Wuyuan, Canola Flower Trip (江西婺源。油菜花) (9) - Sanqingshan (三清山)

The Sanqingshan mountains is a Taoist mountain famous for its beautiful scenery.  In fact, the Chinese listed this as one of the national key scenic spots in August 1988 and named it a national geological park in September 2005.  Since July, 2008, it's a national AAAAA level tourist area and included on the World Heritage List.

[Macau] The Tasting Room by Galliot (御膳房)

I have always wanted to try The Tasting Room but never had an opportunity until recently.  Better yet, it was a treat from a fellow colleague!  I have heard mixed reviews but after trying the menu myself, I like it!  (Forgive my iPhone / Instagram pictures since I didn't bring my big camera - this was a business lunch!  I am probably going to update this post with more pictures the next time I return.)

The dining room is nice and bright, the servers are very knowledgeable and attentive.  The food is delicious and the presentation is beautiful.    Since my colleagues actually knows Chef Galliot, he came out and chatted with us for a little while!

The dining room is nice and bright.

The bread basket

Is it just me or are all French restaurants now serving Robuchon-styled bread these days?
Don't get me wrong though, the bread is delicious.  I am just curious.

Our server highly recommended this bread to us.
He even brought 2 extra to us when he noted there was only 1 in the basket!

It's a sour dough with walnut and raisins
A seriously good bread especially with their salted butter!

amuse boucheSalmon with Dill Cream and Caviar

The flavor combination is classic and excellent.
I have a good feeling about this meal already.Side note: This is also offered as one of the appetizers.

Pertius Green Asparagus Royal with Bacon Foam, Oyster Infusion
蒸法國蘆筍伴蠔香煙肉汁

It could be hotter but I love this soup.
The asparagus is pureed and the oyster is prominent.
Although I can't taste much of the bacon, I am very happy with the soup.

Side note:  I don't eat foie gras but my colleague can't stop raving about it.
The chef even brought us the fresh sun-dried Medjool date to try.  It was sweet like honey!

The lack of bacon is remediated with a freah prosciutto biscuit

crispy, savory, and delicious

Whiting Fish Nage, Fresh Coriander Emulsion and Marinated Tomato with Sumac
香荽濃湯燴海牙魚

I really like my entree as well.
The fish is pan-fried perfectly and the sauce is a very nice compliment to the fish.

Since there were three of us, we decided to order all the desserts offered and shared among ourselves.  My favorite is the panna cotta but the clafutis is yummy as well.

Gariguette Strawberry Clafoutis with Fromage Blanc Sorbet
士多啤梨伴芝士雪芭

This one is the lightest of the three desserts offered.
The texture is almost like a sponge cake.

Vanilla honey panna cotta, textures of mango and fresh raspberries
意式蜜糖雲呢拿奶凍配芒果及覆盆子

As mentioned, this is my favorite.
Loved the jello like texture of the panna cotta.
It's light and refreshing.

 

Dark Chocolate Torte, Marshmallow and Graham Cracker Ice Cream
黑朱古力撻配棉花糖麥芽雪糕

This is good and i would probably like it more in the fall / winter.
This is spring and I preferred something light and fruity

Decaf Latte with a small macaroon

My body is not taking caffeine well lately.
Normally it doesn't affect me and I sleep just fine.
Oh well...

The price of the 3-course prix fixe is phenomenal (MOP$258 per person plus 10% service fee) and for a Michellin-rated restaurant, this is a great value!  (2015 note:  not sure if the price went up since they did earned another star.)  The menu changes regularly and it's usually posted on their Facebook page.  Now I have another place to take my friends when they are in town!

The Tasting Room by Galliot (御膳房)

Level 3, Crown Towers, City of Dreams, Taipa, Macau

Tel: +853 8868 6681

Hours: 12:00 - 15:00; 18:00 - 23:00

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TTR.CityofDreams

Disclaimer:  I am not affiliated with the restaurant but my colleague bought my lunch.

Single Origin (單品)

I discovered this local place one fateful day when I took a detour walking home and have been wanting to try the coffee here ever since.  I finally went there on a random Sunday a few months back but I forgot where I saved my pictures!  :(  As a result, I "borrowed" a few pictures from their Facebook page but I assure you, the coffee picture is mine... 

Espresso and Dark Chocolate

Tabuchi (田淵)

This is my friend's favorite restaurant.  The food is consistent and it is a nice and quiet place if you want to talk to your friends over a light meal and some drinks.  The boss is very friendly too.  Just don't compare to the izakayas in Japan!

