Why This UNESCO-Listed City Is Asia’s Culinary Playground
In a city where East meets West in the most literal and flavorful sense, Macau is redefining what it means to travel with your taste buds. Once a quiet Portuguese trading port, today it’s a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy—a mecca for the globally curious and the gastronomically inclined. And if you haven’t flown in for a bite (or ten), it’s about time you booked that ticket.
At the center of this culinary renaissance is SJM Resorts, S.A., a brand that not only powers Macau’s world-class entertainment scene but also curates its most compelling culinary experiences. Think MICHELIN-starred fine dining, culturally rooted food halls, and modern interpretations of a 500-year-old food heritage—all under one cityscape.
Macau isn’t just evolving; it’s leading.
The MICHELIN Guide’s Macau Darlings
Start at the top—literally. Robuchon au Dôme, perched atop the lotus-shaped Grand Lisboa Macau, is the city’s only restaurant to maintain three MICHELIN stars for 17 consecutive years. This is haute cuisine with high-altitude drama.
Then there’s The Eight, an elegant Cantonese institution with two MICHELIN stars that blends tradition with theatrical presentation. And over at Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai, Zuicho—a kappo-style Japanese omakase experience—just earned its first MICHELIN star for a menu that plays like jazz: tight, precise, and deeply expressive.
Macanese: The Original Fusion Cuisine
Macau isn’t merely the backdrop for good food—it’s the birthplace of one of the world’s first fusion cuisines: Macanese. A heady mix of Portuguese and southern Chinese flavors, it’s as layered and storied as the city itself.
At Lisboa Bistrô, comfort food takes center stage: creamy bacalhau, African chicken, and rustic stews that taste like time travel. Mesa by José Avillez—helmed by the Portuguese chef with two MICHELIN stars—offers an elevated, artful take on this heritage, marrying technique with soul.
Not every great dish comes on fine china. At Kam Pek Community Center, a restored three-story heritage market backed by SJM, you’ll find a living, breathing food hall—where local vendors, family-run stalls, and small brands dish out everything from silky congee and hand-pulled noodles to fiery Thai curries and Japanese yakitori. It’s curated chaos at its most delicious.
