Thursday, October 18, 2007 Savoring Macanese cuisine By Dorothy Bangayan The unlonely planet
MACANESE cuisine is a marriage between a Portuguese father and a Chinese mother.
From this household, a lovely array of dishes were fried, boiled, baked, andgrilled for serving to the children of Macau with love and ingredients spanning from east to west.
My first encounter with a genuine Macanese meal was at the O Porto Interior Restaurante at the Rua do Almirante. We dined under a row of antique birdcages, parallel to fading photographs.
I distinctly remember the beef ribs. Slightly tough yet basted in a savory sauce, the faint hint of fat and charcoal passing through like a forbidden ghost. The Portuguese chicken swims in a bowl of curry with bits of oily chorizo bilbao, sliced tomato, and onions.
For desert, I was enthralled by Serradura. Literally translated as sawdust, this pudding is a melange of cream and biscuit pounded into the fine texture of dust.
Served in a shallow flat bowl and topped with kiwi and orange slices. I scooped up a swath of creamy goodness. It was simple yet there was something that brought me back to our old house in Davao, summers spent playing with cousins.
Odd since I never had this before. As I delved further into the recipe, I found that it contains Nestle and condensed milk and biscuits, all ingredients of childhood past. The memories washed off by the heady sweetness of port wine.
In A Lorcha, a cozy Portuguese restaurant, we munched on crisp golden balls of mashed potato and shredded fish deep-fried in oil.
For our second dish, a mountain of pale mussels steamed in their own juice. We sopped up the thin broth with hunks of bread as if to capture the cloying scent of white wine, cilantro, and garlic.
Humongous prawns were grilled in butter and drowned in a downpour of garlic. I find the oxtail the best, a vision of dark meat in rich sauce voluntarily falling off the bones, a teasing debate between our local bulalo and kaldereta.
O Manel is a restaurant run by Manuel Cozinha Portuguesa and his Chinese wife along with their Filipino cook. Our host, Alorino of the Macau Government Tourist Office, describes it as a "small place, no service but very good food... authentic Portuguese."
One must try the sardines. Shipped frozen from Portugal, they are grilled whole, its shiny skin crackly with an uneven saltiness -- the kind that will make you lick your fingers to find more. And beneath the crusty exterior is the tender white flesh that becomes a plump and juicy morsel inside your mouth.
For desert, Manuel is famous for his baked apple. The comforting scent of cinnamon wafting from the warm syrup is contrasted by the flat base of cool ice cream, a temptation no Adam can resist.
For our last meal, we feasted at the Restaurante Litoral. The room was crowded to the brim, the clanking of cutlery and the screeching of chairs drowned by the noisy chattering. Our hosts advised us to call in advance because this restaurant is often fully booked.
Their African chicken is a dark orange commotion of African and Asian spices that releases a whirlwind of coconut, piri piri, paprika, peanut, garlic and a slight hint of chili. This recipe of gleaming grains of rice coated in tomato spattered with olives, chorizo, fresh shrimps and bell peppers is known as Portuguese rice.
But really, it is an influence of the Chinese fried rice. And as I bid my last goodbye, I dug deep into my last cup of Serradura, dreaming of coming back here again. (E-mail the author at wandergirl28@yahoo.com.ph.)
Here's a recipe for Serradura, first published in "Celebration City, Macau" magazine, Vol 2 No. 4. Copyright Liz Thomas and Imagination Macau. Recipe provided by Restaurante A Lorcha, Macau.
Serradura
6 x 175 g tins of Nestle cream
1 x 400 g can of condensed milk
Per serving -- 1 finely crushed plain biscuit (Graham crackers or Marie biscuit)
Directions:
Empty all cans into a bowl and beat with a wire whisk or electric mixer till they are completely combined. You should have a very thick creamy mixture.
Blast the biscuits in a blender or crush with a rolling pin.
Spoon the cream into individual bowls and sprinkle the biscuit crumbs ("sawdust") on top.
Refrigerate
Serves 6 - 8 people
Restaurants:
Alorcha: Rua do Almirante serigo Macau tel. no. 28313193
O-Manel: Rua de Femao mendes Pinto Taipa Macau tel. no. 28827571
O Porto Interior Restaurante: Rua do Almirante Sergio tel. no. 28967770
Restaurante Litoral: Rua do Almirante Sergio tel. no. 2896 7878
