all there.....all 5 of them!

So, out came the fresh maguro, hamachi, amaebi and uni....my ultimate favorites and I wasn't disappointed in the least! Don't miss this place!

Next day, I met some nice folks from Greenwich, Connecticut in line with me for "1/2 price tix"......after getting my tix for the evening Broadway musical, I agreed to introduce them to the Brasserie to try its famous french onion soup with its trademark half inch thick crust of gruyere chesse baked on top, served with a half baguette and a glass of wine. Who said New York was expensive? It was only $15. A perfect ending at midnight to a Broadway day!

After a stop for some John's Pizza on the way to the airport for my night flight, I flew to San Francisco, Berkeley & Los Angeles for what I thought would be two weeks of reunions and great meals .......don't miss Bui on Solano Avenue in Berkeley for some fine Vietnamese cuisine or Yank Sing in Rincon Annex in San Francisco for that great dim sum experience!

Then, after receiving a few urgent emails, I bought a brand new ticket back and returned to Singapore to work on some arrangements for a shoot in China.....

I was back in San Francisco (and Napa) for more reunions and wine outings a week and a half later.........

Then, I flew off to Honolulu, where I joined my older brother and his side of the family as we said goodbye to my niece, Jenny K, the actress in the family, as she flew off to see her new family in Sao Paulo.....

Doesn't anyone stay in one place anymore?

While in Honolulu, I stopped by Roy Yamaguichi's original "Roy's"......a bit disappointing as my Hawaiian relatives had warned....

.....Then, off to the Big Island of Hawaii for a second reunion (first one was in Mountain View a few weeks earlier) with CJ and her husband over pizza and wine at a local haunt called Cafe Pesto. With an the invitation from the new day manager of the Hilton Waikoloa, I revisited this resort which I would highly recommend for those who are looking to relax and slow down.........complete with monorail and boats which can take you to your wing and room....and, a path filled with Asian art which will make you forget that it takes 15 minutes to walk from your wing to the main lobby.

Within days, I was back again in Singapore for a night - without my luggage from United - and, off the next day (on SQ) to Hong Kong and Macau for a shoot with the National Geographic Channel......

On the first nite, we treated the crew to some great pizza at a little known place in Macau's Fisherman's Wharf called San Lorenzo.....order the long rectangular pizza which is the house signature dish with some Portugese red wine. It's a full meal!

And, on another evening, we had some fine dining at Macau's Military Club which is a throwback to the colonial era and open to the public now.

These are the two musts for those who are going to Macau! Enjoy!

(see archive blog articles for some fine dining tips in Hong Kong and Macau)

I stopped traveling a few days ago.......exhausted.

My next trip is back to Hawaii to meet the chef sensation, Olelo Pa'a (Faith Ogawa).

SINGAPORE NIGHTLIFE FOR A SATURDAY - THREE TIPS

People Make It Fun!

I was back in town last Saturday night and lucky enough to attend another gourmet club outing by my friend, Mong Lin. It was the second outing that I've been able to attend.

15 hungry guests were waiting to start dinner at the "Codfish Village."

Cheryl, the Miss Earth Singapore event organiser, was there with her husband, Tom. Helen and Greg and their 3 friends from the Marina Bay Sands were also there. Thomas and his attractive partner, who are restauranteurs and regulars with the gourmet club were there, too.

Sally, a Hainanese (like Mong Lin and myself), who played a nurse in one of my tvc's and who just returned from a cross country drive in China was there with her boyfriend, Aneace.

Anthonia, a top private banker, and another nice Hainanese guy called Tun were also there to enjoy an evening at the hawker's.

You couldn't ask for a better looking group. I was guest number 16 and I was an embarrassing 30 minutes late (well, not everyone's perfect!)

The group was a great "going out to eat" crowd. There were lots of spontaneous laughter and even a few interesting remarks about male fantasies.

We even talked about traveling together to Hokkaido for skiing, Egypt for a birthday and Brazil for Carnivale!

I'm sure that the bottle of Swiss schnapps with gold flakes for aperitifs which I brought with me wasn't even needed, but it did seem that the laughter became more robust after a series of shots were downed by the guys and some gals!

Codfish Medley

"Codfish Village" located in Toa Payoh, Block 83 Lorong 2, was already famous before we made it our dinner stop. Several articles from the leading magazines and newspapers were posted around the restaurant praising it's repetoire of dishes.

These dishes included: curry fish head - which most of us loved, but stayed away from eating the eye and eye socket; baked fish head with cheese (who said Asians don't like cheese?) ; steam fish fillet with olives; salted egg (called "ham tan" in Cantonese) scented fish slices and crispy codfish tofu.

