W GZ, "I by Inagiku" WHAT'S NEW / NEXT

News Letter from I by Inagiku, Japaneser restaurant, in W Guangzhou!!
Promotions of other restaurants and bars →"W Guangzhou WHAT'S NEW / NEXT"

Inagiku at StarWorld Hotel Macau, 稲ぎく、スターワールドホテル、マカオ

The entrance of Inagiku StarWorld Hotel Macau

 

Inagku Japanese restaurant with a history of over 100 years has several branch restaurants all over the world. One of them locates at 5th floor of StarWorld Hotel Macau.

 

Inagiku's signature tempura

Snow crab leg and "Megochi" Flathead (top left), "Anago" sea eel (top right)

"Kuruma ebi" king prawn (bottom left), Cuttle fish sea urchin roll (bottom right)

 

 

The restaurant, the only Inagiku restaurant in Macau, has opened in 2006 as the same time as StarWorld Hotel opened in the heart of the downtown Macau Peninsula.  

This 39-storey award winning hotel with over 500 guestrooms is the first 5-star hotel and casino flagship property of Galaxy Entertainment Group.

 

In the kitchen, they have not Japanese chefs but some of them are from Hong Kong, trained by Japanese chefs in Inagiku HK. They still carry the heritage of real Japanese cuisine from the master chefs.

 

Roasted ox tongue on ceder plank (left),

Simmered chicken and glutinous rice wrapped in cabbage (right)

 

Tempura "Cha-zuke" (left), "Ten-don" (right)

 

Japanese honey dew melon (left), Introduction of Inagiku's tempura (right)

 

Sushi bar and main dining area (left), Tempura bar (right)

Teppanyaki bar (left), Tempura fryer at the tempura bar (right)

Private dining room with tempura and teppanyaki live cooking station

 

 

Guangzhou to Macao, 広州からマカオへ

From Guangzhou to Macao, it takes only about an hour and 30minutes to 2hours by bus.

There are several different starting points and times to choose from. This time, I chose the bus leaving from right below the Canton tower at 7:55AM.

 Canton Tower (left), Map from Guangzhou-Macao (middle),

Bus ticket GZ-Macao round trip CNY110/person (top right), Henqin border (bottom right)

 

 

The main gateway between Zhuhai and Macao is Gongbei border but there are always so many people and have to spend over an hour to cross the border. So, I chose to cross the Henqin border which is much closer to Cotai strip and it was more convenient for me since I was staying in Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central.

 

 

 Inside of the Venetian Macao

 

 Sands Cotai Central (left), Four Seasons hotel and the Venetian Macao (right)

 

 Night view of Cotai Strip (left), Crown Towers Macau (middle), Hard Rock Hotel Macau (right)

 

 

The way back to Guangzhou, there are also several different starting points and times to choose from.

I chose to leave from the Grand Emperor Hotel in downtown Macao. From there, the bus goes to Henqin border as same as the way from Guangzhou to Macao. At the border, it takes less than half an hour to process. The bus awaits you at Zhuhai side of the border and drive all the way back to Guangzhou. (Note; There are also several choices of the destinations within downtown Guangzhou)

 

 

 Day time view of the downtown Macao with Lisboa Casino (left),

Water and Fire show at Wynn Macau's Performance Lake (right) 

 

 Grand Emperor Hotel (left),

 In front of Grand Emperor Hotel

 The bus schedule from Grand Emperor Hotel to Guangzhou (left), CTS bus awaits in front of the hotel (right)

 

 

 Macau Tower from the bus (left), Henqin border (right)

 

Sheraton Macao -Dining-, シェラトン・マカオホテル -レストラン-

I have tried a couple of restaurants in Sheraton Macao, Cotai Central.

One is "Bene" Italian kitchen and the other one is "Xin" Asian hotpot restaurant.

"Bene" Italian kitchen, Sheraton Macao Hotel,

Entrance (left) and the main dining area (right) 

 

 

One of my best friends from the time I was in Taipei, happened to be the Executive Sous Chef of Sheraton Macao. Chef Gaetano Palumbo from Sicily, Italy. He has worked for world's leading hotels in Rome, moved to Asia and also worked for 5 star hotels, such as Sherwood Hotel Taipei, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit and  Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Bangkok, Thailand.

 

 

 Dining area (left) and the lounge bar area (right)

 

 

 Clean & tidy open kitchen area

 

 

Chef Gaetano recommended me to try Bene -Italian restaurant-. They have a special Brunch on every Sundays. They are serving wide range of cold cuts, cheese, seafood, pastas, desserts on the buffet stations and Italian style BBQ in their outside garden area. Also, many choices of individual portioned a la minute dishes from the special menu!

(for more information → http://www.benemacau.com/en/stuzzichini)

 

 Stuzzichini Sundays - Bene's Brunch Bites

 Seafood selection -lobster, prawn, mussels and more-(left & middle), variety of cheese (right)

 

 Massive selection of sweets

 

Massive selection of sweets, including homemade ice cream station (right) 

Italian-style BBQ at outside garden

 

 Choice from the a la minute menu

Salmon tartar with zucchini scapece (left), Seared tuna carpaccio with fennel in citrus flavor (middle), Rissotto with Italian sausage and mushroom  

Brunch at Bene was wonderful indeed. I wanted to try everything but they just had so much variety and I couldn't eat everything. I would love to go back and try the things I couldn't eat this time...

