We review Chiado at Sands Cotai Central, where Portuguese favourites get a modern slant

Henrique Sà Pessoa has six restaurants in his native Portugal, and now brings modern yet authentic Portuguese cuisine – including some of his most emblematic dishes – to Macau with the opening of new Portuguese restaurant Chiado at Sands Cotai Central. Named after the area where his two-Michelin-star restaurant Alma is located, Chiado serves classic Portuguese delicacies in a casual yet elegant setting. The restaurant also houses a fine selection of Portuguese wine.

After a glass of the refreshing signature cocktail Chiado, a gin-based cocktail mixed with orange, olive oil and egg white, we started our meal with two hearty soups, roasted pumpkin soup with coconut cream, prawns and almonds, and creamy zucchini soup with basil and Azores island cheese. With a hint of coconut, the pumpkin soup carried the savoury taste from the prawns and a pleasant nuttiness from the crunchy almonds. We also liked the mild spiciness from the tiny amount of red chilli paste and ginger. The delicious zucchini soup was also a good starter.

We then tried salted cod à Brás with slow-cooked egg yolk and onion purée – it is a modern interpretation of the traditional Portuguese comfort food followed by Sà Pessoa’s seminal dish, slow-cooked suckling pork with sweet potato purée, pak choy and orange. The suckling pig is slow cooked at 66 degrees Celsius for 24 hours in the oven, and it was exceptionally tender and tasty, while the skin was crispy. King prawn cataplana with sweet potato perfumed with lemongrass and ginger was next – a typical seafood dish from south Portugal which was delightful with a glass of Portuguese white wine.

We ended with chocolate bombe with salted caramel and hazelnut ice cream, the signature dessert served in Alma. With chocolate cake and smooth chocolate mousse inside, and chocolate jelly as the outer layer, together with hazelnut ice cream and salted caramel, nuts and cookie crush, it was the perfect dessert for chocolate lovers like us. 

Chiado