Maven Meter: Broadway Macau Casino & Hotel
(Last updated: May 20, 2020)
INTRODUCTION
Notable for being the first hotel to open on the Cotai Strip, Broadway Macau was originally known as the Grand Waldo, a failed venture that I once termed “the forgotten property of the Cotai Strip” and “a waste of space and resource.”
Galaxy Entertainment Group bought it in 2013 and then sat on it for nearly two years, keeping the doors shut until May 27th, 2015, the same day they opened the third Galaxy tower.
In its new incarnation, Broadway Macau serves as the entertainment wing for Galaxy, highlighted by the 3,000 seat Broadway Theater and outdoor food street that always has something on the go.
As for the casino and hotel, they both feel like secondary considerations.
Broadway Macau Photo Gallery
BROADWAY MACAU CASINO
The casino at Broadway Macau is totally useless, limited to one fairly small room located next to the main hotel entrance. Tables number 21 and only 3 games are offered: Baccarat, Commission Free Baccarat, and Sic Bo. Minimums are way too high for such a small casino, with Baccarat starting from $1000, although Sic Bo is surprisingly cheap – only $100.
Slot machines number 90 with lows of 10 and 20 cents, while electronic Sic Bo is available for $30.
The casino is very red, gaudy and shiny, pretty much par for the course in Macau. I didn’t see much of any drink service provided, only the occasional stack of free water bottles.
BROADWAY MACAU GAMES
Broadway Macau used to have a nice selection of games when it first opened in 2015. That’s certainly not the case anymore.
Baccarat – Minimum bet is $1000. That’s the standard low for Baccarat in many casinos now. The only cheap Baccarat on the floor is of the Commission Free variety.
Commission Free Baccarat – Players win only 50% on a won Banker bet that totals 6. Minimum bet is $300.
Sic Bo – 8 different bets. $100 Big/Small minimum.
Slot Machines – 90 slot machines, lows are 10 or 20 cents. Live Gaming Baccarat is also available for $10, $20 and $50.
BROADWAY MACAU PROMOTIONS
Broadway Macau is a Galaxy Entertainment Group casino, so for an idea of their promotions, please check here: GEG Promotions.
BROADWAY MACAU HOTEL
There are 340 rooms at Broadway Macau, with guest lodgings found on floors 3 to 10.
If you go through the Broadway website and book 30 days in advance, rates get slashed by 20%, which are the prices I’ve used below.
Booking through Trip.com or Agoda will probably save around $200 nightly, but you probably won’t get free access to the Grand Resort Deck over at Galaxy.
BROADWAY MACAU HOTEL ROOM
I stayed at Broadway Macau a day after it re-opened and was very disappointed with the room I had. With all the pomp and pageantry of the new launch that had Broadway mentioned in the same breath as Galaxy, I was definitely expecting something newer, larger, and much more comfortable.
Instead, the room I had didn’t look like it had been renovated or upgraded since the hotel first opened in 2006. It was much more to the level of Grandview or Grand Dragon than anything you’d find across the road at Galaxy.
Apart from that, everything in the room was in working order and clean, while check in and check out were both handled efficiently and well. Contents in the mini bar were free, but that only amounted to 4 cans of soda and some chocolate.
The bathroom was pretty decent, offering both a bathtub and stand up shower.
Good depth offered in the tub, I’d give it a 7.5 out of 10.
BROADWAY MACAU POOL
Closed in winter, the pool at Broadway Macau is good to go from April until November, with hours from 8 am to 8 pm daily.
Extremely long, it’s one of the larger pools in Macau, and you’ll probably have it all to yourself when you use it.
I think that’s because guests staying at Broadway sometimes get free access to the pools across the road at Galaxy, which is mainly why so very few people ever use this one.
BROADWAY MACAU RESTAURANTS
Broadway Macau has over 40 eateries on the Broadway food street, with more than half of them outlets from some of Macau’s most famous local restaurants. I think the point is to bring some of the local culture from the old Macau peninsula to those staying on the Cotai Strip, which isn’t a bad idea at all. After reading a dining brochure that highlighted some of the street’s signature eateries and dishes, I decided to restaurant hop and try them all out. Here’s a quick dish by dish review of how it all went.
Du Hsiao Yueh: 100 year old Tainan Dan-Tzai Noodles ($18)
This simple noodle dish is made of shrimp soup, bean sprouts, coriander and minced pork paste. While the noodles were extremely fresh and everything tasted good, the bowl was way too small.
Honestly speaking, it needed to be 5 times larger to be considered any kind of proper meal. While I liked what I had, there just wasn’t enough of it.
2 STARS
Nan Xiang: Shanghainese Xiao Long Bao ($45)
Sweet Lord, I’ve never had dumplings this good. These bad boys just melt in your mouth and then the taste explodes. The filling is more akin to a soup that you experience first before the pork meat takes center stage last. Stunning.
I also tried the Stuffed Bun with Vegetables for $28 which were good as well, but next time, I’m going straight for the Steamed Pork Dumplings and ordering 3 servings. They are masterful.
5 STARS
Hung’s Delicacies: Marinated Goose Slices ($198)
Goose is a great Southern delicacy but the people at Hung’s Delicacies don’t do it right. First off, the dish is in fact half goose and half tofu, which I did not expect after paying $198. Secondly, the taste was very bland and way too low key for my liking.
While the meat was soft and juicy, it just didn’t have enough kick for me. The sour sauce that came with it didn’t help much either.
