Above the rest: enjoy French-style Chinese cuisine at La Chine in The Parisian Macao

La Chine in the Eiffel Tower at the newly opened The Parisian Macao offers Chinese cuisine with a French twist. The idea translates into the industrial chic décor with beams from the Eiffel crossing the centre of the dining space. It is French bistro meets Chinese-style ambience with round tables amid elongated seating booth and high stools alongside the window bar overlooking the Cotai strip. The wine cellar decks the wall near the entrance with two private rooms off the main dining area that connect into a larger space if required.

We started our dim sum with a touch of France with steamed rice roll with crispy lobster, crispy baby abalone and taro puffs and pan-fried buns filled with steak au poivre, or beef in black pepper sauce. All were delicious, as was the French black truffle crispy sesame balls with truffle salted egg custard for something sweet.

Next from the appetiser menu, we tried a refreshing dish of crabmeat tartar with avocado salad and traditional garlic vinegar dressing, with a perfect balance of flavours. The pièce de résistance, however, was the canard a l’orange - crispy duck marinated in black pepper and mandarin peel with an orange black pepper sauce. The skin was crispy and the ingredients an excellent balance of an East-meets-West marriage of flavours and cooking techniques, and the dish would satisfy fans of crispy duck and duck a l’orange.

The seasonal vegetables and Nepalese mountain grains poached in golden broth was a light, tasty dish. We finished with caramelised pineapple tarte tatin with coconut ice cream and sweetened almond soup with black sesame dumplings - one of my favourite Chinese desserts.