In the other day, I have tried the Asian hotpot & seafood restaurant "Xin"
I thought it was unique and rare to find a hotpot restaurant in a 5 star hotel. So, I had to try it!
They have also had many choices. Not only the ingredients for the hotpot, also choice of hotpot broth, many varieties of Chinese delicacies, from stir-fried rice, stewed pork, wok-fried vegetables etc... This was another wonderful dining experience!!
(for more information →http://www.xinmacau.com/en/)

"Xin" Asian hotpot & seafood restaurant

Beef & Pork freshly sliced at the buffet counter (top),

Small individual hotpot for each person (bottom left), Dessert buffet (bottom right)

 

 

Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, シェラトン・マカオホテル、コタイセントラル

I have experienced the largest Sheraton in the world!

 

Sheraton Macao Official Website →"http://sheratonmacao.com/en/"

 

  

Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central (澳門喜來登金沙城中心酒店), opened on September 20, 2012,

with 3,896 total guest rooms. Largest hotel in Macao and also largest of all Starwood's hotels.

 

 

 Executive Suite, Living Room

 

 Executive Suite, Bed Room

 

Executive Suite, Bath Room

 

893 ft²/83 m² Executive Suite with a 46-inch flat screen TV and queen-size sleeper sofa in the living room, one king size Sheraton Sweet Sleeper® bed with a 42-inch flat screen TV in the bed room and  the marble bathroom with a stand-alone bathtub, walk-in glass shower and premium Shine by Sheraton™ bath amenities. It's simply Gorgeous!

(They also have Family Suites with Nintendo® Wii™ and children's amenity.)

 

 

 

 Welcome Amenity

 

 Swimming Pool

 

In the swimming pool area, they were showing dream works movies for the families on the side of the swimming pool. In the hotel, they also offer a bunch of activities for kids.  

This hotel is a perfect place to stay for both the adults and kids on their vacation.

 "Palms" the lobby lounge (left), public place on the 1st floor (middle, right)

 

 Front desk -check in counter-, elevator hall

 

Hundreds of people check-in and check-out everyday in this hotel. Check-in counter with 10 experienced front desk staff handle checking-in process very smoothly and it didn't take 5 minutes to get me check-in.

 

 

 Exterior of the hotel

(the buildings in the middle and the right are Sheraton hotel and the left is Conrad and Holiday-Inn) 

 

 Picture in June, 2011

 

I visited Macao in 2011 for the first time, right after the Galaxy in Cotai Strip has opened. At that time, Sheraton and whole complex was still under construction.

Please see the post from 2years ago →"Hotels in Macao" July 18, 2011

To be continued...

Canape カナッペ

"Canape" is a French word, it can be mean "Hors d'oeuvre" or "Amuse-bouche",

it specially comes in a bite size and perfect for a cocktail party.

 

Last week, I was honored to work with my boss, Chef Garth Welsh, Director of Culinary of W Guangzhou, to help him make some of his creations for our VIP guests. 14 different types of savory canapes.

(Get to know more about Chef Garth, here is the video on youku优酷! →"Summer Food That Wows")

 

Sugar Cured Beef, Celery Jelly (left), Scallop, Cauliflower Jelly, Chive Gremolata (middle),

Scallop Ceviche, Watermelon (right)

   

Seared Scallop, Seaweed, Yuzu Jelly (left), Prawns and Chicken Pate, Sliced Papaya and Chili Jam (middle), Chilled Crab Salad, Sliced Mango, Tamarind (right)

  

Spiced Tuna, Pickled Beetroot and Feta (left), Oyster, Cucumber Jelly and Caviar (middle),  Vanilla Cured salmon, Sweet Corn Jelly and Salmon Roe(right)

 

Salmon Tartar, Tomato Consomme Jelly (left), Ginger Tuna, Avocado Puree and Radish (middle), Lobster, Mango Jelly and Mango Chili Coconut Salsa (right) 

 

Asparagus, Quail Egg and Hazelnut (left), Beetroot Jelly, Yogurt and Garlic Chip(right) 

 

 

Making those Canape was not really a Japanese thing but I felt that the process of making those 2cm² sized delicate canapes had so much in common with Japanese cuisine or any other cuisine I guess...

Pay attention to details, paring the flavors to each individual dishes, mixing the different types of textures together to one dish....etc

 

All those Canapes can be used in Japanese "Zensai" appetizer, just change the spices and seasonings, like thymes, chervils, fennel and basils, to Japanese flavors, like miso, oba leaf, soy sauce and wasabi. 

It was very good opportunity for me and my team to learn something different but so much in common. 





 14 types of Canapes ready for the Tasting of VIP event



 Plus 7 types of sweet canape from pastry kitchen (left), Savory canapes for tasting (right)

 

  

P.S. Those pictures below are another canapes Chef Garth has created prior to the ones he and I made last week. 

 

Spinach, Dried Cherry Tomato (left), Pickled Beetroot, Labne, Hazelnut Dukkah (middle left),

Sugar Cured Beef, Celeriac Remoulade (middle right), Pigs’ Cheeks, Pea Custard (right)

 

Smoked Salmon Mousse, Horseradish (left), Spiced Rare Roast Lamb, Cucumber, Tzatziki (middle left), Rillette of Duck, Foie Gras, Cognac Jelly (middle right), Vanilla Cured Salmon, Mussel Salad, Lemon Cream (right)



 

 Date Tarts (left), Crab Salad, Avocado, Flying Fish Roe (middle left), 

Peach and Almond Crumble (middle right), Chocolate Caramel Tarts (right)

 Lime and Ginger Tartlets (left), Espresso Panna Cotta (middle left),

Spiced Blueberry Compote Meringue (middle right), Orange Crème Reverse (right)