La Bonne Heure French Cuisine     良辰法國餐廳  

French cuisine in Macau. Who would've thought? And this place was truly a hidden gem. I came here with two friends for lunch last Saturday after an unsuccessful attempt at A Lorcha (we didn't book, oops).

One of my friends comes here almost weekly for lunch since she comes to Macau for work quite often. She said she stumbled upon the place randomly (not through reviews or recommendations) while wandering around in the Largo do Senado area and was very happy with their lunch sets (only available on weekdays though... I might have to come back on a weekday^^)

Tucked in one of the alleyways behind the fountain at Largo do Senado, La Bonne Heure (The Good Hour) is a truly delightful surprise. My friend tells me this place is frequented by local Portuguese. It maintains a low profile (and I think the chef likes it that way). We came for lunch to find only two other customers there, though it was apparently fully booked for dinner according to one of the waiters. (The restaurant also closes on Sunday).

Service
Not sure how the service is when there's a full house, but for an almost empty one, it was splendid. We chatted with the two waiters, who were both very friendly and attentive without being overbearing. They were also very cooperative when we asked to see the chef to give him our compliments. Now perhaps the more surprising part is that La Bonne Heure's chef is Japanese, and he used to work for Robuchon a Galera at Hotel Lisboa. His name is Koji. I asked him whether or not he cooked other types of cuisines, to which he answered no. And fair enough, because he's good at what he does.

Food
[roasted duck breast with blueberry sauce - Mop 188]
Aside from the tender meat, the best part about this dish is the seasoned skin. It's crispy and flavoured with salt and pepper. Not sure why but the blueberry sauce gave this dish a somewhat Christmas feel. The sauce was lightly sweet with blueberry bits. Even the mashed potato was buttery and delicious - perfect on its own without any need of gravy. Seriously, when even the plain mashed potato is this good, you know the chef is meticulous and serious about food. As cheesy as this sounds (sorry^^;;), I was touched because it was as though with every bite, I could taste the chef's diligence and passion for cooking. [warm smoke salmon with watercress purée - Mop 138]
Another amazing dish. The puree was so smooth, and again the flavours here are light. The smoke salmon was so soft it simply melted in my mouth. My friend was telling me how this dish must have been difficult to make (hence requiring a professional to get it right) as the salmon was warm smoked slowly at the right temperature to achieve the extremely tender effect (salmon is usually hot or cold smoked). I didn't take a picture of it, but we also ordered the spaghetti alio olio [Mop 68]. The noodles were soaked in a rather watery olive oil (it worked out fine though because the oil was less thick) and comprised a strong garlicky taste.
[fresh strawberry purée with sparkling wine - Mop 48]
While my friends found this to be a bit on the sweet side, my sweet tooth thought this was perfect. I liked the fizzy effect after the sparkling wine was added to the ice cream and purée. It tasted like a very sweet strawberry champagne with ice cream. Verdict
I would GLADLY come back anytime I'm in Macau! My other friend says she may come back just for this... it really says something I have yet to find a French place in Hong Kong with food this good, and at this price! Whyyy >.< or maybe there is but I just don't know it yet? The bill came to about $150pp, and they didn't even include a service charge or tip (we tipped them separately ~ one that I was happy giving!)