Portugal - Toucinho do Ceu

Toucinho do ceu, meaning "bacon from heaven"

Everyone knows about pastel de nata, or Portuguese egg tart that is also famous in Macau with a caramelised top. But there are many other desserts and treats, and now that we've landed in Porto, we're definitely going to sample many different kinds!

Tonight we went to a restaurant called Alibi where we sampled "pots", or mini Dutch ovens filled with stewed cod fish with potatoes and rice, tender beef chunks with mined chorizo and fava beans, and two salads, one with slices of smoked duck Magret, the other with Sao Jorge cheese.

Dark chocolate cake with raspberries, blackberries

For dessert, we tried a chocolate brownie cake, thankfully not to sweet or rich, and a Portuguese almond cake called toucinho do ceu, literally "bacon from heaven."

It is actually a gluten-free cake, as it uses ground almonds and no flour, some eggs, sugar and butter.

First sugar is melted with water in a large pan, and then the blanched ground almonds are added and mix it as it cooks a bit, making the mixture a bit thicker. Take the pan off the heat and add butter that has already been melted, preferably to the point where it has a nutty flavour.

Mix them up well before adding beaten eggs, as well as orange zest and amaretto. Then the batter is poured into a pan that has been buttered then add parchment paper that has butter and flour to prevent the cake from sticking.

It is then baked at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. When it's done, turn it upside down, remove the parchment paper and let it cool. Then sprinkle icing sugar on top.

The version at Alibi included a scoop of tangerine sorbet that helped cut the sweetness of the cake.

Don't know why it is called toucinho do ceu, but there is a version of small tarts that have bits of bacon in them...

Lunch at the Macau Military Club

The dining room looks the same, with ceiling fans

We did a quick side trip to Macau with the intention of having lunch there and then hanging out, but then my uncle suggested we go to Zhongshan after.

Our lunch was booked at Clube Militar de Macau or the Macau Military Club, an old colonial building adjacent to the Grand Lisboa, a giant shiny bulbous tower with lotus petals sprouting up from it. 

The foyer looks elegant with antique furniture

In the morning we took TurboJet from Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the aging building FINALLY got a refresh and looks so much better now.

For decades it was so tired-looking and considering so many people commute to Macau from here, one would think they would budget some money to renovating it, which they did a few years ago.

Taking the ferry during the week was not too bad, and we even caught an earlier boat and it's a good thing we did. By the way, gone are the stickers with seat numbers -- all seats are printed on separate tickets, which seems counter-intuitive in terms of using more paper...

After an hour we arrived in Macau (the old part), we swiftly went through immigration and then I thought we would go through the underpass to get on a hotel shuttle bus to Grand Lisboa, but none were to be found.

An old photo of the club from decades past

Instead we had to follow a series of arrows taking us on a very long walkway to get to the hotel shuttle buses. This was new! It took us a good 15 minutes to walk to the Jai Alai Oceanus station, apparently a temporary measure until December 15.

When we finally got to the shuttle stop, there was a long line of people already waiting. 

And there aren't numerous shuttles ready to whisk people off to the casino resort -- instead we had to wait for the next shuttle, which took passengers to several different stops before finally arriving at Grand Lisboa (stop number four).

From there we crossed the street to the Clube Militar and arrived just on time at 12.30pm.

The last time I was here was in the early 2000s, and its old school atmosphere is like seeing an old friend again.

The downstairs hallway to restrooms

The European-style building was originally built in 1870 as a private military club for Portuguese military and their guests. Some notable ones include Dr Sun Yat-sen, who lived in Macau for a period of time. Another was poet Camilo Pessanha, who gave a presentation on the pleasures of learning Chinese language and culture in 1915.

In 1953, Clube Militar was opened to civilians, and then in 1995 the building was restored and reopened as a restaurant to the public and still retains its club. This year Clube Militar celebrates its 155th anniversary.

The club has over 700 members, most of them non-Portuguese, after the handover of Macau back to China in 1999. 

It seems the dining room is very popular for lunch, and soon after we arrived, the tables filled up quickly with Chinese and Portuguese guests alike. We opted for for the buffet spread, which included salads, soup, braised eel, beef, seafood salad and fried rice.

The desserts were impressive, in particular the flan that was a smooth egg custard, poached pear, traditional rice pudding, and chocolate cake. 

