It has been quite a while since I last visited the Eight. It was a two-star restaurant back then, which I thought was underrated.
Eight is a lucky number for Cantonese speakers. But luck alone couldn’t get you a seat at the Eight without prior reservation – I had to book a week in advance.
I skipped their dim sum offerings and went straight for their a la carte menu. Their deep fried frog leg with spicy salt caught me by surprise – it was simply cooked just right, having crispy thin skin and juicy meat. It could easily be one of the best frog legs I had so far.
The suckling pig with fried rice and preserved meat is another popular dish at the Eight. Though I thought the skin could be slightly crunchier, but it was delicious in general.
French goose live with Char Siu (Barbecued pork) and a thinly-sliced Chinese preserved sausage is a modified version of the common Cantonese dish made with chicken liver, pork and ham. Instead of chicken, the Eight replaced it with the French foie gras. This twist to the traditional dish unfortunately failed to win my palate as the fresh chicken liver would have a irreplaceable touch of sweetness. Nonetheless it was finely made.
Initially catching my attention but ending up as a gimmick was the deep fried duck fillet with Cristal blue shrimp mousse. I couldn’t taste the influence of a Cristal champagne from this dish, nor do I think that undermines the taste. I enjoyed the varying texture layers – from crispy, to meaty and chewy. The first few bites were good enough, but would be a little too much if you were to even have half of the dish.
The Eight is a great, reasonably priced fine dining Cantonese restaurant – one that I would like to visit from time to time.
The Eight
Tel: +853 8803 7788
Address: 2/F, Grand Lisboa, Macau
Visited on: 26 July 2014
Hours: Lunch 11:30am – 2:30pm (Mon to Sat); 10:00am – 3:00 pm (Sun & Public Holiday); Dinner 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Chef: Au Kwok Keung
K's Luxe Dining Table 