One of the biggest joys of visiting The Canadian in New York is her unfailing ability to secure tables at the hottest restaurant of the day. In early November 2010, that position seemed to be occupied by Macao Trading Co.
I should say that, almost a year ago, we did spend a couple of days in Macao and found decent food difficult to find, so it was with a little trepidation that we approached this restaurant. Thankfully, the food lives up to the location’s “hot ticket” billing. We ordered a selection of starters and mains to share amongst the three of us. The highlight of the starters was croquettes of mushroom and truffle - I could have happily eaten another plateful myself. Jade dumplings and duck confit spring rolls were also good, just overshadowed by the wondrous croquettes.
As the mains arrived, the croquettes’ place in my affections was quickly taken by a large bowl of African chicken and a plate of sticky Peking style pork ribs. “Ants climbing the tree”, glass noodles coated in finely minced pork and chillies, was far more appetising than the nomenclature might suggest, but not quite as impressive as a side order of dry-fried long beans.
Sadly, the current reputation of the restaurant seems to have convinced the management that it’s perfectly acceptable to squeeze far too many tables into the small space and employ a greeter who appears, tragically, to have been the victim of a charisma bypass. This is, I’m assured, completely normal practice in New York, which seems rather upsetting.
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