Musings on Macau Restaurant

It is Macanese, not Macauese. The food served in Macau, that is. What makes Macau unique from the rest of China is the tangible Portuguese influence.

Macau Restaurant in Eastwood City, however, has an additional facet. It seems to have been Filipinized, too! "How?" you may ask. Well, what was most apparent was the quantity of the food. Diners did not pick on little morsels with chopsticks. Rather, they heaped their plates and dug into their food, shoveling spoonfuls continuously into their mouths. They also went back to the buffet repeatedly. I was fascinated. It reminded me of a Filipino party in the province.

But that is going too far ahead in the story. On a lazy day when I did not have the inclination to visit the mall, I found myself in Eastwood City. It was towards lunchtime and I noticed a stream of people entering Macau Restaurant. The joint is located near a call center and the huge poster plastered on the doors looked promising. It announced that lunch buffet was priced at P199+, and dinner buffet for P299+. Hmm. Not just promising. It was cheap, in fact, for a buffet, so I no longer wondered about the steady stream of people entering and leaving the place.

Admittedly, I was curious about the food, so I resolved to try it out. However, being too timid to barge through the hungry crowd alone, I had to wait for my dining companions. It took some time before they got there, and I must admit that a chant was going though my head: "Oh no! By the time we get to the buffet, it will be totally cleaned out." But at last they were there, and the hungry mob had thinned out. The restaurant staff looked positively pooped, but to their credit, they gave genuinely warm welcoming smiles and seated us promptly. (Believe me, with all the eating out that I do, I can now really distinguish the sincere smiles from the insipid rubber mask smirks.)

Anyway, we soon threaded our way to the buffet. Surprisingly, the food was still substantial at 1:30 p.m. These did not look like somebody’s leftovers either, and seeing that there were new arrivals, the staff fortified the chafing dishes with their arsenal of hot, fragrant, newly-cooked food. That certainly earned additional plus-points for the restaurant.

The food was quite good, actually. However, in a buffet such as Macau’s, you have to concentrate and zero in on what you really like. Otherwise, there is a sensory overload, the result of which is that your rampaging appetite is suddenly and inexplicably satiated. I know, I know, those of you who know me well will say that it isn’t such a bad thing considering my soaring triglyceride levels, But like I always say: It is my job to eat and write about what I devour.

So, I zoomed in to the pata tim. Quite good. It was nicely seasoned – neither too sweet nor salty. Best of all, it was meticulously cleaned and showed no traces of the pig bristles (yuck!) that I previously found in other Chinese restaurants in Metro Manila. It was pretty good, in fact, so I went for second, and third servings (small ones). The dim sum, too, was quite interesting. I would have been content to just have that if I didn’t have the pata tim first.

Other dishes in the buffet included barbecued pork just like they serve at birthday parties, vegetables, sushi, fish, kare-kare, the mandatory noodles and so much more. Like I said, the menu has been somewhat Filipinized.

The verdict? Certainly, you get the best value for your money at Macau. Just don’t expect the waiter to tuck linen napkins under your chin. To its credit, the staff was alert and attentive though, and, after being almost bulldozed to the ground by the lunch mob, they deserve a medal for heroically doing their jobs well. Will I go back? Most definitely. No more fast-food Chinese food for me when I can eat better in Macau. Besides, aside from the tasty food, I have to check if a record of sorts, set on the day of my visit, can be broken. See, I saw a young guy eat what must have been the equivalent of a fourth of a full-grown hog. Now, I have to go there and check if someone else can beat that feat!

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Macau is at Unit B1 Eastwood Citywalk, Libis, Quezon City, with tel. nos. 421-1171 to 73. Ask about their Dine Now Pay Later@0% promo, which is ongoing until Dec. 31.