Starbucks have been using business-suited employees that politely but firmly ask the customer to buy something or leave. If necessary, police would be called to explain to these “Laptop Hobos”, as Starbucks refers to them, that it is a business and you must buy something.
Attention Asia; You may be next! However, I am sure that customers in Asia would be indignant if treated in the same manner.
VIDEO Sea Shepherd Ship Rams Japanese Whaling Ship
The Sea Shepherd (a conservation society) has again launched Operation Divine Wind, which is the common translation for Kamakaze. Japan’s Asahi News has confirmed that in December 2011 the Japanese whaling fleet intends to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean International Whale Sanctuary. This according to Sea Shepherd’s founder Paul Watson is an insult, after anti-whale hunting nations contributed so much to help Japan in their time of need during the tsunami that caused the Fukushima – Daiichi disaster. Read more here
Below is the end result: Sashimi of Antarctic Whale being served in a Tokyo restaurant.
Photograph by Koji Sasahara, AP
Michelin Star Restaurants & Bib Gourmand New York City 2012, Follow Links Below to Michelin Guide:
Amy Pressman has passed away on September 30, 2011 just before the scheduled opening of Short Order, a Gourmet Burger project she was a partner in with Nancy Silverton, opening in October at the Farmer’s Market. Link to our recent post on Short Order
“The Old” – San Ma Lo Plaza
Macau, A Mélange of Old & New Existing Together
SAN MA LO
Also known as Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, San Ma Lo is the best known street in Macau. The splendid façades and elegant architecture mirror past cultural triumphs. The street is a popular destination and offers art exhibitions, music, shops and open-air cafes and restaurants with daily festivities that continue on well into the evening. There are also plenty of historical landmarks to be seen and visited here.
Top Macau Restaurants
A Lorcha De Bche, Rua do Almirante Sergio 289, Inner Harbour, Macau ; Tel: +853 2831 3193/95; Open Wed to Fri (12:30 pm – 3:00 pm and 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm (closed Tue); Portuguese-Macanese Cuisine. Near A Ma Temple, A Lorcha offers very good traditional Portuguese and Macanese dishes.
Antonio Restaurante, Rua Ho Lin Vong 25, Taipa, Macau Phone; Tel +853 2882 7627; Open Daily 18:00 – 22:00, closed on Wednesdays
Cafe Bela Vista, Grand Lap 2/F, 956-1110 Ave da Amizade; Tel +853 8793 3871; Open Daily 24 hours except Thursdays until 12pm – The restaurant still retains the charm of the old Bela Vista Hotel, the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets, as well as an a la carte menu featuring Portuguese, Macanese, Asian and Western dishes. Fresh seafood buffets are local favorites on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday lunchtimes.
Cafe Ou Mun, 12 Travessa de S. Domingos, Macau | Tel: +853 2837 2207; Open: Tue – Fri (8:00 am – 10:00 pm); weekends (9am-10pm); Closed Mondays; Portuguese Cuisine. A favorite of Portuguese and Macanese residents for its coffee and fresh bread and cakes. The company owns a bakery that supplies other cafes around Macau.
Clube Militar No. 975, Avenida da Praia Grande, Macau, Tel +853 2871 4000, Open Daily 12:00 – 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm, Portuguese Cuisine. This is a private club, although the dining room is open to the public and is a good way to see a perfectly restored, original Macau colonial building.
Camoes, Shop 101, Lisbon-Evora, Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau; Tel: +853 2872 8818
Open: Daily 11:30am – 11:30pm; Portuguese Cuisine – Serves generous portions of monk fish casserole, seafood steamer stew, cold crab and alcohol-infused pears for dessert. Genuine Portuguese cuisine inside an inspiring interiors.
Copa Steak House, 3/F, Sands Casino, Largo de Monte Carlo No.203, Macau Phone +853 8983 8222 Opening Hours Daily 17:30 – 23:00, closed on Sundays – The Copa Steakhouse is located inside the Sands Casino and is one of the first to offer American style steaks.
Escada, 8 Rua de Se; Tel +853 2896 6900 or 2823 9229; Open Daily 12-3 pm and 6-10:30pm; Portuguese cuisine. – Light and healthy Portuguese cooking inside a beautifully restored old residence right in the middle of central.
Espaco Lisboa, 8 Rua dos Gaivotas, Coloane Village, Macau Phone +853 2888 2226, Opening Hours Monday to Friday 12:00 – 15:00 and 18:30 – 22:00; Weekend 12:00 – 23:00. – Espaco de Lisboa’s chef Antonio Coelho brings a new and creative touch to Portuguese cuisine in this cozy old village house. There is a flower filled balcony upstairs that is popular for outdoor dining in good weather, as well as air-conditioned dining areas upstairs and down.
Fat Siu Lau, Rua da Felicidade 64 (tel 2857 3585) A very popular, traditional old Chinese restaurant surrounded by cafés and restaurants. Pigeon is their specialty.
Fernando’s, 9 Hac Sa Beach, Coloane Island, Macau Phone +853 2888 2264 Opening Hours Daily 12:00 – 21:30
Featured in many guides and magazines, Fernando packed by locals and visitors alike during weekends. Serves tasty and reasonably priced Portuguese food. The simple, no air-con and very casual service may not be for everyone. However, the food is so good that you probably won’t notice.
La Gondola, Estrada de Cheoc Van, Coloane, Macau (next to the swimming pool) Phone +853 2888 0156, Opening Hours Daily 11:00 – 23:00. Afer 20 years in operation it is still a favored by local families.
Litoral, 261A Rua do Almirante Sérgio,Tel. 2896 7878, Opening Hours: noon-3pm & 6-10.30pm, Recommended dishes are baked duck rice and shrimp soup served in a bread bowl.
