Thursday, December 24, 2009

Macau Day 2 (Dinner @ A Lorcha)

After the heavy seafood lunch in Wanchai, we continued with our shopping. By late afternoon, we were game for a good Portuguese meal. Restaurante A Lorcha was purportedly the best Portuguese Restaurant in Macau. It was also the most crowded, according to many guide books. Hence, after a quick wash up, we took a cab to the eatery.

It's a small, quaint restaurant nestled within a row of shophouses. White-washed walls and low arches greeted us when we entered.. As for the food, I felt that though it was good, it wasn't great. Having read so many positive reviews of this restaurant, perhaps my expectations were a tad too high. Or maybe my Singaporean sambal-numbed palate was just not used to the mild taste of the dishes.

One popular Portuguese started is the stir-fried clams which came steep in it's own juices. It was slightly salty but went well with the crusty warm loaves.



The seafood risotto was a hot favourite. It was cooked in a rich seafood broth, together with mussels, prawns and chunks of crab,



We ordered 2 types of chicken dishes, a Per-Peri Chicken for the adults and plain grilled chicken for the kids. The grilled chicken was a tad too dry and the Peri-Peri Chicken came with a mild tomato-based dressing. I was hoping for something as zingy as Nandos' so Peri-Peri sauce was quite a let-down.






The Codfish was truely an acquired taste despite it being a 'must try' dish in many reviews. I took one big bite that realised that the fish was preserved. It was extremely salty and had an almost chewy texture. I decided that one bite was more then enough.



FT wasn't feeling too good so she ordered a familiar staple - Spaghetti Bolognese. Although it was meant for FT, it looked and tasted so good that we all took a serving. The secret behind this delicious pasta was that the entire dish was baked in a wood-fired oven, giving a moistness and intensity that you won't find over a gravy-ladled spaghetti.



The verdict? Good but not great. There's a underlying uniformity in taste that left me 'jelak' after a few dishes. Perhaps I'll pop down to another famous restaurant 'Litoral' just down the street during my next trio to Macau.

Restaurante A Lorcha
289 Rua do Almirante Sergio

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