Macau Offers a Fusion of Flavors -- By the Ton

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I was about halfway through the chocolate mousse when we hit the wall. I remember dropping the teaspoon and lurching across the table for the sparkling water while my wife clutched her sides and snarled like a cornered animal at the vast unfinished plates of garlic chili prawns, cod cakes, tamarind pork and African chicken encircling her. As the sweats came on and all color drained from our faces, we scanned the dining room for an exit, someone to pay and who would roll us out into the cool night breeze. A long stroll later, our pulses finally slowing and our eyes losing some of their bulge, we caught a cab back down the seafront Rua do Almirante Sergio, past the scene of our near demise. "Number one," said our driver, jabbing a fat finger at the Restaurante Litoral and slapping a belly that surfed over the top of his pants. "Number one in Macau."

Centuries before the term fusion was invented, it was cooked up in this former Portuguese outpost across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. But this was no clever culinary mix, shrunk to miniature and served up as foodie fashion. Taking salt cod from the Atlantic and pig's knuckle from the hills of Alentejo, Asia's first European settlers added the spices and fruits of China and from across their empire in India, Malaysia, Brazil and Africa. The result was peasant fare made exotic: curried crab with quails' eggs, pig's ear and papaya salad, rabbit stewed in wine, cinnamon and star anise. And as more ingredients were included, dishes grew not just in flavor but in size. The Macanese judge a restaurant on quality, yes, but also on whether quantity is sufficient to warrant a table-side stomach pump.

The Litoral, tel: (853) 967-878, is undoubtedly up there with the greats. Chinese and Europeans alike crowd its simple, old-world tables, and advanced booking is essential. Nor do you need to break the bank to bust your gut. A gargantuan meal for two, with a full-bodied Esporao red, comes to around $75. A few doors down, A Lorcha, tel: (853) 313-193, is another colossus of Macanese cuisine: the focus here is more on seafood and traditional Portuguese fare. The quest for size above all else has built a formidable following for two places on Macau's southern islands that serve platters that matter. Cozinha Pinocchio on Rua do Sol, tel: (853) 827-128, in Taipa Village and Fernando's, tel: (853) 882-531, on Hac Sa Beach on Coloane's southern coast are wildly popular for a stripped-down recipe of bare brick walls, stone floors and mountains of food. The cooking is basic, service harried and conversation difficult above the clatter of cutlery. But prices are rock bottom for these portions and true gluttons wouldn't eat anywhere else.

Those who prefer to walk away from their table have to search harder. Two small eateries serve slightly less elephantine fare in charming surroundings. Tucked in a side street just north of the rotary in Coloane Village is the CaCarola, tel: (853) 882-226. Appetizers of Portuguese pork sausage, goat's cheese and marinated octopus salad are simple and delicious, and priced from an extremely digestible $2.50. Mains are substantial and include an excellent breaded cod with potatoes and a fine turkey stroganoff, but it is the stews of rabbit, pork, beans and sausage from which the restaurant takes its name that are particularly noteworthy. Dinner for two with wine is around $60. Or try the rustic A Petisqueira on Rua Sao Joao in Taipa Village, tel: (853) 825-354. Specialties here range from the usual cold seafood salads, cheeses, and bean and pork stews to the more daring, such as offal and codfish face. Again, prices are modest for the quality on offer.

While it may seem churlish to complain there's simply too much food, even avid gourmands can crave something a little lighter. Happily, tapas such as fried fish balls, grilled sardines and roasted garlic vegetables are also integral to Macanese cuisine. Two good places for such snacks include Platao's on Travessa de Sao Domingos, just off the main square of Largo do Senado, or O'Barril, just down the road and one of the hubs of the Portuguese community. The laid-back Café Nga Tim on Largo Sao Xavier in Coloane Village, built around a row of rotund banyan trees, is also great for a glass of vinho verde, a young Portuguese wine, and a plate of fish cakes. Or, for a total change, the financially flush should head for A Galera in the Hotel Lisboa, tel: (853) 377-666. Under maestro Joel Robuchon, Macau's French restaurant can lay a credible claim to be Asia's best, and the cellar, stuffed with ancient Bordeaux and Burgundies, is sensational. Such rarefied dining is pricey: a meal for two starts at $250. But if only for the novelty of a chef who isn't bent on making his customers explode, many may find it worth every cent.