wanderlust: the 8 restaurant, macau

I love dimsum. I love the mayhem of it: the little Chinese ladies pushing around metal carts loaded with dumpling- and bun-filled bamboo steamers; the aggressive and usually elderly women who accost the pushcarts before they even reach their tables to ensure they grab the best stuff first; and the way the pushcart ladies shove those steaming parcels under your nose, demanding you decide right now whether you want this or not. It is pure heaven for me to spend a weekend afternoon surrounded by this madness because it means I get to eat one succulent dumpling after another until I am dizzy from sheer gluttony.

The Eight Restaurant at the Grand Lisboa in Macau is quite different from the dimsum experience I'm accustomed to. For one thing, this Cantonese/Huaiyang cuisine-focused restaurant boasts of not just one but two Michelin stars. It is housed in one of the most over-the-top and opulent casinos in Macau, with sleek and modern interiors by famed Hong Kong designer Alan Chan. No little ladies with pushcarts here—but over 50 types of dimsum are, in fact, served in these luxe digs during lunch.

The restaurant takes its name from the number considered most auspicious by the Chinese because it sounds like the word which means "to generate wealth." The Chinese consider the number 8 so lucky, in fact, that they started the Beijing Olympics at exactly 8 seconds and 8 minutes past 8PM on August 8, 2008. So it's no surprise that a casino such as Grand Lisboa would pick this lucky number as the name of its most heralded restaurant.

My in-the-know friend Tamara picked this place when I told her I wanted to eat really good Cantonese fare. We came to 8 Restaurant right after swan-diving off the Macau Tower so the first order of business was getting some celebratory drinks. I was stunned when they brought us the wine list.

I was so intimidated by that list that I choked and ordered a beer instead! Next order of business was to get some food inside our grumbling bellies. We quickly devoured the standard dimsum favorites we ordered, like steamed shrimp dumplings and siu mai:

We had some spring rolls, which are always delicious ...

... these spring and summer rolls were phenomenal. Our server recommended this and it totally blew us away. Basically, they've taken a crisp fried spring roll and enveloped it in a layer of soft rice flour wrapper. The wonderful textures just take this roll to a whole other level of deliciousness. I would jump off another tower just to have one right now.

After the dim sum, we got down to serious heart-palpitating business. We had roasted goose, which I was really excited about. Roasted goose is a dish I associate with vacations to Hong Kong because my family and I used to bring an entire roasted goose back to the Philippines every time we took a trip to Hong Kong. We love it that much and this one lived up to my expectations.

Because we do love us some pork, we had to have barbecued suckling pig. I love the perfectly crisp skin, which is attached to the tender meat by a very thin layer of fat. It is served with these cute little rice cakes at 8 Restaurant.

Finally, there was some pigeon, which had been poached in homemade soya sauce. Tender and delicious, albeit freaky for Westerners, I can imagine.

Michele and Tamara were generous enough to treat us for lunch so I don't quite know how much our meal cost, but according to Tamara she was surprised at how reasonable the prices were considering the restaurant's 2-Michelin star status. So if you find yourself in Macau jonesing for some solid Chinese food, definitely pay 8 Restaurant a visit. The food is excellent and the decor jaw-dropping—no pushy ladies but an experience to remember, nevertheless.

The 8 Restaurant is located at the second floor of the Grand Lisboa. Phone (853) 8803 7788 or visit the website for reservations.

wanderlust: jazz brunch at commander's palace

On a beautiful Sunday morning in New Orleans, we piled into a street car on St. Charles Street and headed into the Garden District for a jazz brunch at Commander's Palace. This New Orleans institution has been tickling the palates of gourmands as far back as 1880. In its early years, it catered to the distinguished families of the neighborhood. Briefly in the 1920s, its private second-level dining room became a place for riverboat captains and "sporting gentlemen" to rendezvous with women while the lower level maintained a respectable veneer to cater to families. Today, it is one of New Orleans' most highly regarded establishments, serving up Creole and American cuisine.

