Macau's annual Portuguese Cuisine Contest is being fought with culinary flair and ferocity.
Will the legendary Hong Kong favourite, Fernando, emerge the victor, or past winners such as nearby Cacarola in Coloane Village, Bar do Montanha Russa, T'Irene or Taipa Island's A Petisqueira take top honours? The 17 competing restaurants will not know until next week after the judging by a panel of six anonymous gourmets is completed.
The contest started on June 1 and will end on Sunday. During that time the enclave's top restaurants will serve menus of eight traditional Portuguese dishes to impress the judges - who will drop by without warning.
The winner will be presented with two air tickets to Portugal, including hotel accommodation for eight days and a 'mini' course in Portuguese cuisine. Second prize is two tickets to the former Portuguese colony of Goa in India, and third is a trip for two to Malacca in Malaysia, another of Portugal's former trading outposts .
'Portuguese cuisine has always been an important attraction in Macau and the contest aims to highlight traditional dishes and encourage chefs to widen their knowledge and skills,' said a spokesman for Tasting Portugal '97.
'Good Portuguese food is always available in Macau but Tasting Portugal '97 is an opportunity for the restaurants to really show what they can do.' The spokesman said judging was based on 'flavour, authenticity, presentation and the composition of the menus'.