I made my first Macao Portuguese Egg Tart and had the tastiest rice dish ever!
The most amazing people you can travel with (L-R): Sharon, Fish, Jixin, Tino, Ophelia, Zee Luei, yours truly ( yes, I am amazing to travel with and this self-praise is not an understatement. Haha. ), Willy, Jess.
Portuguese tart or egg tart, or Macau egg tart. Whatever it is that you are calling it, we know for sure that this creation is born synonymously with what defines modern Macao. No tourists visit Macao without eating a bite of egg tart, myself included. I am a big fan of food and its origin, but being able to bake my very own Portuguese egg tart in Macao? That’s probably one of the highlights at my recent engagement with the MGTO Malaysia. Attending this workshop at the Le Cesar restaurant was quite an amazing experience. Skip the workshop if you are no fan of baking but never skip dining at Le Cesar. They served me the best rice I’ve ever had.
Le Cesar boasts the kind of bright and airy roominess and while there may not be stunning views elusive to many grand hotel and resorts, the space here is polished, with warm yellow lighting, punctuated in the right places with absolute cosy and calmness. There is a bar and a good dining space that could serve as their workshop area. Dishes are based on Portuguese traditional recipes, and nothing seemed simple at this modest-looking establishment. Starting with the appetizers, and we are looking at cod fish cakes with black-eyed bean salad-my favourite. Followed by the Portuguese “pata negra” 24 months smoked ham and the Sauteed clams in white wine, Portuguese style of course. And another winner, the Octopus salad Portuguese style. All with a lovely pairing of wine of your choice. Did I mention the owner imports Portuguese wines and supplies them to the local business?
Dipping bread into the broth in the clams were crazy mixed of emotions on the palate. The squeeze of lemon into the savoury sweetness from the wine was delicious fantastic as an appetizer.
The champion has got to be the Wet fish and prawn rice. It was insanely delicious, it got me a little angry and frustrated having to think of where I would have to go for the exact same thing in Malaysia. There is a longer cooking time required for this particular dish but it was totally worth the wait. Each bite was packed with flavours down to each and every single grain, with prawns so fresh and delicious it’s almost like tasting sea. Completing the meal with meat on the menu, we had Grill black pork, not just any part- the feather’s blade. Served with choice of potato chips house made with whole potato, or creamy spinach. We were pampered and spoilt by the owner when dessert is being served with wine, you had no idea how much guilt I had when I started counting the calories.
My first Pastel de nata!
Chef Pedro Quintantiro patiently guiding us through his workshop
Things only gets better when at this point, egg tarts we made from the workshop prior to being seated for our meal were out of the oven! Freshly baked! Making it without anyone’s help probably contribute to the excitement. Ok I lied. It is obvious but I didn’t get too much help from chef- maybe because I was good at it? (puked at this self-praising statement at this point of writing). But it was so much fun at the workshop it would be a great activity for not only the locals, tourists as well.
Jess and I, we bonded over raw eggs.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%20ot80c6S6D_k?rel=0&w=853&h=480]
Here’s some useful information courtesy of Fish (thank goodness someone was taking notes):
1.The price and the duration:
Price: 200.00 mop/person
Duration: around 45 minutes
2.The participants get to make at least 2 egg tarts whilst sipping your complimentary house wine (from Portugal of course)
3. Minimum and maximum headcount per workshop:
Minimum: 10 pax
Maximum: 50 pax
4. How to apply?
Contact Le Cesar via telephone +853 6252 6530 or email epld.dg@gmail.com , or pm them on Facebook.
Le Cesar (Old Taipa) is located at:
300 Rua Direita Carlos Eugénio, Chun Weng Kok, G/F – Old Taipa, Macau.
Reservations: +853 2857 6682
Parking: Street and new large public car park (2 minutes walk)
Hours: Monday to Friday: 12:00 – 15:00. 18:00 – 23:00. Saturday and Sunday: 12:00 – 23:00.
Social Media: www.instagram.com/lecesaroldtaipa
GPS: 2.153535,113.55825
Content made possible by Macao Government Tourism Office Malaysia . Big thanks to Chef Pedro Quantantiro for being so willing in sharing his baking tips and owner Mr Diogo Giraldes for putting up with my nonsense.
Also read about my Macao stories with #sycookiesxMacao , and other posts of Sycookies Food Travelogue when I travel out of Klang Valley for food.
Food places I have covered in Macao is also pinned on Gastronomy Macao map , so this hopefully would be a great help for reference for anyone planning on a Macao food trip.
Follow me:
Love
#sycookiestravelogue, #foodeverywhere #2018macaoyearofgastronomy #experiencemacao #sycookiesxmacao
Interestingly, my colleague said egg tarts in Macao tastes better than those in Portugal!
There is only one way to verify that statement .