We sat at an indoor patio flooded with light and music, and festooned with the festive balloons that have somehow become essential to this jazz brunch experience. We started with some delicious cocktails: a Bloody Mary for Ben and Milk Punch spiked with bourbon for Melissa and I. The brunch menu has an extensive list of entrees that come with your choice of an appetizer and dessert for prices ranging between $29-39. So pigging out is not optional.

The best appetizer on the table was Phil's hen's egg carbonara, which had a delicious poached egg cradled atop a bed of creamy handmade linguini, Louisiana soy beans and large hunks of bacon. Amazing.

John's appetizer came in a close second: Shrimp and Tasso Henican, a plate of wild Louisiana white shrimp stuffed with spicy Cajun ham, drizzled with Crystal hot sauce beurre blanc, and served with pickled okra and five pepper jelly. This dish just screamed with flavor.

I couldn't pass up the chance to order something strange and traditional, so I went with the classic Commander's turtle soup finished tableside with a splash of sherry. John thought it tasted just like the pork and beans you get out of the can in the Philippines. Fair assessment. I thought it was hearty and full of flavor, but nowhere near as good as the other appetizers on the table.

My entree, however, certainly lived up to my expectations. I ordered shrimp 'n grits, which was everything I expected in Southern brunch fare. The shrimps were well seasoned with a bit of heat, plump and just delicious. The cracked corn-jalapeño grits coupled with the Hennessy cognac and roasted mushroom sauce was sinfully rich and a smidgen heavy but that's just what I expect from Southern cooking.

I only took a tiny bites of the other entrees as I had way more than enough food to deal with but everything was delicious. John had pecan-crusted gulf fish with champagne-poached jumbo lump crab, spiced pecans and crushed corn sauce.

Phil ordered Southern fried chicken dish topped with yet another egg. In a word: YUM. He definitely had all the best orders for the day.

We were rapidly descending into a food coma by the time they took our entree plates off the table but there was still a dessert course to come. We ordered chicory-spiked coffee to jostle us out of our gluttonous stupor (and because coffee makes dessert all that yummier). I wish I had an extra stomach for dessert because Commander's Palace definitely brought it. The most delicious dessert was Melissa's: the Creole bread pudding soufflé finished with whiskey cream sauce. So light and fluffy, and that sauce just delivers a punch! It is love.

I had to order strawberry shortcake because it's my favorite dessert. Not as thrilling as the soufflé but yummy nonetheless. The fresh strawberries were especially good after all that rich food.

The pecan pie tasted like coming home to Momma. Warm pecan pie topped with vanilla ice cream, and that bed of chocolate sauce and Fleur de Sel caramel ... so comforting. 

Finally, there was the European dark chocolate cake. The rich chocolate fudge cake with anglaise, Bordeaux reduction and a honey pecan tuile is pure romance.

To go with all that delicious food was some great jazz. It really was an experience to visit Commander's Palace, dine in that lovely Victorian style home and listen to all that jazz. Here's the jazz trio performing a bit of Sinatra for the New York crowd.

After our lunch, we needed to walk off all that food so we took a lovely stroll around the gorgeous Garden District. Before coming to New Orleans, I always wondered why Hollywood actors kept buying homes here. After seeing the place for myself, I understand why they get so smitten. We found Sandra Bullock's beautiful NOLA home.

I also found the New Orleans home of my dreams, which I will buy when I become a filthy rich billionaire who just buys homes in random places.

It was a lovely, lovely morning in New Orleans that I hope to revisit someday. If you're ever in New Orleans, I highly recommend a day with jazz, great food and strolling through one of the city's prettiest neighborhoods!

