Macau Day 1 - Lunch

We had just touched down and checked into our rooms. Food on the budget airline left much to be desired and we were starving. Without wasting a further second, we went quickly out to the main lobby in search of good Cantonese cuisine.

Thankfully, our search was short. Just along the West Lobby of the hotel was Neptune Restaurant which specialised in roasted meats.

Our first dish was the restaurant's speciality - Sio Bak. Normally, I wouldn't touch this dish with a ten-foot pole. The Sio Bak I had a long time ago in Singapore was oily, gamey and worst of all, had layers of fat that just squished around my mouth. But this dish completely turned my perception around. The piping hot meat slices was firm and the thin marbled layers of fat just melted away with every bite, providing added juciness to the dish. Best of all was the thin crispy layer of fat at the ends,

Our next order was roast duck. The meat was tender and fragrant and the duck was delicious.

This Fish Skin was a fairly odd dish. I expected something crispy but instead a cold, jellyfish like tasting dish arrived. I actually felt slightly icky taking the first bite, expected the plastic taste of scales. Instead (thankfully), I bit into a chewy, well-seasoned slice which grew more addictive with every mouthful. The tangy ginger and spring onion slices complemented the fish well.

This was a hot favourite. The shrimps were spicy and crispy and were highly addictive, somewhat resembling airy keropok.

I didn't quite like the egg dish. While it was tasty, what turned me off were the crushed peanuts that were sprinkled liberally over the eggs.

To round up the meal, we ordered several bowls of tasty porridge - Chicken, Pork and Fish.

A tasty meal, but an extremely expensive one. Total bill for 11 pax came up to almost S$300. When I staggered out of the restaurant, it was due more to the pain of an unexpectedly expensive lunch rather than the heaviness of the tummy.

Old Neptune Restaurant
The Venetian
Macau