Starcity Hotel Zhuhai

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.

Chinese

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.

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.

Part of the Macao University of Tourism, this restaurant was set up to train the future talents of Macau’s hospitality industry. The menu features European and Macanese dishes using herbs from their own garden; to sample local flavours, check out the Macanese menu's specialitie, such as galinha à portuguesa, and assorted Macanese starters. Macanese semi-buffet is offered at Saturday lunch. Oenophiles should check the wine list, which features a nice selection of Portuguese labels.

Though slightly out of the way, Lou Kei is a firm favourite among locals for a simple, good value supper. For over 20 years, its sizeable selection of tasty noodles, congee and Cantonese dishes has won the hearts of countless diners. With heaps of crispy fried garlic and chilli bits, the typhoon shelter-style deep-fried Bombay duck is delicious. Claypot rice with eel in black bean sauce boasts firm, oily fish on crispy scorched rice.

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.