One of the large paintings in the foyer

If you order a la carte, signature dishes include bacalhau or codfish, African chicken, and arroz de marisco (seafood rice)

975 Avenida da Praia Grande, Macau

+853 2871 4004

 

Remembering a Macanese Chef

Coelho when we filmed our interview with him in 2018

A culinary legend in Macau has died. Portuguese native Antonio Coelho was the chef and founder of Antonio's who died October 12 at the age of 77. He is remembered for his food that was cooked with many dollops of butter, and the convivial atmosphere he created in his cosy restaurant.

His wife Mercy made the announcement on social media.

Antonio's sauteed clams in white wine sauce

"Our family is deeply saddened to inform you that my beloved husband, Antonio, passed away last Sunday," she wrote. "I cannot express the grief that we are feeling at the loss of such a great man in the family and to everyone else."

Coelho opened his restaurant in 2007, which was known for such dishes as sauteed clams with garlic and white wine sauce, sauteed fresh prawns with garlic, grilled sardines, Portuguese duck rice, and "Portuguese" style steak that was panfried in a lot of butter and served with a fried egg, pickles and potato slices.

Born and raised in Portugal, Coelho did many different jobs from a stint in the army where he was posted in Macau for two years, to working for the government and in a clinical lab before learning about food through his then boss. He would take Coelho to different restaurants, where the young man developed his palate and tried to recreate the dishes for his friends on the weekends.

Coelho enjoyed the media attention

Four years later he started working in a restaurant where he really learned how to cook. After three years there Coelho opened his own place.

In 1997 following his divorce, Coelho decided it was time for a change of scenery and moved to Macau to start fresh. He worked in several restaurants in the former Portuguese enclave and Hong Kong, before opening Antonio's in 2007.

I interviewed him in 2018, an assignment from one of my bosses, as it was his favourite Macanese restaurant. We tracked down Coelho who didn't seem to take our interview request too seriously. But when he saw we showed up with a video camera and keen to shoot, he went all out and allowed us to film him in the kitchen and stay for dinner.

Watching him cook in the kitchen he wasn't particularly meticulous, measuring out things exactly. Instead he cooked with instinct (and a lot of butter), which is probably why he had so many fans who could taste his love in the dishes.

Interviewing him, Coelho talked in tangents, not quite answering the question and would fall into his favourite topic of food and cooking.

The infamous Portuguese duck rice

At the time he also had a roving guitarist who would serenade diners with songs. It was definitely a unique and memorable experience. 

He told our cameraman at the time to come back anytime, and he took him up on his word, bringing his wife for a romantic weekend.

But when they walked into Antonio's again, Coelho didn't remember my colleague at all -- leaving him flustered despite explaining he had filmed him a few weeks earlier...

An Alternative to Fernando's in Macau

Roasted suckling pig was very tender with salad and fries

It turns out not just Hong Kong was quiet for the Easter long weekend, but Macau too. Granted the 10.30am ferry I took this morning was pretty much full, once the vessel arrived an hour later the immigration lines were short.

Hearty octopus salad with onions and coriander

My relatives have lived in Macau for almost five years and used to go to Fernando's to eat, but post-Covid they have found the quality has dropped. So instead of eating at this Hac Sa institution, we went to another place a short distance away called Miramar that serves Portuguese food.

It's located in a somewhat secluded area near the Grand Coloane hotel that used to be the Westin Macau. What's good about Miramar is that there is not only outdoor seating, but indoor as well, and today being muggy and humid it was nice to have some air conditioning while we ate.

The menu is filled with pictures, and we chose a few dishes to try.

The octopus salad features tender slices of octopus, combined with oil and vinegar, onions, lettuce, and coriander. This salad had a greater ratio of octopus than vegetables, which was hearty yet refreshing.

Bacalhau had more potato than cod fish in them

Roast suckling pig is a nice portion for three to share. It comes chopped into pieces with a side of salad and fries. The pork is moist, and practically falls off the bone, the skin is relatively crispy, with a thin layer of fat underneath.

At this point we waited for our last two dishes to arrive, and we were surprised considering the restaurant was not full, but we were told there was only one chef! 

We finally got the order of bacalhau, or codfish cakes. My relatives told me these were slightly bigger than before, but when we tried them we were disappointed, as there was more potato than codfish in it. One of them was also very salty.

Our waiter also told us our grilled sardines would come out soon, but we waited and waited... until we had to chase the waiter again.

Long awaited grilled sardines arrived warm

Finally it arrived, four fish with boiled potatoes and carrots, but was warm and lost its appetising taste. Seafood needs to be served fresh from the kitchen, but this one seemed to have been sitting too long. 

To make up for the long delay in our order, the manager gave us not one, or two desserts, but three to try.