I give it:

Commander's Palace is located at 1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130. Phone (504) 899-8221 for reservations. No shorts. Jacket preferred for dinner.

wanderlust: cochon

I came to New Orleans on a mission to party during Mardi Gras but as the trip drew closer, I found myself fixated on an entirely different NOLA experience: dining at the lauded restaurant Cochon. New York Times critic Frank Bruni dubbed it the "Momofuku of Mississipi" and declared it one of ten restaurants that count from coast to coast. Our New York-based party came to the same conclusion that Mr. Bruni did upon tasting what Cochon had to offer: we may be ridiculously blessed with good food in the Big Apple but we just don't have anything like Cochon. My beloved New York, with its war against transfat and fitness-crazed inhabitants, doesn't have anything resembling this as far as I know:

This, my friends is Louisiana cochon with turnips, cabbage and the most beautiful cracklings I've seen on this side of the world ($22). This particular cochon is slow-braised suckling pig which is thereafter shredded and molded into this hefty pattie. As you may have already guessed, I loved this dish mainly because of the cracklings. They reminded me of the chicharon my Mom and I used to buy from Lapid's in the Philippines. Lapid's chicharon is so freshly made that we would get startled in the car with sudden pops from the pork rinds that were still cooking even after being bagged. Cochon's cracklings brought me back to those afternoons spent munching on crispy chicharon with nary a thought of blood pressure nor cholesterol.

The cracklings weren't the only things that reminded me of home. Our meal started with some warm rolls that tasted a lot like Filipino pan de sal. My friends said that as soon as they bit into those slightly sweet, slightly salty and altogether comforting rolls, they knew we were in for a good meal. They weren't mistaken because the food kept getting better from there. I still find myself daydreaming about the woodfire roasted oysters—plump, succulent, and bathed in the flavors of butter, cayenne, chili flakes, garlic and anchovy. So delicious.

The fried alligator ($10), picked solely for the adventure of chowing down on 'gator, was surprisingly addicting. The alligator meat was coated in batter like most Southern goodness but remained tender inside. Coupled with that yummy chili garlic aioli, I just couldn't stop popping those suckers. If you've never had alligator and are curious about it's texture, I would describe it as quite similar to calamari.

Cracklings not withstanding, I have to say the most delicious pork dish of the night was the spicy grilled pork ribs with watermelon pickle ($10). Those ribs were drenched in flavor and just the right amount of heat, with the watermelon pickle providing a perfect little tart counterpoint. If I ever become one of those crazy millionaires who have food flown to them, you can bet I'll be sending a minion down to NOLA to get me some Cochon ribs. And oysters. And gator. And cracklings. And rolls.

Finally, we also had to try some seafood. One of the specials was a whole fried fish (red snapper, I believe?) with cherry tomatoes on the side. So simple but absolutely perfect. The skin was fried to a delicious crisp while the meat remained soft and flaky. So good.

Apart from the truly wonderful food, I liked the atmosphere at Cochon: sleek but casual, unpretentious but knowledgeable. It's a place where you can relax and concentrate on chowing down on good food without worrying about how you look and which fork goes with what dish.

As if the meal wasn't wonderful enough, Cochon had another unexpected treat in store for me. At the end of our meal, I was completely taken aback to feel a tap on my shoulder, turn around, and find myself staring right at my old high school friend Pia, who happened to be visiting NOLA. She was also on a mission to cross New Orleans off her 30 Before 30 list and was also about to enjoy an epic meal at Cochon! It turned out to be a fortuitous meeting as we all had so much fun partying it up in NOLA for the rest of our stay.

To anyone setting foot in New Orleans anytime soon, I implore you to please do yourself a favor and stop by Cochon. It's one of the most delicious meals I've had in my life and one I hope I'll be fortunate enough to repeat in the future!

I give this one a whole lot of love:

Cochon is located at 930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70195. Phone (504) 588-2123 for reservations.

amo-te santini

I'm so sorry for my long absence on this blog! The last four weeks were big ones for the 30 Before 30 Project, what with road trips and European adventures taking me off the Internet in general, and monopolizing my time from this blog in particular. My adventures eventually led me to Lisboa, where I collected some Chiconomist-worthy experiences.

I came to Lisboa armed with research material from Chowhound on food to eat and restaurants to try. But somehow, one of my most transcendent Portugal eating experiences came about by following the crowd into a chic little geladaria off Rua de Carmo in Lisboa's trendy downtown area, Baixa-Chiado.

