Macau’s Hidden Gem: Fernando Restaurant
I’ve only been to Macau twice, but I’m a big fan. I like the hotels, I like the history, and I really like the food. Particularly Fernando’s Portuguese cuisine. It is truly hidden though.
The first time I went, I was staying at the nearby Westin Macau, now the Grand Coloane. Fernando Restaurant is a 5-10 minute drive from the hotel or just a short walk along the beach. So we went with the beach. Which was not sandal friendly and had some loiterers at dusk that made us uneasy. And then having arrived at the other end of the beach, we couldn’t find the restaurant. We wandered around the few streets for about 10 minutes before finally asking a cab to take us there. He looked at us strangely and pointed to the a vine covered entrance about 8 doors down.
Ah.
On this most recent visit to Macau in July, I had no trouble finding it. The restaurant is quirky with 2 dining areas and an outdoor bar in the backyard area.
We were sat in the large back dining room next to a doorway into the garden. There was no air conditioning, but we were lucky enough to sit near a fan and a nice breeze was coming in through the door.
And it was the perfect excuse to order some chilled wine with our water.
I think the menu is one of my favorite parts. It’s in Portuguese, English, and Chinese, complemented by very real pictures.
They brought us fresh crusty bread and we started with the Portuguese Chorizo. So good!
We were pretty hungry, so made the error of each ordering the signature dish – the Roast Suckling Pig. Which arrives on a massive, yet still overflowing plate of salad and thick cut fries topped with the juicy pork.
Between the heat and the massive amount of food, I wasn’t sure I could handle dessert, but my friend optimistically ordered the Malasadas – Portuguese yeast donut holes covered in sugar.
And of course I wound up being the one to eat most of them.
Note, the restaurant only accepts cash, and it won’t be cheap. With current exchange rates, the roast pork dish is almost $20, but well worth it!
Also note that it is sometimes difficult to catch a cab when you’re done with your meal. We finished lunch around 2PM and there were no cabs in site. So I stupidly suggested we walk across the beach to the Westin (you’d think I’d have learned from the first time). The sand too loose for comfortable walking in shoes, but also too burning hot for bare feet, and the water was rather dirty. We compromised by walking on the wet sand for as long as we could, but the last 10 minutes pretty uncomfortable til we reached shade.
Still, a good time was had by all!
For better pictures and a more humorous account, check out this account from 2009.
I hopped over to Macau last year purely to do the bungee jump. Maybe next time I’ll spend more time and check this place out!!
Reading this brought back such good memories! We also stayed at the Westin for 3 nights and ate at Fernando’s every single night. We just couldn’t get enough crusty bread, suckling pig and Super Bock beer served in the 70’s style styrofoam koozies!
Macau is FABULOUS. I still think about the still warm egg custards sold in the street. Delicious!
It’s also the first and only time I felt like a celebrity. I seemed to attract a crowd of Chinese wherever I gambled. I developed a love of Sic Bo in Macau (maybe because of my adoring crowds???). Such an underrated, under written about destination.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!