There was a slice of serradura cake, lots of cream with "sawdust" of crumbled biscuit on top; a cup of dark chocolate pudding that tasted decadent, and pineapple upside down cake served warm. All the desserts weren't cloyingly sweet at all, and it was nice to try all three, though we were already so full we couldn't finish them.

It also meant that despite walking along Hac Sa Beach, we didn't have enough room to eat egg tarts from Lord Stow's bakery. Nevertheless I bought half a dozen to take back to Hong Kong!

Serradura cream cake wasn't too sweet

Miramar 

Zona Nordesta da Praia Hac-Sa, Coloane, Macau

(853) 2888 2601

(853) 2888 2623

Four Vancouver Businesses Gutted by Fire

The three-alarm fire started at 10pm at the back of Nando's

This morning we woke up to the news that some businesses in a neighbourhood near where we live were destroyed after a fire last night. It's quite a shock as I was just in that area yesterday to do some errands. 

The fire reportedly broke out around 10pm last night behind Nando's restaurant, an Afro-Portuguese chain that served flame-grilled chicken with a spicy sauce. The fire spread to the next door businesses called Deer Island Bakery and Yummy Yogurt, as well as Pho Tan Vietnamese Restaurant and Sandy Farm Market. They are located at 41st Avenue between East Boulevard and Maple Street.

The four businesses were torn down today

Periodically we would go to Sandy Farm Market for fruits and vegetables. It was a Korean-owned store and they closed on Sundays to go to church.

Not only were the businesses gutted, but also people who lived in four units above one of the buildings were homeless.

Fifty-five firefighters fought the three-alarm fire to get it under control. 

"At this time we can't say we don't know exactly where the fire started. There's so much damage right now... We'll be trying to ascertain the cause," said assistant fire chief Keith Stewart.

From photographs taken from the scene, it looks like Nando's has collapsed into itself, though Stewart has said at least the four businesses will have to be demolished, and an excavator was brought in Monday to take them down.

It's so tragic to hear about the fire -- which results in losses for business owners and people being out of work.

Food Review: Portuguese Club of Vancouver

Clams cooked with slices of chorizo Portuguese style

My friend here who recently traveled to Portugal wanted to recreate the dining experience and found ONE Portuguese restaurant in Vancouver so we checked it out.

It's called Portuguese Club of Vancouver on Commercial Drive and we went there today for lunch.

Inside the decor is rundown, but none of the customers seems to mind -- their attention is totally focused on the giant screens showing the football match. People were glued to the football while drinking beers, wine and eating lunch.

Large buns like those at Fernando's

The staff shortage is acutely felt as we stood there for several minutes before being shown to a table, and then to take our order, but the young waitresses are nice enough.

The menu looked pretty limited with only a few starters and mains. It was mostly seafood, two soups -- no caldo verde! and some sandwiches.

My friend is a picky eater and didn't seem interested in sharing several dishes, so we ended up ordering the same main dish -- sardines with potato and salad (CAD$20), and a plate of clams with chorizo (CAD$24) to share as a starter.

We tried to order the deep-fried cod cakes called bacalhau, but they were sold out! So our waitress suggested clams with chorizo.

As we waited, she gave us giant buns, reminiscent of Fernando's in Macau, but not as good -- they were served cold and had a hard exterior, though they were soft and fluffy inside. 

They were perfect to mop up the delicious savoury sauce in the clams and chorizo, though it was very salty. The clams were plump and a touch briny, cooked in a white wine sauce with the slices of chorizo and some parsley. 

Then our mains arrived and the portion was quite large! Four medium-sized whole sardines cooked on a grill, with a salad made of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber doused with Italian dressing, and three chunks of boiled potatoes.

Hearty serving of sardines with potatoes, salad

At first I wondered if I could finish all of this, but plugged along, methodically one side of the sardine, removing the bone in the middle, and then finishing the other side before moving onto the next one. Eating at a steady pace I managed to polish off all the sardines! 

The potatoes were delicious when dipped in the clam and chorizo sauce that we kept at the table. 

We were too full for anything else. My friend had wanted to try the rice pudding for dessert, but she packed up two sardines, salad and the rest of her bun to take home.

The selection of food was hardly impressive, but perhaps you need to be a regular to dine there to have off-menu items prepared. We heard from one waitress that it can be so packed in the restaurant for other football matches. Luckily the patrons left table by table once the footie match was over, though by that point we were almost finished our lunch.

Portuguese Club of Vancouver

1144 Commercial Drive

604 251 2042