Early Dinner

We opted for an early dinner at Imperial Court just as we concluded our visit at MGM Macau with the restaurant conveniently located next to the hotel VIP lobby. The modern and luxury decor of the restaurant gave a little hint of the style of the restaurant, which specializes in traditional Cantonese with a contemporary twist curated by Chef Homan and his team. I love the private room which was tastefully done with ample space for the group of us.

An eight-course tasting menu was presented, starting with a series of small appetizer bites. The squid and seaweed roll was cute, presented like a Narutomaki with thin slices of poached squid rolled with seaweed and served in thick slice. The abalone was poached tender, chilled and well infused with sake flavor. 

The bowl of partridge porridge, prepared based on traditional recipe, was such a comforting treat with rich flavor and soft texture with bird's nest added in. The deep-fried chicken and shrimp mousse was a twist to the famous "Jiangnan Bai Hua Chicken" - the whole piece of chicken skin was carved and stuffed with steamed mashed shrimp mousse before being seared skin down for the crispy texture. To finish, salted fish was grated with Microplane on top as seasoning. 

A halved roast pigeon was served for each of us off-menu. The bird was of perfect size, delicate and tender, and well-cooked with the golden crispy skin. So tasty that we didn't need any additional seasoning other than a gentle squeeze of lime juice just to enhance the umami flavor. 

The later courses were more of modern style - the whole piece of Hokkaido scallop was seared and served with a superior broth gravy, spinach and crispy quinoa on top, braised sea cucumber was lightly battered and deep-fried, then served with egg noodles and the rich shrimp roes sauce. And we finished with a trio of simple desserts - the warm steamed almond and egg white custard, the cute baked "butterfly puffs" and cold sesame "film" rolls. 

Three wines were poured. Love the crisp and refreshing bottle of young aligote with plenty of minerals, working well with the seafood dishes, with champagne and a burgundy served before and after. And starting our dinner early meant we got plenty of time to finish our evening with a nightcap at Bar Patua just as we were transported back to MGM Cotai, where we spent the night. 

When? August 16 2023
Where? Imperial Court, MGM Macau, Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Macau SAR
Menu Highlights? Braised Partridge Porridge with Bird’s Nest and Yunnan Ham
Drinks?
Champagne Laurent Perrier La Cuvee Brut NV
2019 David Moret "Le Grand A" Bourgogne Aligote
2015 Domaine Jeantet-Pansiot Gevrey Chambertain
Web: www.mgm.mo/en/macau/dining/imperial-court