The chef only steered away once from the "all codfish" medley to serve a dish of stirred fried venison. It was worth the diversion - it was delicious!

The service for this hawker restaurant was really quite good.....they even washed our shot glasses so we could have a few shots of another bottle which I brought along for the ladies, "Godiva Liqueur." The ladies - and some of the guys - loved the Godiva!

So, put on your jeans, get a group of friends together and head over to Toa Payoh this weekend!


Tip Two: Xi Yan

All dressed up and no place to go? Well, up above I mentioned Thomas, the restauranteur....

My first gourmet outing which I attended with Mong Lin was actually at Thomas' place, "Xi Yan" on Craig Street.

It has no visible signboard from the street and reservations are needed for the fixed-priced menu. The restaurant originated in Hong Kong - my favorite place for good dining - and has been booked solid for a long time now.

Be sure to call ahead to check on the menu of the day and consider yourself lucky if they have the Japanese tomatoes on the menu!

Groups only are accepted....


Tip Three: Carnivore at Vivo City

Brazilan restaurants are known for their atmosphere, "all you can eat" roast meats and secret sauces, great salad bars and freshly-made caiparinhas!

I pulled a group of friends together for a casual lunch a few weeks ago at the newly opened Carinvore at Vivo City beginning with the Brazilian ambassador, to the charming owners, to some friends from BBC, AXN, Mediacorp and the Film Fest. Though it was just a weekday lunch, the lunch stretched to some 3 hours! The caiparinhas definitely helped us forget the time!

Now, if we had gone here on a Friday, Saturday night or even Sunday (Brazilians love feijoida on Sundays!) , when the place has live music, I'm sure that we would have had an even better time! Music is what the Brazilians live for!

Don't wait for next year's Carnivale, bring a crowd to this place now!


What to Do after Dinner on Saturday Night

Still raring to go? After Codfish Village, the gourmet group headed off to Clarke Quay and Attica....but, I would suggest:

1. Drinks and music at the piano bar on the top floor of the Swissotel
2. Champagne at Shangri-la's Blu
3. Intercontinental Hotel lobby for jazz
4. La Hacienda on Dempsey Road

Have fun on Saturday in Singapore!

Hong Kong Restaurants: Azure Restaurant Slash Bar, Hotel LKF, Hong Kong - Go There with Friends

Published in The Peak Magazine, Asia Edition, April 2007

I will always be in love with Hong Kong.

If New York is the “city that never sleeps,” then Hong Kong is the “city that never stops”... never stops growing, never stops changing, never stops entertaining!

I know. I lived there for eight years.
I still miss the one o’clock power lunches where harden deal makers conduct religiously their due diligence.
And, I miss the old fashioned hotel cigar stewards (usually female) who would dip my Cohiba into an aged cognac before handing it to me with a perfectly symmetrical five millimeter burn.

I learned about Azure Restaurant Slash Bar from my FF fraternity brother, Paul. Like all brothers, Paul is a bon vivant.

In his pitch to me, he cautioned me that only “those on the list could get in.” That was all I needed to hear! I decided immediately to check it out after Paul arranged for the owner to put me on the list.

My dinner reservation at Azure was on a Thursday night. The place was bustling.

Hip touches like the Azure's resident DJ (who spun tracks throughout my 3 hour long dinner) are indications that Azure is clearly the place to be. Nearly every table was filled by 9pm with Hong Kong’s rich and powerful and young.

I didn’t bother with the wine list and instead challenged Alex, the restaurant manager, by asking him to bring me the house wine. Alex gave us a few glasses of a full-body Shiraz from Sonoma’s famed Geyser's Peak Winery. It was a great red!

My Hong Kong dinner partner, Robert, a media mogul, liked his vegetarian tempura made from zucchini flour and stuffed with nicoise, pesto and smoked ricotta. I preferred my appetizer of tuna tartar with crab meat and basil and rocket leaves and salmon caviar.

We had a cold weather dish called cauliflower cream soup flavoured with white truffle oil and wild mushroom fricasse. It was a double success as both of us consumed our bowls in record time! (The main menu carries a carrot and coriander soup which my soup-loving friends swear by.)

One of our entrees was roast garupa with what Chef Cedric Alexandra calls a “virgin sauce” and linguini in saffron and roasted asparagus. I never did find out why it was called a “virgin sauce,” but I liked the saffron sauce better anyway.

