Rainbow Room Restaurant
Contrary to expectations, Rainbow Room does not have a vivid colour scheme, but tables are close together and noise levels can be annoyingly high. The menu features an excellent selection of Cantonese dishes. Seafood soup ($40 per person), packed with prawns, diced bean curd and dressed with cooked egg white, is light and delicately piquant. Duck tongue and jellyfish ($50) makes a delightful summer appetiser. Steamed shrimps ($68) come in a generous portion and will satisfy the most fervent of seafood lovers. Braised bean curd with gluten and vegetables ($65) is a healthy but tasty option. (Reviewed on August 11)
22/F Lee Theatre Plaza, Causeway Bay. Tel: 2882 8872. Open: 11am-11.30pm. $$
Litoral
Although not the cheapest restaurant in Macau, Litoral offers perhaps the best value for money with most of the main courses costing less than $100 and many of the appetisers hovering around the $30 mark. The cuisine is classical Macanese home cooking: some recipes are said to be more than 300 years old. Roast Portuguese sausage ($30) is meaty, flavourful and attractively served on a bed of lettuce with olives. Garlic shrimps ($35) arrive drenched in garlic butter. Baked crab ($75) consists of two shells densely packed with crabmeat and baked with a coating of breadcrumbs. The moist, fresh crab combines beautifully with its crisp covering. Roast lamb ($75) arrives thinly sliced and accompanied by french fries and gravy. A simple dish, but substantial, well prepared, and it goes perfectly with wine. (August 11)
261 Rua do Almirante Sergio, Macau Tel: (853) 967 878. Open: 11.30am-3pm, 6.30pm-11pm. $$
Times Kitchen