City Inn Macau

The lavish interior sports goldfish motifs and the number eight to wish diners good fortune. The menu is traditional Cantonese starring crisply crafted quality ingredients. The head chef adds a new spin to familiar dishes with imported produce like Japanese chillies, Argentinian carabineros and Aussie lobster. At lunch, over 40 types of dim sum are available – try the steamed rice rolls filled with pickled Japanese cucumber and char siu Berkshire pork.

Chinese

Equally suited to power lunches and friendly get-togethers, this strikingly lavish restaurant dominated by a frosted crystal flying dragon offers far more than just a treat for the eye. Cantonese classics and dim sum crafted with top-notch ingredients are what keep diners coming back. Besides the main menu, ask about their seasonal dishes such as clay pot rice and Dongshan goat in winter. Thoughtful service adds to the experience.

The opulent room is covered in gold and red, the festive colours for the Chinese. The menu offers Sichuan classics, such as sautéed chicken with peanuts and chilli, and Hunanese fare like steamed carp fish head with chilli. Hand-pulled noodles are also worth trying – watching the chefs pulling them in the display kitchen adds to the entertainment. Boiled mandarin fish fillets in chilli oil comes in portions generous enough for a few to share.

A family business since the '70s, this noodle shop sticks to its roots and its thin, fine noodles are pressed by bamboo pole in its own factory nearby. Their soup is cooked with dried prawns and dried plaice for 8 hours. The noodles with dried shrimp roe are great, but also try their wontons and dace balls that are served deep-fried or blanched; the fermented clam sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the dace balls.

Since 1979, Son Tak Kong has been jam-packed with happy regulars, lured by its no-frills, authentic Shun Tak cuisine. A Shun Tak native himself, the owner hires chefs for whom the secrets of Cantonese and Shun Tak food have no secrets. Their signature creamy fish soup calls upon exquisite knife work, first-rate ingredients and rich, slowly simmered fish broth. Also try the sticky rice with Sakura shrimps and pine nuts in a cast iron pot.

This busy shop next to the Chun Lei pier still kneads the noodles with a bamboo pole like in bygone days. The owner’s wife then cooks them perfectly, thus explaining their bouncy texture. The broth simmered with an array of seasonal fish boasts depth and sweetness. Dried prawn roe sprinkled on tossed noodles is toasted by the owner himself, imparting umami and aroma. Also try the crab congee and deep-fried wontons with crispy dace balls.