That next entree was the grilled veal medallion with a mushroom Marsala cream sauce and sauteed radicchio. I thought it was better than the garupa. (I’ve heard a lot about the Boston lobster dishes… one on a papaya salad and the other with cannelloni and parmesan….....all of which I plan to try on my next visit!)

At dessert time, Nancy, a high powered talent agent, joined us as we were presented with a beautiful looking plate consisting of a chocolate cake in the shape of a Egyptian pyramid filled with molten chocolate and some banana caramel ice cream and brandy snaps on the side. This dish was made for chocolate lovers – which, surprisingly, I am not – so I eyed with envy the red berry millefeuille with ginger chibouste cream on the regular menu without ever taking any action.

In the best of Hong Kong tradition, the evening ended with us talking deals and nursing a few more glasses of the Geyser Peak Shiraz.

Azure Restaurant Slash Bar is well worth a quick trip to Hong Kong. Azure’s cool look, cool food and cool people make the place a cool hot spot not to be missed.

If you need to get on the list, just let me know when you're planning to go and I'll see what I can do.

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!

Macau Restarants: Robuchon A Galera, Lisboa Hotel and Casino, Macau. - A Real Classic!

Original Version Published in The Peak Magzine, Asia Edition, March, 2007

While on a shoot with Hong Kong actress Karen Mok for Discovey Channel’s VIP Weekend, I overheard some friends bragging about what they described as “unbelievably great food.” Like a pedigree golden retriever when food is mentioned, my ears perked up immediately. What was it? Where was it?

I expected to hear about an inventive Japanese place or a cool Roman café. I didn’t expect my inside tip to be a classical French restaurant.

Were my Hong Kong Chinese friends lost in some kind of epicurean time warp? With French restaurants closing everywhere from New York to San Francisco to Hong Kong. I thought French was “out” and almost everything else “in”

Putting aside my initial pre-conceptions on the future of French cuisine, it’s rich wine sauces and heavier meat entrees, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this particular establishment was opened by the celebrity chef, Joel Robuchon.

The next surprise was that the Robuchon A Galera wasn’t even in Hong Kong, it was across the way in Macau!

Luckily, I had scheduled a visit to Macau to begin some research on the influx of Las Vegas casinos in the former Portugese enclave. I was already in a “pamper me” kind of mood and with another colleague, we were desperately looking for Macau’s culinary soul.

Joel Robuchon was a “kitchen god” to his fans and the industry in the 1980’s and 1990’s. He was a successful chef, popular international cookbook author and emerging French tv food personality.
He won his first Michelin rating in 1984 at the age of 38 when, after only two years, his first Parisian venture was given three stars making Joel Robuchon the youngest three star chef in Michelin history!
Joel Robuchon’s culinary trademark was to make masterpieces from basic - sometimes mundane - ingredients. His philosophy was simple: respect the original flavor. He is known as the creator of such admired signature dishes that they are now duplicated widely by many of the very best restaurants in the world. Dishes like: gellee of lobster with caviar in cauliflower cream; black truflle tart and potato puree…….you really can’t get more mundane than cauliflower or potato, now can you?

I was surprised – again - to find out that Chef Robuchon located his restaurant in Stanley Ho’s Lisboa Hotel and Casino.

If you’re not careful it’s easy to fill up nicely on wine and the mini-French and specialty breads overflowing on the bread trolley. I counted at least 11 different breads and breadsticks on offer that evening. We were careful, but it wasn’t easy to control ourselves!

The restaurant offers two dinner menus. A “Degustation” menu of 16 items for HK$1600 per person for those who want it all and an a la carte menu. We decided to all go a la carte. We thought it would be more fun. We were right!

A devout fan of all styles of goose liver anywhere, anytime, I started with an order of the warm goose foie gras on egg plant with caviar and my guest had the signature millefeuille of tomato and crab meat. Feeling adventurous, we also had to try the fried pigeon eggs with caviar and salmon.
In a very non-French way, we shared all the dishes and I can say that all three appetizers were delicious.

I was craving the rack of lamb….and my colleague had the lobster. The lamb racks were made - the way I like them - medium rare. I dabbed them into some great Dijon mustard for that classic touch. It really did melt in my mouth.
I would order the lobster on ravioli skin made from turnips, flavoured lightly with nutmeg, rosemary and a tangy sauce again anytime!It was terrific!

And, then of course, there were cheeses and desserts in typical, classical French fashion and, again, served all on a trolleys. I think we tried all of them! There were more than a dozen!

Without a doubt in my mind, Robuchon A Galera was the best restaurant find in Macau to date. I definitely plan to go back!