Macau Asian Tavern
28 November 2019
MACAU ASIAN TAVERN
101 Hout Street, Cape Town
For a
change the wife and I had the opportunity of taking an overseas visitor to
dinner! Oh, yes, our friend (who now lives in Israel) is originally from Cape
Town. Does that make a difference?
I raved
about Macau in my previous review (circa 13 July 2019), both the feel and look
of the place, and the food. Tonight, the ambience was considerably more subdued
because the restaurant was not busy at all but though the excitement levels
were lower, this meant we could have a decent conversation.
Our table
was under a ceiling fan (on a rahter hot, muggy night) on the main floor and gave
me the opportunity to appreciate the bare brick walls and the high shelves
supporting many different beautiful lamps and other accoutrements. From this
perspective, Macau seems less tavern than chic, upmarket restaurant, with a mix
of standard tables and semi-circular banquette seating.
The
wife and I’d learnt from our previous experience and didn't go crazy on the
small plates (petticos) and all three of us stuck to a starter-and-main
approach, and only I had dessert. Also, only I had liquor, two margaritas,
while the others stuck to respectively soft drink and water.
I
started with a small stack of sticky sesame pork ribs (R70) that was perfectly
cooked and had a deeply rich glaze that was so good I would have been sucking
on the rib bones if it weren't for the disapproving looks I expected the wife
to cast my way. I admit that I often eat like a peasant, and not in a good way.
The
wife and the friend ordered respectively duck (R65) and vegetable (R55) spring
rolls.
She
pointed out this unpleasantness to the waiter who returned with an apology and
a small bowl of spicy edamame beans. He was not to know, but this gesture didn’t
appease the wife who cares less for legumes and has no truck with spicy food.
This meant more edamame munch for the friend and me and we tucked in. It was
better than wasabi coated peanuts; could be an addictive bar snack.
The friend's
main course was a Kung Pao chicken (with cashew nuts and zingy chilli)(R125),
]
My first choice was the five-spice flavoured baby kingklip until
our waiter announced, before we ordered, that the kingklip (as well as
crayfish) was unavailable tonight. Never a break!
Our
friend loved the spicy, generously portioned Kung Pao chicken. The wife liked
her beef well enough but wasn't wowed by it and thought it was overpriced. The
ramen was excellent, with succulent slices of pork and a broth that had a subtle,
sweet undertone laced with the delicate warmth of chilli.
My
sweet treat was the pasteis de nata with green tea ice cream (R60.) The
ice cream was rich and smooth yet lacked a pronounced green tea flavour. The pasteis
was lovely.
The
bill came to R991,00 before tip.
This
evening was low key compared to our first visit, when we probably drank too
much and definitely ate too much, and the wife’s comment was, if this were our
first visit, that she wouldn’t necessarily rush back. I get where she’s coming
from, but the restaurant is still lovely and inviting, the food is excellent (I
trust that tonight's unfortunate experience with the duck spring rolls was an
anomaly) and the service was good. However, the restaurant is very warm and
stuffy inside, despite the ceiling fans, which makes for an uncomfortable
eating experience on a hot Cape Town evening.
Saigon
is still our favourite Asian food restaurant, with Izakaya Matsuri a close
second (when it’s strictly Japanese one wants) but Macau still has my vote too.
On reflection, one should perhaps just go nuts on the petticos and share many
small plates of deliciousness.
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