Macau Kitchen - Progressive Macanese Cuisine — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Fantastic restaurant serving authentic Macanese food.

This place is brilliant and one of few places in the UK, let alone Europe, serving Macanese food. For those that don’t know, ‘Macanese’ refers to the people, culture and cuisine of Macau, a city the size of Edinburgh on the south coast of China. Once a Portuguese colony, Macau’s cuisine is an interesting fusion of east Asian and Portuguese food, so called Luso-Asian. The mixed origin of its culture and food is something that becomes obvious once you start reading the menu. On it you’ll find ‘bolinhos de bacalhau’ and spicy ‘Polvo’ salad (Portuguese for cod croquettes and spicy octopus salad) along with dishes that we all associate with China such as crispy duck. Except here it’s not served with the thin pancakes that most Brits have come to expect of Chinese/Asian restaurants, but rather ‘congée’, a type of Asian rice broth.

The standout dish, and most typical of Macanese cuisine - apparently in Macau the dish has an equivalent status to fish and chips in the UK - is the ‘Minchi’: a comforting, flavoursome dish which mixes soy sauce and sweetened minced meat with potatoes and a fried egg on top. While the duck was good, the Minchi wasn’t something I’d ever seen before so this takes the crown.

Equally as intriguing and delicious were the desserts: we had a sweet and salty ‘leite creme’ (think ‘crème brûlée) and ‘Bebinca’ layer cake (think fruity Swiss roll). True to the Luso-Asian origin of its cuisine, they even have Portugal’s quintessential custard tart, ‘pastel de nata’, freshly baked and sat atop the counter at the back of the restaurant.

To drink you can have fresh citrus and peach ice teas (tea definitely the ‘Asian’ in the ‘Luso-Asian’) as well as ‘bica’ coffee, the Portuguese equivalent to an espresso. Safe to say the ‘bica’ went nicely with the dessert and definitely captured the ethos of the place in reflecting the Luso-Asian cuisine and culture (tea is typically a more popular option to coffee in mainland China).

The restaurant itself is quite small - read cosy - and the interior design adds to the authentic Luso-Asian ‘feel’ of the place. You can even purchase the centre-piece painting on the wall if you like it that much! Certain dishes are served on classic blue-and-white chinaware, while the ‘bica’ came in rustic, stone-like espresso cups. Very stylish and clearly well considered.

The service was friendly and quick, and the chef even spoke to us after the lunch service to explain the origin behind the food he was preparing.

All in all, really impressed with this place and I’d easily recommend it to anyone looking for something different - a must if you like food with a story behind it! Definitely book though as the place isn’t very big.

Thanks...

It was a pleasant surprise to find a Macanese restaurant in Scotland of all places.

Do not misunderstood that this is like the typical restaurant in HK/Macau (茶餐廳). Think of it as a fusion Portuguese cuisine. In prices and menu. I can't comment about prices because I don't know where Scotland prices among diners.

Dishes come in the size of tapas.

Citrus mulberry tea - I'm impressed of the creativity. Very delicious hot drink. Not too sweet but very tasty.

Octopus salad - Love the salad, the onion was perfect, not as spicy as most raw onion. However, I typically enjoy stronger flavor, I prefer the dressings to be more intense.

Bolinhos De Bacalhau - Loved it. Very good quality. Like the best I've had in Portugal and Macau. Authentic and delicious!

Spicy crispy basil chicken - Flavor and crispiness was perfectly done. The chicken was very lightly battered, or may be not. It crispy but doesn't notice the batter, so it may lightly powder with corn starch. The flavor was perfect and the sauce it used is like honey mustard. Really light up the dish. There crispy basil leaves was good also but probably should easy on the salt. But just the basil.

Crispy curry duck - This dish is a fusion dish. Crispy duck was done perfectly. Taste great and even in the curry sauce it still taste crispy. The curry sauce reminded me of Thai curry but the good one. Slightly sweet and coconutty and I LOVE the cabbage salad. Finely chop cabbage and carrots underneath the crispy duck soaked in sauce made it a wonderful salad.

The restaurant is small. Just get reservation. Respond by text very promptly.

The lady was very "informative" and friendly, she's a Malay. We didn't ask the chef too much info, he is either Portuguese or Macanese, Portuguese born in Macau. I would have known if I could try they pastel de nata but they didn't have it on Sunday night. They weren't supposed to open on Sunday night but they texted us the night before since there wasn't any availability but invited us to come on Sunday night for they are preparing a special private dining for just one round of guests.

I think texting is the best way to...

I love Indian, Chinese, and Thai food. Imagine those flavours bundled up with a bit of Portuguese heritage and you have Macau Kitchen, a lovely little find on St Leonard's Street, Edinburgh. Fusion food restaurants can seem a bit gimmicky but this is the real deal - dishes infused with the flavours of a true cultural melting pot: China, India, and southeast Asian cuisines converge in Macau (an autonomous state famed for its casinos that sits across the Pearl River from Hong Kong). It was once a Portuguese colony so the resulting dishes are a lip-smacking, mouth-warming mash-up of East meets West. There were four of us and after a day stomping round the city we were ready to indulge. We selected four small plates (wafer-thin, crispy, spicy potato skins; flavour-packed pork strips; fish croquettes; vegetable spring rolls - all with spicy, tangy chilli sauce and mayo) and four large plates (a generous, succulent duck leg; minced beef with potatoes and fried egg (a classic); coconut-based chicken on the bone; fried squid with real Szechuan heat). The owner talked us through the dishes and the food came thick and fast, with little pots of rice. Each dish was an individual delight, tasting familiar and yet somehow different. One moment you're in Portugal eating bacalao (juicy salted cod), the next you're savouring the scent of lime leaves and coconut, or smacking your lips at the sweet-sour combo of tamarind and palm sugar. There was even a tingling hint of Szechuan peppers. We had no room for dessert but there is a selection on offer. We were seriously tempted though by the offer of freshly made pastella de nata (the famous Portuguese custard tartlets). Next time definitely! This was an unexpected treat. It's a small and cosy restaurant so book ahead. The staff and proprietors are friendly and up for a chat. BYO booze (though they do serve alcohol) for a nominal corkage fee. Cosy ambience....