Portuguese lunch @ Solmar, Macau

When we were in Macau last month for an overnight stay to attend a lavish gala dinner, I was keen to reacquaint myself with Portuguese food because I have very limited experience with the cuisine. The hotel staff was very helpful in recommending a few Portuguese restaurants, and then calling them up to find out if there was a table available for our family at short notice for Sunday lunch. Thankfully he only had to make two or three phone calls before getting one that had a table for us. According to the restaurant's website, Solmar was founded over 50 years ago as an exclusive club for politicians and business elites, but the food was so popular that the restaurant opened service to the public. The decor was simple and a bit outdated, but it was clean and comfortable, and service was polite, friendly and efficient. The menu had a good range of dishes, and the prices were affordable.

Portuguese-style interior decor:

Delicious warm rolls, made in-house, perfectly crusty with a fluffy interior:

Portuguese Baked Chicken, one of Solmar's signature dishes. It was mildly spiced like a curry, with olives, ham, sliced sausages and egg. Tasty, but a bit fiddly to eat with the chicken bones and the unpitted olives:

Seafood Rice, with a generous serving of large juicy prawns, mussels and squid in a sweet tomato sauce that tasted predominantly of ketchup. This was okay, and nothing like the seafood rice of another restaurant in Macau:

Serradurra, aka Sawdust Cake - a chilled Portuguese dessert made of sweetened cream layered with crushed biscuits. I really liked this one, light in taste and texture, not too sweet nor greasy, and not heavy on the stomach:

With our tummies full from a pleasant lunch, we made our way back home to Hong Kong.

Solmar Restaurant
512 Avenida da Praia Grande
Macau Peninsula, Macau
Tel. +85 3 2888 1881