Dom Galo

As first timers venturing blindly into Macau, our primary agenda, culinary-wise at least, was to taste Lord Stow's world-famous egg tarts. After all, what else does the uninformed tourist know about the place? Little did we know that, within this small nation, sits Dom Galo, a local restaurant specializing in Portuguese cuisine. While we have never tried truly authentic bacalhau, we took the Portuguese owner's word that his place is the closest we can get to the Iberian Peninsula in these parts.

Having gone to Macau armed with nothing beyond mouthwatering fantasies of creamy, toasted egg tarts and hopes of going home with I-jumped-off-the-Macau-Tower bragging rights, we depended solely on the personal preference of the MGM Grand Hotel's concierge for our choice for dinner. Thankfully, Mr. Concierge pointed us in the direction of Dom Galo, which is located across the Kun Lam statue, about a five minute walk from the hotel. We were fortunate as well that we had skipped lunch and that our turbojet from Hong Kong arrived at such an ungodly hour that we were famished before the sun even set, because we arrived at Dom Galo a little before six, when the cooks were still warming up the kitchen for dinner and table reservations for the night were still being phoned in. As it turns out, this place happens be a hot spot in this side of the mainland and getting a table here without a reservation, particularly on weekends, is nearly impossible. Now, do not be fooled by Dom Galo's apparent hipness, because this place is more hippie chic than it is high-brow and sophisticated. Albeit the mismatched and seemingly haphazardly placed furniture, preserved blowfish dangling from above the bar, funky artwork and color vomit everywhere, there is something endearing, pretty and cool about the organized chaos that characterizes the place. And, did we mention that the English speaking staff is from the motherland? Ordering a can of coke in Filipino was a very refreshing break from all the Chinese talk that we could not comprehend.

Because of our ignorance of Portuguese cuisine, we put our trust in our newfound Filipino friends’ knowledge of their restaurant’s menu. Thankfully, our kababayans knew exactly what a quartet of hungry tourists would consider filling.

Bacalhau (Salted Codfish)