French connection

This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2015 issue of World Gaming magazine.

The Panda loves being pampered when it comes to food so he couldn’t resist the temptation when he was invited to lunch at Michelin-starred restaurant The Tasting Room at City of Dreams. Needless to say, he wasn’t disappointed.

As much as this Panda enjoys roaming Macau’s streets in search of hidden gems, it’s always nice to be treated to something a little special once in a while so it was with more than a little excitement that I made my way to The Tasting Room for lunch following a generous invite from the good people at City of Dreams.

The Tasting Room certainly comes with a fine reputation. For starters, it is one of only 11 restaurants in Macau that can boast a Michelin star and one of two establishments at City of Dreams to have been awarded that honor in 2014. I had also heard good things from those who had eaten there before, so after a mad dash through Taipa’s worsening midday traffic I waddled my way in with my dining companions for the day, The Dragon and The Stallion, and was welcomed by a gorgeous French hostess who showed us to our seats.

The décor at The Tasting Room is fairly simple, with patterned blue carpet on the floor and lengths of rope hanging in a circular pattern from the ceiling above. None of it screams luxury, but then it would be a crime to distract from the stunning view of the Cotai skyline which wraps around 180 degrees. Even from our table in the middle of the room it was impressive.

We were soon greeted by the restaurant’s manager, David Bassaluy, who not only made us feel welcome with his relaxed demeanour but demonstrated a clear passion for French food as he ran us through our special tasting menu for the day.

“We really want to show you some French classics today, so we will be bringing out some famous dishes for you – each with our own small twist on them,” David explained.

Although The Tasting Room is undeniably French, we were particularly interested to experience chef Guillaume Galliot’s techniques given his extensive experience throughout Asia. A graduate of Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire Culinary School in France, he has previously worked at the Raffles Grill in Singapore as their youngest ever sous chef and as executive sous chef at JAAN restaurant at Raffles Beijing Hotel where he was named Top French Chef of the Year by Time Out magazine.

Ready to embark on our culinary adventure, The Stallion ordered a delightfully light French chardonnay and watched as our amuse-bouche arrived – Alaskan king crab legs mixed with fresh herbs and served in a crystallized stone that had been precisely carved out in the middle. A few minutes later, we welcomed our starter of Lobster Nage with Brittany seafood, coriander and vegetable brunoise.

Presented in a clear, spherical ball that showed off the multitude of colors, the broth was rich and hid a collection of succulent fish and other seafood treasures beneath the chunks of lobster. It was certainly a favorite of this Panda’s meal.

Third on the menu was a dish that can make or break French restaurants. Much like Spaghetti Bolognese is the litmus test for Italians, French Onion Soup is a staple of French cuisine and the pressure was on the chef to show us what he could do with this classic … so it was with some surprise that our bowls were brought out with a piece of fine bread and a scoop of ice cream in each. Our waitress then poured the hot soup from a separate pot into our bowls while David explained that the ice cream was in fact onion-flavored and that we would also find more onion hidden under our bread.

It’s not easy to successfully put a twist on a classic dish but the combination of the hot soup and cold ice cream together was intriguing and The Dragon couldn’t stop talking about it for days on end afterwards!

With our soup course quickly devoured, we were soon back to the seafood for Ocean Trout Roulade “Cooked Pink” with Dill and Fresh Spinach – another pleasant dish in which the fish was the highlight as it melted away in the mouth.

However, it was the next dish that had me rubbing my paws together with anticipation as it arrived – Roasted Quail with Potato and Onion Crunchy “Craquotte” and natural Jus. The presentation of this course only added to the excitement with pieces of succulent quail drizzled in the jus and the confit leg spread out across the crunchy toast.

Matched with a 2006 French Sauvignon, when I closed my eyes and took a bite I could just about imagine I was sitting in a quaint café by the edge of the Rhine. This is the sort of dish that would keep me coming back – when the budget allows of course – and I can only hope that the wag of my little tail wasn’t too distracting for the other diners!

Finally, with the savory dishes out of the way, it was time to fill the belly with dessert and the Chocolate Banana Mille Feuille with Cocoa Sorbet was a pleasant way to finish the meal. Although again bursting with flavor, it was light and fluffy enough not to overwhelm the meal while the crunch of the perfectly tempered chocolate layer on top brought a smile to this Panda’s little face – as did the wonderfully fruity Muscat David recommended as an accompaniment.

Ranging from around HK$828 without wines for the four-course degustation to HK$2,588 matched with wines for the chef’s eight course selection of the day, The Tasting Room isn’t cheap but for that special anniversary dinner or if you simply want to treat yourself to a great meal it certainly stands out among Macau’s finest.