Macau restaurants running on empty
The gaming hub has long been a food heaven, but the number of tourists and local customers have dropped drastically owing to Covid-19, putting the industry in danger
Macau has long been a top destination for foodies in Asia. From fine-dining venues listed in the Michelin guide to casual restaurants offering fusion cuisine, it has mouth-watering options for travellers on a budget and those with deep pockets.
In 2018, the opening of two integrated resorts – MGM Cotai and Morpheus – saw restaurants launched in collaboration with some of the biggest names in the food and drinks industry, such as Pierre Hermé, Alain Ducasse, Mauro Colagreco and Graham Elliot.
Then the pandemic came along. Macau has been hailed for the success of its measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, having recorded fewer than 100 cases and zero deaths thanks to the swift implementation of strict curbs on cross-border travel. But a consequence of this was a drastic fall in the number of tourists, and in Macau’s gaming revenue.
During China’s “golden week” national holiday in October, only 8,156 visitors arrived – an average of a little more than 1,000 individuals per day compared with 140,000 per day back in 2019.
“There are no Hong Kong tourists and visitors from mainland China are limited, so we can only rely on the locals for now,” says Raymond Vong, owner of
Henri’s Galley, which has been serving Portuguese and Macanese food since the 1970s.
Near the historic sites visitors used to frequent, there is an entire street of closed restaurants: “available for rent”, say signs above the entrances to empty spaces. Streets near the Senado Square – part of the Unesco Historic Centre of Macau – are so empty that one’s footsteps echo.
While tourist districts have been worst hit by the pandemic, the effects of the economic downturn does not end there. With a dramatic reduction in gaming revenue and visitors, many Macau residents working in the casino industry have been forced to take unpaid leave. Many people have less to spend on eating out.
“Just now, a regular customer who used to often order toro sashimi for lunch is now having fried chicken. [Many] of our regulars working in casino junkets are now laid off and their extravagant latenight snacks with French oysters and sea urchin are a thing of the past,” says Lawrence Chen, owner of takeaway Japanese restaurant Sushi Jiang.
Other bars and restaurants in housing districts are feeling the pinch; many have lowered prices to survive. “We were popular with Malaysians and Japanese before the pandemic and lost about 30 per cent of customers,” says restaurateur and interior designer Mickey Lo, who owns Toff Cafe.
“Our regulars are mostly locals but Macau’s population is relatively small at around 660,000, so when there are almost no visitors coming from abroad, there is brutal competition between restaurants to attract locals. As price wars arise, very few will make it.”
Inside the integrated resorts, a number of restaurants have closed, some temporarily, others permanently. At City of Dreams, two-Michelin-star French contemporary restaurant The Tasting Room and one-Michelin-star Japanese sushi restaurant Shinji by Kanesaka shut for good. Both were in the 2020 edition of the Forbes Travel Guide and Black Pearl Restaurant Guide.
At Galaxy Macau, the oneMichelin-star 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana is temporarily closed, with a sign at its entrance stating that it is acting “in accordance with the guidelines from the Macau SAR government”, even though the government did not impose any dining restrictions.
In addition to closing restaurants, integrated resorts have also ended some of their collaborations with big names in the food industry. What was once the Pierre Hermé Lounge at the Morpheus no longer serves the French pastry chef’s signature desserts, and has been renamed the Morpheus Lounge. Voyages by Alain Ducasse on level three is now L’attitude and does not mention its former brand.
Across the street at MGM Cotai, Aji, which was overseen by Peruvian chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, is closed until further notice, while collaborations with Colagreco (of the three-Michelin-star Mirazur in Menton, France) and Top Chef judge Elliot are no longer publicised.
Because of border restrictions, foreign chefs and staff cannot enter Macau, so restaurants cease to operate or cannot serve a full menu. “Our Nepalese chef responsible for cooking the thali is not here so it is not available even though it is on the menu,” a server at Grand Lisboa’s Round-TheClock Coffee Shop says.
And whenever there is a new Covid-19 case in Macau, its border with the Chinese city of Zhuhai shuts and staff who live in China cannot enter. This leaves restaurants unable to open because of a lack of staff.
“It’s a choice between having nowhere to sleep and making a living. Our employer could not arrange lodging in Macau so we shut down when the border closes,” says an employee at a restaurant near Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, one of Macau’s main arteries.
Under these difficult circumstances, however, some resorts have opened new restaurants and relaunched dining concepts. During the pandemic, The Venetian Macau introduced Jiang Nan by Jereme Leung.
There’s brutal competition between restaurants to attract locals
MICKEY LO, OWNER OF TOFF CAFE
There are no Hong Kong tourists and visitors from mainland China are limited RAYMOND VONG, OWNER OF HENRI’S GALLEY
Although located inside the casino floor and restricted to diners over the age of 21, the elegant restaurant serving food from Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang in eastern China is getting popular with local customers.
One of the most exciting dining relaunches of 2021 is at Wynn Macau’s Golden Flower. Chef Zhang Zhicheng has taken over as head chef at the two-Michelinstar restaurant. Coming from a private kitchen inside an ancient hutong in Beijing, Zhang has brought a fresh perspective to Golden Flower’s contemporary Sichuan, Shandong and Northern Chinese dishes.
“Despite unpredictable situations brought on by the pandemic such as border restrictions resulting in constantly changing customer access to Macau, we have endeavoured to keep our facilities open for our guests to enjoy,” a Wynn Macau spokesman says “The focus at Wynn has always centred on showcasing the region’s best talent and building on Macau’s reputation as a Unescodesignated Creative City of Gastronomy.”