Macau: your next fine dining destination
Ten plans countless gourmand getaways on China's south coast for our members.
Recent decades have seen the rapid expansion of Macau’s hospitality industry. Dubbed the “Las Vegas of the East”, its glamorous gambling industry has attracted hordes of high rollers and this has aided the growth of the fine dining scene, so much so that two of Asia’s biggest culinary awards – Michelin Guide and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants – have chosen Macau as their backdrop in recent years.
At the Ten, we’ve seen a spike in demand for leisure trips to Macau from members across Asia and beyond. As a result, we have partnered with the top hotels on the island, including the magnificent Four Seasons, Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental, which all offer our members complimentary room upgrades, spa and dining credit, late check-out and more with every booking.
On the food front, a new wave of cooking began in 2001 when Jo?l Robuchon set up Robuchon a Galera in the Grand Lisboa Hotel, his first outpost in Asia. A few years later, the restaurant relocated to the 43rd floor of the hotel and rebranded as Robuchon au D?me, serving exquisitely crafted French cuisine under its gorgeous glass dome ceiling. Unsurprisingly, it was once crowned the best French restaurant in Asia and has effortlessly retained its Michelin three-star honour for years.
Since then, numerous international big names have edged onto the scene and the most notable recent addition to the increasingly long list of upscale establishments must be the eponymous restaurant* of Alain Ducasse in the Morpheus Hotel. Within six months of its opening, the restaurant bagged two Michelin stars thanks to its consistently impeccable quality.
Morpheus is also home to French pastry specialist Pierre Hermé. Known as the “Picasso of Pastry”, a visit to the Pierre Hermé Lounge offers the perfect opportunity to sample the master’s signature creations, including Ispahan macarons and a dessert designed exclusively for the hotel, alongside light meal options.
The Tasting Room in City of Dreams is also one of Macau’s top French cuisine contenders. The two-star restaurant is helmed by chef Fabrice Vulin, former executive chef of Caprice in Hong Kong. Vulin skilfully reimagines traditional French flavours through contemporary execution. His signature starter combines blue lobster from Brittany with watermelon and Japanese yuzu sauce and is unmissable.
On the Chinese cuisine front, don’t miss Sichuan Moon in Wynn Palace, a follow-up to internationally renowned chef André Chiang’s successful dining project in Chengdu. He showcases the elegance, complexity and depth of authentic Sichuan cuisine, masterfully reinterpreting it using the best seasonal ingredients.
Joining other A-list restaurants for the first time in the Michelin three-star club is Jade Dragon, with executive chef Kelvin Au Yeung at the helm to deliver top-notch Cantonese cuisine.
For a more creative culinary experience, look no further than Yi at Morpheus. It is the first in Asia to present an eclectic selection of regional Chinese cuisines, ranging from Cantonese, Sichuan, Chaozhou, Hunan and Shandong, on an omakase-style daily tasting menu complemented by expert tea pairings.
Other high-end Chinese restaurants such as The Eight frequent the Michelin star list and pride themselves on offering consistently exceptional dining experiences for their guests.
Not all chefs follow the high-end dining formula; some prefer to present the best of their creations in a relaxed, vibrant environment. Case in point is MGM Cotai Macau, which brings an impressive line-up of celebrity chefs to lead the hotel’s culinary offering. This includes Mauro Colagreco who’s flagship restaurant in France was crowned the world’s number one this year. Grill 58° by chef Colagreco is the go-to restaurant for exceptional dry-aged steak and wine, whereas chef Tsumura introduces the first authentic Nikkei restaurant in Macau with Aji, serving delicious ceviche and cocktails with Peruvian-inspired flavours.
Graham Elliot, award-winning Michelin-starred chef and television personality from the popular cooking show Top Chef, and Janice Wong, the queen of pastry in Asia, are also part of the team, bringing an unpretentious Californian diner and a modern pastry shop into the mix.
The rapid growth of the fine dining scene in Macau never ceases to amaze us here at Ten and compared to restaurants of a similar calibre in the region, they offer much better value. We have great working relationships with all the top restaurants and regularly secure prime-time tables on behalf of our members – helping them jump the queue for tables.