We review Voyages by Alain Ducasse: can hotel café dining be exciting?
From marinated sea bream with citrus condiment, shrimp toast with katsuobushi flakes to Thai-inspired shrimp red curry, we were in for a surprise
Just like the Zaha Hadid-designed Morpheus hotel has transformed the landscape of Macau’s Cotai Strip, its casual dining restaurant Voyages by Alain Ducasse is likely to elevate the hotel cafe experience for Macau’s tourists.
Walking into Voyages by Alain Ducasse, on the 3rd floor of the avant-garde hotel, is almost like meeting both day and night at the same time. The space is divided into two sections, with the warmly-lit Voyages Bar on the left, and the sunshine-filled restaurant proper on the right.
The bar area is a great place to knock back some special cocktails from the cocktail cart or any of the special champagne ‘Selection Alain Ducasse’, Japanese sake ‘Nichiei Alain Ducasse’, a limited-edition Grey Goose Vodka Alain Ducasse, or a sip of white tea from Parisian brand Kusmi tea, which have all exclusively been produced for Ducasse’s restaurants.
Having guzzled our way through happy hour the evening before, we were now at Voyages for a Sunday lunch and it was obvious that not all the hotel guests had discovered this gem – only a few other tables were filled, making us the noisiest table in the restaurant.
A blend of Asian influences, the tables and seats of main dining room were functional but the devil is in the details. The art deco-style overhead lights, inspired by Thai paper lanterns, cast a subtle warm glow on the room. On the tables: cutlery from Alessi, water glass from Italy, plates from Dutch brand Serax; and chopsticks and table lamps from Japan.
