Authentic spice mix: The Golden Peacock, The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, Macau

The Golden Peacock recently introduced some delicious new dishes created by Keralan chef Justin Paul. We liked the presentation of the dishes, which use traditional Indian ingredients prepared with a modern touch. For authenticity, the restaurant derives its recipes, techniques, ingredients and serving pots from India.

Nearly all dishes are prepared from scratch by the 11-strong team of chefs, from the yogurt, paneer and ice creams to the masalas, sauces and chutneys. That is possibly why the restaurant has a Michelin star, as freshly made sauces and dishes make a huge difference in taste with Indian cuisine.

We whetted our appetites with a plate of seven dips ranging from sweet chutney to hot pickles, with an array of crispy poppadoms. The first new dish we tried was kandari kurgh tikka, ambiya machi tikka and prawn skewer, which uses organic prawn and chicken and cod fillet. The meat was tender and the spices, which were flavourful rather than hot, left the taste buds dancing.

We enjoyed other dishes such as jhinga balchao and lobster mollie, which featured a Goan tiger prawn in dry chilli, roasted coconut, dry shrimp paste, sea bass kokum with Keralan spices, coconut, shallots and curry leaves, and tandoori lamb and saffron murgh, which came with French mallard duck, spicy baby potato and French stuffed chicken breast.

To cool those taste buds down we ended with a dessert of young coconut and alphonso mango cardamom mousse, Madras coffee crispy cannelloni and frozen rose petal ice cream.