Thursday, January 14, 2010

Robuchon a Galera

Happy 2010 everyone! Hope this new year brings you all that you desire! I wished for a new Red bike but, instead, a lunch at Asia's 3rd best restaurant will do me just fine. Robuchon a Galera is Macau's only three Michelin-starred restaurant and is located at one of the old-time establishment's in town, Hotel Lisboa. And you thought Michelin only produced tyres! The Michelin brothers actually first introduced the guide to help drivers find lodging and a decent meal on their travels.


Now, the Michelin guide is a must for any gastronome in their search for the perfect meal. A three-star rating is very rare and according to my friend, Wiki, there are only 81 three-starred restaurants in the world. Galera is richly appointed, sumptuous blue and gold carpets in a traditional setting.



The French menu ranges from the $2288HKD ($300AUD) 12-course degustation menu to the $398HKD ($55AUD) Executive lunch. The winelist resembles an over-sized phonebook - big enough to fill the 6100 different wines on offer (the biggest winelist in Asia). We opted for the four-course lunch plus the sommelier selection of two wines to match our meals.

Jon's entree - caviar on salmon tartar with shiso sprouts and melba toast.... (what the hell is a shiso sprout?)


My entree - Lightly smoked foie gras shaved on vegetable pot au feu with horseradish...mmmm..foie gras.


Our soup selection - Jerusalem artichoke veloute served with shredded duck confit and black truffle....amazing depth in flavours and crunchy duck bits!


Jon and Erick's main course - Pan-fried Kurobuta pork loin, fricassee of artichoke and capers with peanuts and verjuiced jus... Kurobuta pork is supposedly the tastiest pork in the world from the Berkshire pig.


My main course - Jugged wagyu beef cheek in ravioli with green asparagus...super tender beef.


We also had a selection from the dessert trolley -







And by that time, we were rolling out of our seats. It was an amazing experience and we left relatively intact - about $850HKD a head including our wines and coffees. Not the kind of food you could eat on a daily basis unless you want to end up looking like a Berkshire pig but certainly worth the visit if you are in Macau.

Our very esteemed friend, Mr Jonathan Buchanan, paid us a recent visit at Casa de Nova City and we hopped over the border to Zhuhai.


We also spotted another West Aussie on the streets of Zhuhai.... clothing store Jeanswest. They are now supposedly fully Chinese owned and have been since the late 90's.



And of course, the infamous shopping pit....


And today is the day all us Zaians have waited for - we finally find out the fate of our show. It's no secret that our show has had problems from day dot; shoddy build, uncooperative partner, puzzling audience, reduced Mainland visa's, etc. We'll all know in a few hours!