Sichuan Moon

Macau

André Chiang’s glamorous temple to Sichuan gastronomy

On the Pass

André Chiang (pictured) with executive chef Wilson Fam

Pastry Chef

Yoann Mathy

Who’s behind it? Luxury Macau hotel-resort Wynn Palace in conjunction with Taiwan-born, French-trained André Chiang, who made a name for himself in Singapore with the now-shuttered Restaurant André and is also co-owner of Raw in Taipei. This winning combination earned Sichuan Moon the Highest New Entry Award in 2020.

What to expect: Apart from “mala” (hot and numbing), expect to be introduced to other members of Sichuan’s famous 24-flavour family, including “home-style”, “fish-fragrant” and “sour and spicy” flavours. An essential part of the region’s cuisine, Chinese tea takes centre stage at Sichuan Moon, where some of the rarest and finest teas are brewed exclusively with glacier water from Sichuan’s Gongga mountains. The opulent dining room is dominated by a custom-made chandelier featuring hundreds of blue and amber glass butterflies hand-blown in Murano, Italy.

More on the experience: The meal begins with a cart of jarred pickled vegetables crafted from French, Chinese and Japanese produce, designed to open your palate to Sichuan’s flavours. Diners then receive not one, but eight little treasure boxes to savour, such as deboned duck tongue in Sichuan red oil, beef offal steeped in mala oil and pig’s ear aspic with sansho pepper in chicken broth.

Menu highlights: As well as the wonderful pickles, look out for the dan dan noodles. The handmade longevity noodles arrive in a teapot steeped in a warm, delicate broth; diners are invited to pull the noodles from the spout with a pair of chopsticks into a bowl with a textured sauce made from smoked duck skin and breast as well as chicken skin, chilli oil from three types of chillies (from Gui Zhou, Yunnan and Shan Xi), crushed peanuts and Sichuan-preserved mustard green.

Bonus point: Expect exceptional service from the Chinese crew, who are proficient in explaining the dishes in both English and Mandarin.