B-licious
China Meets Portugal
Priscilla Dell'Orto
Issue date: 11/17/09 Section: Reviews
My most recent discovery in TriBeCa is the perfect place for a late dinner with friends, a date, or pre-party cocktails at the bar. This past Thursday I wasn't feeling the beer blast love so I decided to go out for dinner with a friend. I picked Macao Trading Co. because I'd been there for drinks before and was intrigued by the colonial cuisine. Macao was a Portuguese colony in China for centuries and a thriving trade hub in the Far East. The restaurant's menu features main ingredients such as meat, fish, prawns, and chicken prepared two ways - Chinese or Portuguese style. We entered through the nondescript Church St. entrance and the smiling hostess - a rarity in NYC dining - escorted us to the lower level, which instantly reminded me of La Esquina.
Macao's decor has a distinctive oriental feel. The dim lights and cool music gives the place a hip vibe. We got a great corner table with plush benches. The incredibly friendly waitress came over with menus and explained that all dishes are meant for sharing and recommended we order two small plates and two large ones. We ordered intriguing Port-based cocktails, which were very refreshing, and chose a Portuguese red wine from the Alentejo region.
We ordered Chinese dumplings and mushroom-truffle croquettes to start, and Chinese-style prawns with chilies and spicy noodles with vegetables and Portuguese chorizo as main courses to share. The service was very attentive and efficient.
Our appetizers arrived very quickly. The croquettes were deliciously creamy, to the point that my friend insisted we order a second serving. The dumplings were absolutely amazing - a lot of crab wrapped in green rice paper with a tangy cilantro dip. I also took a glimpse of our neighbors' lamb meatballs stuffed with cheese, which looked great.
A short while later the waitress placed our two large dishes in the middle for us to share. The prawns were really fresh and cooked to perfection with a delicious spicy sauce. The Shanghai noodles were also spicy. The combination of oriental vegetables, ginger sauce and Portuguese sausage created a very interesting taste.
At this point we were both really full but we still had some wine left and were intrigued by the fried milk dessert so we ordered it and finished our wine while we waited. The fried milk was my least favorite thing - a little too heavy and greasy (I probably should have guessed from the "fried" in the name). All in all it was an expensive but delicious meal in a very cool setting.
After dinner we went to the main bar area upstairs for two more cocktails. My friend ordered the tequila-based Hong Kong, while I went for the blood peach Bellini. Both drinks were made from the freshest ingredients and tasted very good - the perfect ending to a great experience.
Macao Trading Co.
311 Church St. @ Walker St.
212-431-8750
Opening hours: Daily, 4pm-5am
Subway: 6, J, M, N, Q, R, W, Z at Canal St.
Macao's decor has a distinctive oriental feel. The dim lights and cool music gives the place a hip vibe. We got a great corner table with plush benches. The incredibly friendly waitress came over with menus and explained that all dishes are meant for sharing and recommended we order two small plates and two large ones. We ordered intriguing Port-based cocktails, which were very refreshing, and chose a Portuguese red wine from the Alentejo region.
We ordered Chinese dumplings and mushroom-truffle croquettes to start, and Chinese-style prawns with chilies and spicy noodles with vegetables and Portuguese chorizo as main courses to share. The service was very attentive and efficient.
Our appetizers arrived very quickly. The croquettes were deliciously creamy, to the point that my friend insisted we order a second serving. The dumplings were absolutely amazing - a lot of crab wrapped in green rice paper with a tangy cilantro dip. I also took a glimpse of our neighbors' lamb meatballs stuffed with cheese, which looked great.
A short while later the waitress placed our two large dishes in the middle for us to share. The prawns were really fresh and cooked to perfection with a delicious spicy sauce. The Shanghai noodles were also spicy. The combination of oriental vegetables, ginger sauce and Portuguese sausage created a very interesting taste.
At this point we were both really full but we still had some wine left and were intrigued by the fried milk dessert so we ordered it and finished our wine while we waited. The fried milk was my least favorite thing - a little too heavy and greasy (I probably should have guessed from the "fried" in the name). All in all it was an expensive but delicious meal in a very cool setting.
After dinner we went to the main bar area upstairs for two more cocktails. My friend ordered the tequila-based Hong Kong, while I went for the blood peach Bellini. Both drinks were made from the freshest ingredients and tasted very good - the perfect ending to a great experience.
Macao Trading Co.
311 Church St. @ Walker St.
212-431-8750
Opening hours: Daily, 4pm-5am
Subway: 6, J, M, N, Q, R, W, Z at Canal St.
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