Northern Dishes in Macau

Guests can watch their food being prepared in Beijing Kitchen

Beijing Kitchen in the Grand Hyatt Macau is a consistent restaurant in terms of food quality, pity about the service being sporadic. Nevertheless we had a good lunch here sampling several dishes before I went back to Hong Kong.

Green bean noodle with shredded chicken and sesame sauce

Some highlights: The jellyfish with sliced cucumber, grated garlic and aged malt vinegar was crunchy and refreshing, and we quite liked the green bean noodle with shredded chicken, chilli and sesame sauce, or at least I liked it and finished the leftovers.

The main event, the Peking Duck was presented table side and the chef immediately launched into carving it. He first gave us a small plate of just the skin that you dip into sugar and boy does that melt in the mouth! Quite amazing to try, but one piece is enough.

Then came the duck slices, some with a bit of the skin with visible fat underneath, some just meat. The steamed pancakes were thin, but stuck together and required some dexterity with the chopsticks to be able to daintily extract them from the bamboo steamer without ripping them.

Deep-fried chicken with chillis and peanuts

Condiments included pureed garlic, thinly sliced scallions and cucumbers with the sweet plum sauce. But overall the verdict was the duck was "too ducky", a bit too gamey for some people's tastes. I felt it didn't have much taste and needed the condiments to perk it up.

I suggested we order the panfried pork dumplings with yellow chives and they arrived in a delicate formation, bottom up with a web-like connection holding them all together. The dumplings themselves were crispy on the outside, and very juicy inside. So good.

Pretty presentation of panfried dumplings with yellow chives

For a spicy kick, the deep-fried chicken with chilli and peanut hit the spot. This is not gong bao ji ding, but small pieces of chicken that are deep-fried and then stir-fried again with dried chillis and Sichuan peppercorns for that numbing feeling.

Another impressive-looking dish is the crispy mandarin fish in sweet and sour sauce. It was covered in small mango cubes that were a nice complement to the thick sauce. The fish was very meaty, but didn't have much flavour, hence the sweet and slightly tart sauce. We really did finish every part of the fish in the end.

The last time I ate here was a year ago for a quick lunch just before the announcement of who got stars in the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau. I just might do the same thing again in a few weeks' time. And having just eaten here, I already have in mind what I'd like to eat next time.

Peking duck, anyone?

Beijing Kitchen
1/F, Grand Hyatt Macau
City of Dreams
Estrada do Istmo, Cotai
Macau
(853) 8868 1930