Journey to Hong Kong - FEASTING IN MACAU: THE COTAI CENTRAL STRIP (Part 1)

I took a short 7-day trip to Hong Kong in the first week of September 2013. I planned to write about my trip right after it, but got caught up with my studies and work and laziness and procrastination. I finally sat myself down and started putting memories to words, but realised along the way that my memory has gone a little hazy and I could not remember a few details here and there. Never you mind, because it will not affect you in any way, except for when I cannot remember the name of the delicious place we ate at, or the multitudes of desserts found in the buffet restaurant. Anyhow, let's proceed. 

Let me clarify that most of this travelogue will deal with food. For a plain and simple reason. I journeyed to Hong Kong to EAT. That is my sole purpose for going there; shopping, sights and attractions come later (which is minimal at best). The travelogue will start at Macau and end at Hong Kong. It is not chronologically ordered but grouped by places and food.

It is a glutton's trip. Be prepared. 

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Preamble

When the three of us finally arrived at Macau, in a tedious roundabout manner (more on that later), we were partially drenched (it rained), drained and starving. Two of us travelled by budget airline (my friend and I), and thus had no food in our stomachs. We ate at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), but by the time we reached the ferry terminal at Macau, our stomachs were calling for food again. Let me tell you why it took us so damn long to make our way to Macau.

Prior to the trip, we planned to explore Macau for the first two days, and then leave the rest of the five days to play shop and eat in Hong Kong. After my friend did some research online (I am so ashamed to say that I had no part in researching for the transportation aspect of our trip), she found out that there is a ferry transfer service (SkyPier) to Macau, direct from HKIA. It is for the convenience of tourists who were heading to Macau via Hong Kong and it suits our purpose well. That way we did not have to leave the airport to catch a ferry to head to Macau. We can go direct! Time saved! Money spent on transportation reduced! Therefore, she printed out the leaflet provided at HKIA’s website on how to get tickets for the transfer and where to board the ferry.

I would say that it is not entirely our fault that we completed missed the SkyPier counter. Firstly, I found the signboards at HKIA wanting. It was difficult for us to navigate around the place as it is, what more to look for one specific counter. Secondly, there was too little information provided on the website and the leaflet. The leaflet was not well designed and not at all friendly. Instructions were not clear. Hence, we arrived at HKIA with a vague notion that such a service exists, but have no idea how it works or what we are supposed to do. Thirdly, they should really tell passengers who are using the SkyPier service NOT TO EXIT THE ARRIVAL HALL!

The friend and I that travelled by budget arrived first. Unfortunately, neither of us was not the one who did the research! We have to be accorded some blame for our lack of research. I honestly thought that it was going to be easy to navigate, after all HKIA is one of the world’s best airports. So grasping the leaflet to look for the SkyPier counter (not useful at all), we had the notion that it would be located outside the arrival hall. So we passed immigrations, went through baggage collection, walked out the sliding doors and right into misfortune. Funnily, instead of looking for the counter immediately, we decided to eat first. This is what travelling in a budget carrier does to you. After eating, we lugged our luggage around, searching for the counter. No luck. Finally, my friend asked one of the HKIA staff. Guess what? The SkyPier counter is located inside the Arrival Hall! We were not supposed to exit and now that we have, we were not allowed back in! WE ARE SCREWED! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT? We were nonplussed. There were no signs inside the Arrival Hall giving directions to the SkyPier counter, and there were none outside either! WHAT IS THIS?! *RAGE*. Future tourists to Macau, who is not flying direct but going via HKIA, do remember that the SkyPier ferry transfer service to Macau is inside the Arrival Hall.

Take this as a public service announcement to you courtesy of yours truly.

GRAND ORBIT BUFFET RESTAURANT
(Post update: Added a picture of the striking chandelier at Grand Orbit Buffet Restaurant.)