Long Kei, Largo do Senado 7B (tel 573 970). After a hundred years still an inexpensive Cantonese restaurant, on the left side as you face the square from Almeida Ribeiro. Dim sum available.
Nga Tim, No. 8, Caetano, Coloane, Macau (Near St. Francis Church) Phone +853 2888 2086 Opening Hours Daily 12:00 – 01:00; Chinese and others. – The food, which combines Chinese, Macanese, and Portuguese styles of cooking and ingredients, is in a category all its own, with many unique dishes not available anywhere else.
O Manel, 90 Rua Fernão Mendes Pinto, Taipa, Macau Phone +853 2882 7571, Opening Hours Daily 12:00 – 15:30 and 18:00 – 22:30, Closed 1st & 4th Tuesday of each month. It deserves its reputation for fine Portuguese cooking since 1991.
Henri’s Gallery, 4G-H Avienda da Republica, Macau Phone +853 2855 6251 / +853 2856 2231 Opening Hours Daily 12:00 – 22:00; Macanese cuisine. – Since 1976 Henri’s Galley has been offering fresh seafood and is especially known for curry crab. The African chicken and roast fish is highly recommended.
Pinocchio’s, Rua do Sol 4, Taipa Island, Macau Tel: +853 28827 128. A Macau culinary landmark, serving excellent Macanese and Portuguese food for the last thirty years. Prices are reasonable, especially when considering the size of the portions.
Platao, Travessa de S. Domingos No. 3, R/C “B”, Macau Phone +853 2833 1818. Opening Hours Daily 12:00 – 23:00; Portuguese and Macanese. Restaurante Platão, in the centre of the city, is a very relaxing place to be on a hot day.
Robuchon a Galera, 3/F, Lisboa Tower, Lisboa Hotel, 2-4 Avenida de Lisboa, Macau Phone +853 2837 7666 Opening Hours Daily 12:00 – 14:30, 18:30 – 22:30; French cuisine.- Menu leans toward French and Continental European cuisine. Most a la carte items are expensive although the restaurant’s price fixed lunches are an excellent value as well as culinary adventures.
San Lorenzo’s, New Orleans Block II, R/C, Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau Phone +853 8297 2818 Opening Hours Daily 11:30 – 00:00. – Serves pasta, giant pizzas, fresh salads, and a wide assortment of other dishes.
Vasco, 956-1110 Avenida da Amizade, PO Box 3016, Macau SAR, Tel. +853 2856 7888, glmfm-vasco@mohg.com – Mandarin Oriental Hotel Tapas and more. Named for Vasco da Gama, it is the perfect rendezvous with an irresistible selection of international local tapas-style treats, innovative champagne cocktails, and the widest selection of wines-by-the-glass.
Vila Porto de Maau, Macau Tower; +853 2896 8899; Open weekdays 12 pm – 3 pm, 6:30 – 11:30 pm; weekends and holidays 11:00 am – 12:30 pm; Szechuan cuisine. Specializing in Sichuan cooking with some adaptation to local tastes. Worthwhile excursion to the Macau Tower.
SAN MA LO
Also known as Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, San Ma Lo is the best known street in Macau. The splendid façades and elegant architecture mirror past cultural triumphs. The street is a popular destination and offers art exhibitions, music, shops and open-air cafes and restaurants with daily festivities that continue on well into the evening. There are also plenty of historical landmarks to be seen and visited here.
Casinos in Macau
Casinos are a large part of Macau’s local cultural entertainment. Many hotels such as Lisboa, Sands Macau, Macau Grand Hyatt and entertainment centers such as Jai-Alai, the Macau Jockey Club and the Floating Palace, offer casinos on site for visitors to gamble. Major games found in the casinos include baccarat, black jack, roulette, craps, and slot machines.
“The New” The new Skyline of Casinos
Four Seasons Hotel has gambling next door a few steps away.
Venetian Hotel Macau The Venetian Macao is a 40 story hotel and casino resort on the Cotai Strip, inspired by the Las Vegas Strip. It is owned by the Las Vegas Sands corporation.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel One of the most exclusive hotels in Macau although it has lots of company.
City of Dreams City of Dreams, known as CoD, has four towers: the Hard Rock Hotel, Crown Towers Hotel, and the Grand Hyatt Macau (2 towers). It has 420,000 square feet (39,000 m2) of gaming space with 550 gaming tables and 1500 machines, over 20 restaurants and bars, including one of the largest in the city.
Club Cubic A club that attracts some big-name acts.
By Emi Kagawa
The Matsutake Mushroom is not so much about taste as it is fragrance, it has a very faint, in some cases, almost indistinguishable earthy, pine scent. They are hard to find and are usually hidden under leaves at the foot of a pine tree. Each year it is becoming harder to find enough of them in Japan to meet demand, to supplement the supply they are also gathered in Korea, China and the Pacific Northwest coast of North America.
In July of 2012, California will ban the sale and production of foie gras. The selling of the velvety delicacy after July 2012 could result in a $1,000 fine. California should think twice before implementing this law. Remember how Chicago lifted the two-year ban on foie gras which, Mayor Richard Daly had said was the “silliest ordinance” the city council had ever passed and made Chicago “the laughingstock of the nation”.
Where will this stop? Restaurant owners worry that lobster, veal, and even eggs might not be too far behind on the “to be banned” list.
OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST:
In Japan large manufacturers have tied up most of the beer market. Recently, there has been a resurgence in boutique breweries as in the rest of the world. An example of which, is the dry-hopped ale mixed with green tea made by Baird in conjunction with Stone & Ishii. All proceeds will go to the Japanese Red Cross. Next Wednesday there will be a tasting of more than 24 beers ” (3 to 4 oz. pours of hard-to-find beer from small breweries. For more information click the following link Japan Society.
