Mille-Feuille. Photo credit: Ksenia Kuzmina
St. Regis Macao, Cotai Strip’s flagship restaurant, The Manor, is famous for its selection of fresh oysters, grilled prime-meat cuts, and seafood dishes. Every season, they launch a new limited menu that is always an exciting culinary journey for Macau foodies and guests of St. Regis Macao, Cotai Strip. This spring, its new executive sous chef Michele dell’Aquila searched for top-quality ingredients around the world and turned them into delectable dishes on the Let’s Do Lunch in Spring set menu. Keep reading to find out why you should book a table to taste this lunch set right now!
Photo credit: Leonor Sá Machado
Let’s Do Lunch in Spring
Generally, the cuisine at The Manor represents both Western and Eastern culinary traditions. When it comes to Let’s Do Lunch in Spring set menu, the dishes have mostly European roots. However, the recipes here are secondary, while the ingredients are the main focus. First, chef Michele decides which elements will shine in the new menu. Then, he considers which dishes would help to showcase their exceptional flavors. Featuring seafood, meat, and vegetables, the set is diverse but united by one concept that chef Michele strongly believes in–”clean” cuisine. This means that every recipe includes a few ingredients. Notably, the culinary team particularly focused on choosing the best of the best of ingredients. You can even follow their geography just by reading the names of the dishes–maguro tartar, Israeli couscous, Norwegian salmon. Then, they select the cooking methods that best preserves the genuine flavors and seasoning not to overpower but highlight them, and other elements to compliment the star ingredients.
A three-course menu, Let’s Do Lunch in Spring has four starters, four mains, and four desserts to choose from, and includes tea or coffee. While you wait for the starters to arrive, enjoy some fresh in-house made bread, butter, and a selection of dips. If you wish to elevate your lunch to a celebratory one, ask for the wine list, as The Manor offers an excellent collection of wines by the glass and bottle.
Bouillabaisse. Photo credit: Ksenia Kuzmina
To start with…
Among its many attractive features, The Manor prides itself on its seafood dishes. No wonder the new menu has many to offer. If that’s what you crave for, we strongly recommend ordering the tuna maguro tartar or bouillabaisse as a starter. Maguro is a Japanese bluefin tuna and peculiar enough, tuna a long way from being despised in Japan and considered a trash fish to being sold on Tokyo markets for up to millions of US Dollars. Fresh bluefin tuna is ideal for sashimi and tartar. To present its rich flavor, the chef pairs it with delicate olive oil from Spain, lemon sour cream, chopped avocado, and green apple.
Tricky to spell and impossible to resist, bouillabaisse is one of the most acclaimed recipes of Provencal cuisine. It is challenging to cook, as it requires time and skills. But when done right, this soup becomes a rewarding explosion of flavors. The base of the dish is its rich broth, achieved by simmering fish with saffron, herbs, and vegetables. Traditionally, bouillabaisse was a fisherman’s stew made with whatever fresh catch was available. Chef Michele elevates it to a restaurant-quality dish by using wild European salmon, baby squid, mussels, and shrimp, as well as Hokkaido scallops and clams. Another twist that makes this fantastic recipe even more sophisticated is the addition of lobster bisque. The presentation doesn’t cease to amaze either. First, your waiter brings a bowl with beautifully laid seafood and vegetables, topped with foam, a subtle reminder of sea waves. Then, they carefully pour the broth over–there’s no better dish to showcase seafood ingredients!
If you are not that into crustaceans and shellfish, go for the charcuterie and cheese, or Israeli couscous risotto with baby beetroot.
Acquerello rice. Photo credit: Ksenia Kuzmina
How to choose your mains?
While it is challenging to decide on a starter, the mains reveal yet another puzzle. Frankly, all the options are worth tasting. Nonetheless, we would particularly recommend Acquerello rice and French quail. Grown and packed in Italy, Acquerello rice is the king of Carnaroli rice, the best choice for risotto. It gives the risotto its signature creaminess, while the grains remain perfectly intact. The Manor’s Acquerello risotto is paired with fragrant wild mushrooms and topped with beef cheek. Slow-cooked and braised in red wine, the beef is so soft that it melts in your mouth. The combination of flavors and textures deserves a gastronomy Oscar!
French quail. Photo credit: Ksenia Kuzmina
The other main course that you’d want to come back for is French quail cooked in Armagnac sauce with grapes. The course is served with a fresh salad on the side and beetroot, carrot, and parsley mash potato. A smaller and more refined sister of the chicken, the quail is a commonly used poultry in French cuisine. At The Manor, they remove all its inner bones, so you won’t have to deal with them. When you cut its crusty golden brown skin in the middle, you will see the gourmet secret hidden inside–foie gras with spinach and figs! The combination of tender meat and a decadent flavor of foie gras and sweet fig is the ultimate indulgence. The earthy tones of root vegetables and the freshness of salad balance the quail out perfectly.
Lemon Tart. Photo credit: Ksenia Kuzmina
Don’t leave without dessert
The portions here are rather generous but don’t worry, you will still have some room left for dessert. And you wouldn’t want to miss it, as it’s a pleasure for both your palate and eyes. At The Manor, it’s not uncommon to see the dishes looking more like objects of contemporary art rather than food. Naturally, the Let’s Do Lunch in Spring set menu is not an exception. However, the dessert presentation is a level-up. Resembling lemon halves, pieces of lemon tarts rest on an artistic smudge of meringue with dehydrated lemon and zest on top. What makes this dessert unforgettable is the ideal balance of sweet and sour.
If chocolate is what makes your stomach filled with butterflies don’t miss the Domori Madagascar chocolate and pistachio cake. The smooth and creamy mouse of 70% dark chocolate shaped like a donut is complimented with crunchy chocolate caramel chips and pistachio sponge, stunning and delicious! The only addition to perfectly conclude this celebration of flavors would be an espresso.
Domori Madagascar chocolate and pistachio cake. Photo credit: Ksenia Kuzmina
Don’t miss a chance to taste the Let’s Do Lunch in Spring lunch menu at The Manor, especially for the set price of MOP $248! Take full advantage of the 30% discount happening from now until June 30 for Macau residents.
Where: The Manor, First Floor, The St. Regis Macao, Cotai Strip, Estrada do Istmo, S/N, Cotai
How much: MOP $248 for a three-course menu and a choice of tea or coffee
For reservations, call +853 2882 8898, e-mail [email protected] or check out their online menu