Gelados Santini has been providing delicious refreshment to Portuguese people from all walks of life, from the royals to the local beachgoers, since 1949 from it's famous outpost in the beach town of Cascais. A vintage cover of Italian Magazine Época showing Princess Maria Beatriz de Saboia digging into  a cupful of Santini's gelado is displayed prominently in the Lisboa shop. 

It's near impossible to walk in Baixa-Chiado without running into someone holding a heaping cone or cup of Santini's gelado. After running into enough gelado-weilding folks, I just had to get in line for one.

There always seems to be a line in the shop, but it's not a big deal waiting because that time is useful for figuring out which of the scrumptious sounding flavors to order. 

€2.50 buys you a cone or a cup with two sabores or flavors. I saw a vintage photograph of Mr. Santini holding a bucket full of fresh raspberries hanging on the wall, so I thought it was a sign to order framboesa. To round out the tartness of the fruit, I ordered some sweet doce de leite.

I was in a bit of a funk during my stay in Lisboa (I chalk it up to residual Ibiza exhaustion + surfing withdrawal) but I could swear that after one taste of this gelado, the skies parted, the sun shone down and birds started singing. I was a very happy girl indeed. The texture was smooth, and velvety. The raspberry gelado was bursting with fruit flavor. The doce de leite taste was perfectly balanced between the caramel's sweetness and the milk's creaminess. Absolutely delicious.

The next day, I had to go back. After returning to the city from an afternoon at Batalha, I stopped by Santini for another cone: this time trying the chocolate chip and strawberry flavors.

Again, swoon-worthy. The strawberry gelado was so rich in flavor it was like digging into a cupful of the actual fruit. And the chocolate chip was just a decadent little treat. Since it was my last night in Lisboa, I surmised after dinner that a second cup of gelado was not just justified but absolutely necessary. The girl at the counter (the same one who served me earlier in the day) gave me a strange look when I came up to the counter. She surely recognized me as I was probably the only tan Asian girl running around in an all-white outfit it Lisboa. I ordered a cup instead of a cone this time, in a vain attempt to save maybe 5 calories. I ordered mango and caramel, a combination that once again hit the ball out of the park. 

For someone who normally eats ice cream maybe once a month, it says a lot that I had three helpings over two days! I thought that Santini's gelado was a bargain too, considering most spots in Portugal and Spain will charge you €2.50 for a packaged Nestle treat. If I'm ever in Lisbon again, you can bet that my first order of business will be getting my fix at Santini's!

The original Gelados Santini is located at Av. Valbom 28, 2750 Cascais, Portugal. In Lisboa, it is located on Rua do Carmo 9 a 11 in Baixa-Chiado.

this little piggy went to charlottesville

When I've been trapped in the city too long, I start thinking there's nothing outside of New York except chain restaurants, strip malls and overly tanned Snooki-wannabes. It's a good thing I was lured down south last weekend for a weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia because I was reminded that there is much to discover out there. While it was tales of dashing Southern men in seersucker wielding mint juleps that enticed me down south, it's the scrumptious, farm-fresh food (and ridonculously cheap drinks!) we enjoyed that'll have me coming back for more.

We started off with a bang at Zocalo, a restaurant located right smack in the middle of downtown Charlottesville, serving a sophisticated yet hearty Latin-inflected menu. We had large glasses of potent strawberry mojitos and some chunky herbed polenta fries to start, then a round of Leffe Blondes with our entrees. Mine was seared duck breast with manchego caramelized onion bread pudding, braised swiss chard and chipotle port compote. Check out that beauty ... 

Kathryn spoke highly of the bread pudding, and she was absolutely on point. Manchego is one of my favorite cheeses because of its delectably rich taste. It's made from sheep's milk, which is fattier than both cow's and goat's milk so it is quite an indulgence, for sure. I found myself endlessly shoveling bites of the succulent duck slices and addictive bread pudding into my mouth, with the swiss chard and cooked grapes cutting into the richness at the right moment ... thereby keeping the vicious cycle going. I ate until I couldn't eat anymore ... well, until I read the dessert menu, that is. Somehow, we found room to share the Mexican bread pudding smothered in Bailey's espresso creme anglais. All that bread pudding probably equipped my body with enough fuel to power through a half marathon. Unfortunately, the only half marathons we had that weekend were for our livers.

