Macau Michelin tour 2016: anything but Cantonese

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We’re on a mission this weekend. The Great One is writing some articles about restaurants in Macau with Michelin stars, so I helped her organize a “hard-core” eating trip to the city – with 5 meals at starred restaurants in 2½ days. And since we were hitting mostly Chinese restaurants, I even rounded up a couple of extra mouths so that we could sample a wider variety of dishes.

First stop was Golden Flower (京花軒) at the Wynn Macau tonight. Because we were starting dinner a little late, I thought it would be better to order our dishes as soon as we arrived at the restaurant. So I browsed through the restaurant’s menu online, narrowed down to a shortlist, and worked out the final choices with the Great One on the ferry ride – while trying to ensure that we get a decent sampling of the three non-Cantonese cuisines offered by the restaurant.

After sipping on the very fragrant welcome tea, we were presented with an amuse bouche of marinated cucumber with shredded spring onions the raspberry pearls. The sesame oil was very fragrant, and the spring onions were dipped in spicy chili oil, while popping the raspberry pearls released a little bit of sweetness to temper the heat.

Macau tour 2014: nibbling at Golden Flower

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My last dinner on this short trip to Macau took place at Golden Flower (京花軒) in the Wynn Macau.  The QLI boys had checked into their rooms at the Wynn, and we were shown to the restaurant by the hotel's PR.  Golden Flower showcases a mixture of Tan (譚家菜), Shandong, and Sichuan cuisines, and honestly I have never had any experience with Tan cuisine - given its relatively short history (just over 100 years) and the fact that it is hardly ever found outside Beijing.  Given that the Rubberman has decided to give this place two macarons, I was naturally curious to see what the hubbub was all about.

We started with a cup of flower tea, which was a blend of chrysanthemum, osmanthus, magnolia and Oolong.  Served traditionally with the smelling cup (聞香杯) and tasting cup (品茗杯) combination.  Very light and elegant, naturally.

The amuse bouche was a poached abalone with oyster sauce.  The flavors were rich but not too heavy.