RESTAURANTE DUMBO @ TAIPA VILLAGE, MACAU

Gosh…time flies. My trip to Macau via AirAsia booked 7 months ago which seems like a long-awaited event finally just flew passed. Although it was just a 3 days/2 nights trip, I got to say the length of stay was just nice, not too overly taxing on my digestion system. Being our 2nd time to Macau, this trip was more like a recap; visiting places for food which we loved so much as well as trying out new places which we didn’t conquer during our last visit in last September.

We arrived in Macau around late evening, as scheduled (who said AirAsia always delay?) Hubby who was in-charged of hotel booking, due to convenience, decided to stay at the same hotel, Best Western Taipa, which is about 5-minute drive from the airport.

After we freshened up, we took a walk to one of the two famous food streets in Macau; Ruo Do Cunha or Macau Gourmet Place Taipa Village. I will talk about the other food street in my coming post. Rua Do Cunha is a great place to dine as well as to shop for yummies to bring home. Here you can find shops after shops selling almond cookies, egg rolls, grilled dried meat, peanut candies, nougats and the like. Walking down the street is quite an experience because each shop will try to attract your attention by offering you samples of all their products. I kinda liked being ‘harassed’ by them ie forcing me to sample their goodies. Sometimes I feel bad especially those who are super friendly so I will still buy at least one packet of goodies from them.

There are lots of eateries here too, offering international cuisine, and of course when you come to Macau, a must try is the Portuguese and Macanese food which are available almost anywhere. Our destination? Restorante Dumbo or Xiao Fei Xiang (Flying Baby Elephant). We dined here twice during last visit and were so impressed, that is why we decided to come back again.
Hubby suggested that apart from the must-order Roasted Quail, we should be more adventurous and order those dishes which we have not tried. After our orders taken, a plate of 3 warm and soft buns was placed in front of us. I simply love spreading butter on warm bread…yummmzz.
The Roasted Quails (Codorniz Assadal Tinto) were served almost immediately. Priced at HKD15 per birds, I got to say this is a steal! The quails were roasted till golden brown while the meat is still juicy. Yummzz…and that is not all. The best thing about the quail is the stuffing!!

The quail is stuffed with crushed garlic and herbs. Oooo…the aroma of the stuffings filled the air when I cut it open.

My dad came up with a very creative way to eat the quail; shred and stuff it into the warm bun!! Indeed very delicious especially when the juices of the quail combines with the garlic stuffing, thus created garlic gravy which is so good when dipped with buns.

Another great discovery; Braised Pig’s Neck (Pesco co de Porco a’Brasa) was our 2nd dish of the night. Pig’s neck is becoming a very popular as it is known to be the most tender part of a pig. Well, the picture says it all….tender and juicy, juicy and tender!
Using El Cerdo’s Ox-Tail Stew as benchmark, I was rather disappointed with their Stewed Ox-Tail with Red Wine (Lingua de Vaca Guisado c/Vinho) as the gravy was slightly on the sweet side. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not sugary but sweetness from the vegetables. I suspect lots of carrots were used to produce such sweet stock. The ox-tail was cooked to perfection, tender and it absorbed the sweetness of the gravy very well. Papa couldn't resist from ordering a bowl of rice to go with the gravy.

Err…is this Steamed Fish Teochew Style? The Codfish Caldeirada Portuguese Style is a popular Portuguese dish which we somehow didn’t quite like it. Generous chunks and chunks of meaty Codfish which I find overly bouncy. I thought it was overcooked but then the texture still very smooth…so I really don’t know if it’s supposed to taste like this. The gravy consists of lots of veggies such as salted veggie (hamchoy), tomato, potatoes, capsicums, carrots and onions. So healthy isn’t it?

To end my meal here, I decided to try their Serradura, a famous Portuguese dessert made of whipped cream and then sprinkled with lots of flavoured bread crumbs. It doesn’t sound appetizing, isn’t it? But believe me, it’s a popular dessert here. Oh yah..need to mention here, their Portuguese Egg Tart is worth a try too.

While walking back to our hotel, we stopped by at Gelatina Mok Yi Kei, a shop specializing in jellies, puddings and ice-creams which I didn’t manage to try last visit. I will sure kick myself if I don’t try it this time and so I tried their famous durian ice-cream.

It's a corner shop and you won't miss it cos they have colourful cups of dessert on display.

One spoonful into my mouth and GOODNESS!! It’s like eating frozen creamy durian flesh!!! Aiiii…sad to say, it puts many of our local durian ice-cream manufacturers to shame.

Overall, it was a satisfying meal. Since it was a late dinner, there weren't anymore space for supper. We decided to turn in early cos I know, it's gonna be a long long day tomorrow.