Good Eating Edit: 5 must-visit restaurants in Macau with Michelin stars, from Alain Ducasse at Morpheus to the multi-award-winning Jade Dragon in City of Dreams

With pandemic restrictions finally over, people are finally able to travel freely again, unleashing pent-up demand for convivial dining experiences on their journeys. And it’s not just comfortable beds that hotel guests are looking for. In this new era, guests are drawn to properties with a greater variety of offerings, with on-site restaurants and bars being a huge determining factor in whether a hotel looks appealing.

1. Alain Ducasse at Morpheus, City of Dreams

Step forward Melco Resorts, which has recently seen restaurants across its various hotels awarded a number of prestigious Michelin stars in this year’s Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau.

At Alain Ducasse at Morpheus, taste is considered the restaurant’s raison d’être and the ultimate criteria of success. Two Michelin stars and a five-star rating in the Forbes Travel Guide indicate just how successful the restaurant has been. The secret to its success is a menu crafted to ensure that the authenticity and exacting flavours of French cuisine can be found in every bite of every dish.

2. Jade Dragon, City of Dreams

Awarded a coveted three Michelin stars for the last five years, Jade Dragon is the culinary masterpiece located at the heart of City of Dreams. Famous for its exquisite Cantonese cuisine, the multi-award-winning culinary team is led by executive chef Kelvin Au Yeung, whose unique menu offers the best in quality natural organic and farm-fresh ingredients from around the world – including seafood from Japan and France as well as herbs and seasoning from England. Combined with its spectacular interior design and superlative service, a meal at Jade Dragon makes for an unforgettable experience.

3. Ying, Altira Macau

Altira Macau is home to another exceptional Cantonese restaurant, the Michelin-starred Ying. Where other restaurants seek to present newfangled reinterpretations of Cantonese classics, Ying focuses on precisely recreating those traditional dishes that have been perfected over hundreds of years. Traditional Chinese art and design elements blend harmoniously with the cooking to stunning effect.

4. Pearl Dragon, Studio City

Utilising wider influences from across China, Pearl Dragon at Studio City showcases refined provincial Chinese flavours and innovative culinary creations. Since 2019, the restaurant has received the highest possible five-star rating from Forbes Travel Guide and has been the proud possessor of a Michelin star since 2017. Guests can look forward to signature dishes featuring such delicacies as abalone and bird’s nest, as well as innovative creations unavailable anywhere else.

5. Yí, City of Dreams

Set in the heart of the Morpheus Hotel, Yí boasts seasonal Chinese degustation menus and striking interiors up on the 21st-floor Sky Bridge – both of which have earned it renown as a Michelin Selected Restaurant.

The menu follows the development of the 24 solar terms of the lunisolar calendar that Chinese farmers traditionally followed. As a result, the menu changes 12 times per year. Signature dishes include steamed bird’s nest dumpling with superior glaze and guanciale ham, hot and sour fish maw soup, and oven-roasted lemongrass pigeon.