Located in the beautiful and quiet Sai Wan (西灣),
next to my favorite restaurant - Henry's Galley.

Second Prince Thai Food (二皇子泰國菜)

A friend introduced this restaurant to me a while ago.  It was located in the residential area so the prices are very reasonable!  The only challenge would be ordering if you don't speak any Cantonese.  But I always find "pointing" very useful when I am trying to order food at a restaurant where I don't speak the language :)

Wuyuan, Canola Flower Trip (江西婺源。油菜花) (8) - Wang Kou (汪口)

Update:  This was part of the blog entry (4) under the same series.  I decided the original entry was too long.  If you actually read the long version, you can skip this entry.

With much debate, we decide to go to one last stop of the day, Wang Kou (汪口).  Maybe we were let down at Jiang Wan, I wasn't expecting much of Wang Kou so I was pleasantly surprised and glad we made the stop.  There is not much to see other than the river flowing through the village but with the beautiful sunset and breezy weather, it makes Wang Kou a worthy stop!  (I would also personally recommend getting your rafting experience here versus Rainbow Bridge or Moon Bay, it's prettier here in my opinion.)

Wuyuan, Canola Flower Trip (江西婺源。油菜花) (7) - Jiang Wan (江灣)

Update:  This was part of the blog entry (4) under the same series.  I decided the original entry was too long.  If you actually read the long version, you can skip this entry.

After lunch, we went to Jiang Wan (江灣).  Some of us are pretty tired at this point and chose to take a nap in the car.  The rest of us took the free shuttle and went inside the village.  The village has gone through a large scale renovation and it looks too modern for what it is.

Everything has been renovated here - nice but the place also loss its glamour.

Wuyuan, Canola Flower Trip (江西婺源。油菜花) (6) - Xiao Qi (曉起)

Update:  This was part of the blog entry (4) under the same series.  I decided the original entry was too long.  If you actually read the long version, you can skip this entry.

The next village we stopped at is Xiao Qi (曉起).  The village is very similar to everyone else we have been to in Wuyuan.  Nevertheless, the old pathway linking the upper and lower village is a must-see.

Wuyuan, Canola Flower Trip (江西婺源。油菜花) (5) - Jiang Ling (江嶺)

Update:  This was part of the blog entry (4) under the same series.  I decided the original entry was too long.  If you actually read the long version, you can skip this entry.

This post mainly showcases the beauty of the canola fields at Jiang Ling (江嶺).  We missed the peak of the blooming season by one week but it's still breathtaking nonetheless.  I am so glad I came.  I know there are many repetitive shots but you know how we all go into the crazy snap shot mode when you see something beautiful.

Wuyuan, Canola Flower Trip (江西婺源。油菜花) (4)

Update:  I decided the original entry was too long in the end and divided the entries into 5 parts, which is entry (5) to (8) under this series.  If you actually read the previous version of this entry, you can skip.

This is the highly anticipated canola fields day so again, we woke up super early.  Did you know the canola is also known as rape or rapeseed?  Canola is a made-up name by the Canadians.  I guess nobody wants to call this pretty flower rape...  As we were deciding on breakfast, we spotted a butcher selling pork just like how it used to be in the old costume dramas (but in modern clothes).

Look at how lean the pork is!

ALBERGUE 1601 (婆仔屋)

Another restaurant that has been in my archives for quite some time now... Went there (last year) to celebrate my friend's birthday.  Everything about the restaurant is great except the food.  It was too salty.  My friends and I even took a  picture to mock how salty everything was.  I sincerely hope the food is better now because the restaurant is indeed a cute place and it's somewhere I want to be able to like, recommend, and take my friends to.

It used to be a house for spinsters

The Kitchen (大廚)

A few friends and I went to the Kitchen a while back (like a year ago) for a farewell lunch.  The set lunch menu ranges from MOP$248 to MOP$428 per person.  (All prices are subject to 10% service charge.)  I think the reason why it took me so long to post this one is because I wasn't too impressed by the food and service.  I can only recall my friends saying how tough their sirloin were and how slow the service was...  I have to agree, a lunch that cost over MOP$350 per person should be better, or at least be more memorable.

Wuyuan, Canola Flower Trip (江西婺源。油菜花) (3)

Life in the village starts super early.  We thought we were early when we woke up around 530am, only to find most of the villagers are already up and working!  

The only time I will wake up early...