Review / We review Sichuan Moon at Wynn Palace, Macau — André Chiang’s new restaurant
André Chiang is one of those star-spangled chefs known for what he dishes up in the kitchen.
His famous octaphilosophy – where eight elements make up the food and ingredients of his creations – is very much part of his success story, which includes being head chef of a three Michelin-starred restaurant in France and either owning or co-owning some of the most critically acclaimed restaurants in Asia such as Raw in Taipei, Taiwan, and Burnt Ends in Singapore.
Yet Chiang is known not only for his estimable culinary reputation, but also for his respectful but notable decision to exclude his restaurant, Raw, from the Michelin Guide.
Upon closing his eponymous, hugely successful Restaurant André in Singapore, he also asked that Raw be omitted from Taiwan’s inaugural Michelin Guide in 2018.
At the time he said that Raw is “a unique combination of the people, design and food of Taiwan. Every city needs an iconic restaurant. Raw will be the iconic restaurant for Taiwan. So I don’t need [Michelin].”
So when such a punctilious chef opens a brand-new Sichuan concept in Wynn Palace, Macau, the gourmands of the world will pay attention.
Sichuan Moon takes up the space that used to be Andrea’s, previously also a Chinese restaurant within Wynn Palace.
The room is brightened by a gorgeous butterfly chandelier, with butterfly mosaics remaining on the walls, but what’s on the plate and the plating is what makes a marked difference.
The degustation menu (1,888 patacas, US$234) has 26 courses that appeal to the five senses and beyond – all the while adhering to Chiang’s famous octaphilosophy.
Noteworthy dishes on the menu include the meticulously presented hot and sour soup.
Plated like a chrysanthemum flower and absolutely Instagram-worthy, each petal is either black fungus or pork rolled in daikon and cut cross-section to form a small disc.
The soup is dotted with precisely 15 drops of chilli and herb oil and, while the hot and sour notes were on point, we found the herb oil doesn’t replace the aroma of white pepper in this classic dish. The interpretation is definitely bold, but doesn’t exceed expectations.
Next up, the secret-recipe king crab leg is a winner. The crab leg was briny and tender with a crisp and spicy coat on the arm of the crustacean. We only wish there had been more of the crunchy goodness that covered all the meat rather than leaving the crab with part of its shell on.
For dessert, the spicy Valrhona chocolate palette was lashed with Sichuan peppercorn to give it a kick, and while this added an innovative dynamic to the chocolate, we felt the spice level could be kicked up a notch to give more of a fire to the palate.
We came to Sichuan Moon precisely two weeks after its opening, and it seemed that a little tweaking was in order, but we look forward to the second visit as this promises to be a brand new take on a very traditional class of cuisine.
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The acclaimed chef’s latest offering, Sichuan Moon, served up a 26-course degustation menu that appeals to the five senses and beyond ... but how good was it?