Anyway, by the time we reached Macau and settled into our beautiful room in Sheraton Macau Hotel at the Cotai Central strip (which is a Las Vegas strip wannabe), it was already evening and we were ravenous (and wet, and exhausted). That is when we decided to splurge (on the first day of the trip no less) on buffet.

After walking around Sands Cotai Central (a sort of shopping arcade cum connector for neighbouring hotels), we settled on the Grand Orbit Buffet Restaurant. The entrance was spectacularly grand, a round sort of ‘lobby’ with a huge crystal chandelier hanging in the middle. In concurrence with the décor of the restaurant, which had a warm woody ambience with low lights, the chandelier gives off a flame-effect with crystals in orange-yellow gradient and yellow light, bathing the ‘lobby’ in dazzling orangey-yellow.

The dazzling chandelier.

The selection of food is fantastic and inspired by different cuisines around the world. There is the quintessential Japanese sashimi and seafood, Italian pasta and pizza that are whipped up right on the spot, Chinese cuisine like dim sum and various Chinese dishes, and even Indian curry and dishes infused with Indian spices. Of course, there are also the typical Western fare like roast beef, ham and desserts! Oh, the desserts were to die for! They are housed just behind the ‘lobby’, where upon entering the restaurant you will catch sight of it, salivate instantly (if you are a dessert lover) and be tempted to forgo the mains for the desserts. They say you have to live dangerously sometimes! The dessert area is separated from the mains, in a territory of its own. This special segregation accorded to the dessert section showed that they respect and know the importance of desserts, although desserts are just small insubstantial bits of pastry and sweets. Desserts that needed to be kept cold are refrigerated in a glass display, ready for your picking. The other desserts are placed on the black granite-like counters in a continuous circle, i.e., so, if you start with the refrigerated dessert section, and move along the circle, you will be back at the refrigerated section. A dessert roundabout if you will.

The pasta is heavenly. You can choose the ingredients, herbs, sauce and pasta type. 

Roasted pork. Sublime. (Note: not sure why my camera is focused on the cherry tomato though)

A sampling of Indian cuisine.

I sincerely apologise for not taking photos of the mains and dessert counters. We were too hungry to bother. I had, however, some sanity to take pictures of the food at our table (not all). Besides the usual sashimi and seafood that we (and everyone else) will go for, we also grabbed the Alaskan crab legs. It is my first time eating that and my oh my, succulent strips of meat that dripped with naturally sweet crab-juice. I also learnt that there is a technique to eating Alaskan crab legs. There is a way to remove the crabmeat out of the skinny shell without tearing it into shreds, which doubles the pleasure as you will be biting into chunks of crabmeat (more taste), not shreds of it (less taste). I cannot impart the technique to you as it requires live demonstration. If you are interested to know, treat me and my friends (the crab leg eating experts) for an Alaskan crab leg meal. The assortment of sashimi is also fresh and prepared in large chunky slices. I am not sure what is the proper way to enjoy sashimi, should each slice be thin and translucent or thick and chunky? Personally I prefer it chunky because then I can taste the flavor of the fish more.

Sashimi!

Alaskan crab legs.

The desserts were heavenly. There is such a wide selection with enticing flavours that I cannot remember most of them. I remember a chestnut cake, which is interesting as I have never tried that before, Guilinggao (also known as Tortoise Jelly or Turtle Jelly), a gelatinous Chinese medicine that is also served as a dessert, and bread pudding. That was interesting as well. I will leave you with some pictures of the dessert.

Although we only tried one buffet place in the whole of Macau for our two-day stay there, I would still highly recommend you to dine there. It may not be the best (or it may be the best), but for the price (inexpensive as compared to the other buffet restaurants around), the extensive selection of food, and the desserts that are to-die-for, it is definitely worth a visit. Their service is above average and they clear your dirty plates quite quickly. Oh, I must mention that the buffet comes with limited selection of drinks (only three boring varieties if I remember). If you want other drinks or alcoholic beverages, you have to buy. Honestly, it is nothing. We were there to eat, not drink.

You can get more information of the restaurant here.  

(Part 1 to be continued)