The next day, we woke up bright and early for the Foxfield Races. The races being an occasion for daylong drinking, we stopped for a serious breakfast at The Nook, a diner that has been serving comfort food to Charlottesville's folks since 1951. For reasons that I haven't figured out, I failed to photograph my plate of Real Corned Beef Hash ($7.95). I guess the corned beef hash, which was cooked to delicious crisp in some parts and left nice and mushy in others was just so good that all thoughts of blogging evaporated into thin air. So you'll have to use your imagination. It was delicious—and the perfect first layer to my stomach which thereafter got bombarded with beer, bloody Marys, rum & cokes, and an unnamed shot swigged from a random bottle at Foxfields. But that's another story ...

After the all-day drinkfest and a much-needed nap, we went for dinner at Mono Loco, a cheery Tex-Mex restaurant serving up fresh, locally harvested fare. I was very pleased with my Spicy Catfish Burrito ($13). The hefty chunks of catfish fillets tucked in the flour tortillas were lightly breaded on the outside and tender and flaky inside. The catfish was mixed in with rice, beans, onions and peppers inside the burrito, with the whole shebang topped off with chipotle crema, avocado-jalapeno crema, and a dash of Loco hot sauce.

We had our food with margaritas that were so yummy that Tricia and Molly initially thought the bartender had skimped on tequila. They asked the waitress if more tequila could be added to their drinks and she promptly returned with two large shot glasses of tequila (free of charge) for them to dunk into their margaritas. It was pretty funny when they took a sip, looked at each other and said that they still couldn't taste it, which meant there was probably already plenty in the drink. I left my passion fruit margarita alone and still got a nice buzz from it.

Dinner was followed by more revelry involving sake bombs, karaoke, belting "Bad Romance" on the streets while getting soaked in the rain, an 80s dance party, and a ride home in an orange limousine. Understandably, we woke up the next day needing more food to quench the hangover. Kathryn and Adam took us to Beer Run, a place that could very well be my definition of paradise. Their store is stocked with 130 microbrews, and their food is organic and all natural but still indulgent and extremely yummy. We ordered a couple of Biscuit Baskets ($5.95) because Kathryn likened the flaky on the outside, soft and moist on the inside fresh sage and scallion cheddar biscuits to heaven. Which was pretty accurate.  

Tricia, who was craving something sweet and dessert-like, zeroed in on the Yeats’ Caramelized Organic Fuji Apple French Toast ($9.95). What it is: Albemarle Bakery brioche dipped in a lemon zest batter, topped with sautéed Fuji apples in Jameson’s and Cointreau, with fresh organic clotted sour cream and pure maple syrup. This dish had many fans. It might land on my "Must Eat Before I Die" list.

My food of choice post drunken evenings always involves eggs and bacon, so I picked the Cotswold Cottage omelette made with local Innisfree brown eggs, organic Fuji apples and Cotswold Cheddar Cheese plus Polyface farm sausage (for an additional $1 on top of the $8.95). And yes, a side of all natural nitrate-free brown sugar bacon, too. What's not to love about pork that doesn't do drugs and is coated with sugar, cooked to a crisp, given a dash of pepper, and served alongside my omelette? Bliss!

After this meal, we made our way back to the Big Bad City of New York with warm hearts, full stomachs, and exhausted livers. Thank you, Charlottesville, and our wonderful hosts Kathryn and Adam for showing us that farm-fresh and organic can also mean heart-stoppingly delicious!

Zocalo is located at 201 E. Main Street, Charlottesville, Virginia. Tel. (434) 977-4944
The Nook is located at 415 E Main Street, Charlottesville, Virginia. Tel. (434) 295-6665
Mono Loco is located at 200 West Water Street, Charlottesville, Virginia. Tel. (434) 979-0688
Beer Run is located at 156 Carlton Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. Tel. (434) 984-BEER