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Vacation and dine with style at Grand Hyatt Macau If you're heading for Macau for gaming fun or a food safari, you might want to ensconce yourself in the posh Grand Hyatt Hotel, sister property of Crown Tower Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel in the magnificent City of Dreams Casino in Cotai. Well-selected ducks prized for their thick fatty skin and expert roasting reward fans with a superb rendition of this Beijing signature. mezza9 Macau
Offering spacious luxury accommodation, from grand deluxe rooms to grand king suites, the hotel, which opened last year, is well-known very quickly among foodies and regular visitors for its gourmet restaurants.
Beijing Kitchen Restaurant
Modelled after the famous Made-In-China restaurant in Grand Hyatt Beijing, it churns out one of the best or possibly the best Peking Duck I've tasted.
Here, fat is not a bad word, to me at least.
The extra-crispy skin of good thickness relished with a lip-smacking sweet bean sauce and wrapped in super-thin pancakes sent us to Peking Duck heaven just after a few bites. It was truly moreish and sublime - you can't help but have countless helpings.
Apart from pieces of plain skin, the restaurant also served us duck pieces with skin and meat. But these were also good - the meat was succulent and tasty.
You wonder whether the hotel or its casino owner had paid the team of Beijing chefs top dollar to move over to the Cotai strip. And they even installed wood-fired China ovens for the roasting operation, like how it's been done in Beijing.
What emerged were perfectly bronzed birds, deeply roasted till the fat under the skin merged with it to form a decadent crispy skin of indulgent thickness.
The pancakes - or rather, crepes - were also amazing - the thinnest I've seen for Peking Duck feasts. It's a good update of the thick traditional pancakes, the former did not overwhelm the skin, but let us enjoy more of it.
Before you attack your grand Peking Duck feast, tuck into a slew of appetisers and specialties from the capital, from marinated jellyfish and cold noodles to chicken shreds in a sesame sauce.
For some carbs to fill you up if you still have room after the duck, try the Shanghai la-mian, made fresh on the spot in a show kitchen. Or the 'knife-shaven' noodles.
You'll feel quite comfy in this modern but elegant dark-wood restaurant that manages to exude the quaint warmth of a tea house.
Rating for Peking Duck: 9/10
Rating for other dishes: 7/10
See dishes of Beijing Kitchen
For sophisticated dining with plenty of delicious options, the mezza9 is a must visit for the international visitor. Like Beijing Kitchen, the sprawling eatery has upped the ante in gastronomy scene in Macau.
Expanding on the award-winning concept of the first mezza9 - at Singapore's Grand Hyatt, it offers 9 cuisine stations that display lavishly temptations from land and sea in between dining areas.
Be assaulted by cooking sounds, aromas of food being cooked and the vibrant display of colourful produce and condiments as you poke around the stations for Macanese food, the grill, the sushi and sashimi bar, the wok, the steam basket, the deli, the patisserie, the cellar and bar.
As you explore the different sections, vibrant fruit and veggies compete with seafood like live lobsters and premium meats for your attention.
Some recommendations: giant tomahawk steaks - choose from Wagyu or US Prime, sashimi, seafood platter, grilled seafood like lobsters, steamed live fish, Macanese cuisine and a symphony of desserts to bring your feast to a spectacular close.
The grandiose Baileys Chocolate Souffle, a huge fluffy puff of eggy and boozy delight should be presented on a pedestal.
mmeza9 is definitely a happening dining destination in Macau's gambling strip. Ideal for dinner or Sunday brunch with family, friends or business associates.
You'll feel quite exclusive...and safe here - away from the madding crowds at the popular casino areas.
Rating for steaks: 7.5/10
Rating for other dishes: 7/10
See dishes of mezza9 Macau
Beijing Kitchen
mezza9
Grand Hyatt Macau
City of Dreams
Estrada do Istmo, Macau
www.macau.grand.hyatt.com