2 STARS
Wong Kun Sio Kung: Shrimp Roe Dried Noodles ($80)
This is an outlet of the much more famous and central Wong Kun Sio Kung that’s located on Rua de Campo in downtown Macau. When I first tried the Shrimp Roe Noodles I thought they were way too dry, but that was before I added the spice and tea. Once I mixed everything together, the dish took off and was just excellent.
I think Westerners might enjoy it too because it’s kind of exotic but not too far out there. The way the shrimp paste and dry noodles contrasted with the tea and spice was quite pleasant to the palate. Highly recommended!
4.5 STARS
Ving Kei Tao Fu Min Sek: Tofu Pudding ($18)
No offense to the Chinese intended, but they can’t do desserts and it shows. I’ve been in many a sweet shop where everything looks delicious only to eat it and then find meat inside. Of course, there’s also their wonderful flavours, like green tea and red bean paste which are just flat out weird.
Well, here’s another one to add to the list: Tofu Pudding. Tofu has no taste and that’s what you get with this dessert. Which is to say, a whole lot of nothing.
1.5 STARS
That wrapped up my lunch on Broadway Street. I returned in the evening for Round 2.
Ba Shan Spicy Noodles: Ba Shan Spicy Noodles ($55)
First off, let me say that these noodles are made with rice so right off the bat there’s a strike against it. Rice noodles are notoriously bland, weak and pointless.
Okay, so they packed the dish with a lot of spice and some duck meat to compensate for it, but it wasn’t enough. The meat was a cheap cut too, bone dry and unappealing.
2 STARS
Katong Corner: Katong Laksa Lemak ($78)
Singaporean Prawn Laksa. Ladies and gentlemen, I think I have a new love in my life.
Laksa Lemak is a creamy soup made of coconut milk and slightly spicy curry, mixed together with noodles and seafood. If you order this, it’s like you’ve ordered three dishes in one, and they’re all spectacular.
Laksa Lemak was the best dish I tried on the food street and one I will definitely return to try again. Make sure to order a side bowl of rice as well, because the curry tastes great when mixed together with it.
5 STARS
Xin Dau Ji: Roast Suckling Pig ($228 for a quarter helping)
Xin Dau Ji is not actually on the Broadway food street, but on the other side of Broadway Theatre facing the Galaxy. I’m kind of surprised they lumped it together with all of the eateries on the food street because Xin Dau Ji is a proper restaurant with some Michelin recognition, not some fast food joint serving $15 noodles.
Regardless, I tried their signature Roast Suckling Pig ($228 for a quarter helping) that took about 20 minutes to prepare. All in all, it wasn’t too bad but definitely not the best Suckling Pig I’ve ever had. The skin was extremely crunchy, and the meat was tender, but also a little cold, which I didn’t like. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but not very memorable either.
3 STARS
Wa Song Hung: Herbal Turtle Jelly ($48)
I don’t know how many of you have been to see traditional Chinese doctors, but their offices invariably have a strange kind of smell that isn’t offensive, but you wouldn’t to eat food that tastes like it either. Well, with this Herbal Turtle Jelly, they decided to package that smell and sell it as a dessert and the results could have not been more disgusting.
It was like eating horrible tasting medicine and I was feeling pretty damn good that night ladies and gentlemen… until I tried this, of course. Do not, under any circumstances, buy this or even entertain the notion of buying this. Just don’t do it.
0 STARS
That wrapped up my little tour of the Broadway food street and the results were a bit of a mixed bag. The best things I tried were fantastic, while I think the majority of dishes were just okay, and probably shouldn’t be famous at all.
I enjoyed the process though, restaurant hopping and ordering one dish before moving on to the next joint, wondering how it all would turn out. Foodies will also definitely dig it and should seize the opportunity to experience the food street in the same manner that I did.
After all, I can’t really think of any other place in Macau that’s like it, where so many diverse dishes and snacks are on offer in such a small, concentrated area. Sure, there are tons of shops around the city selling pastries and desserts, but those aren’t restaurants and you can’t sit down and eat, so it’s not the same at all.
Broadway Food Street burns the midnight oil too, with most joints making it to 12 am every night.
Besides the food street, there’s one more place to eat in the main Broadway Macau hotel building.
Broadway Kitchen – Broadway Kitchen is open 24 hours and does cheaper fast food Chinese fare. Prices are as follows:
All Day Breakfast: $78 to $98 Chef’s Recommendations: $88 to $168
Congee: $15 to $58 Sandwiches/Pasta: $68 to $75
Dim Sum: $25 to $58 Rice/Noodles: $68 to $78
Noodles: $55 to $68 Chinese Specialties: $48 to $168
Soup: $38 to $88 Poultry: $58 to $78
HEALTH CLUB/SPA
For all the space they have at Broadway, you’d think they’d give a little more of it to the gym. While the fitness center is certainly comprehensive, featuring a lot of machines and equipment, there just isn’t enough room. If it were double the size that would help a great deal.
The gym is located on the ground floor close to the pool and keeps hours from 7 am to 9:30 pm daily.
As for spas and sauna facilities, guests must go to the Galaxy resort for Banyan Tree Spa or the Espa at the Ritz Carlton. Both places only offer treatments and both places are extremely expensive.
ENTERTAINMENT
Broadway Macau has two main sources of entertainment: the large 3000 seat Broadway Theatre and evening street performances on Broadway street. For an idea of who’ll be visiting the theater, you can keep tabs on the Broadway Macau website, while all of the entertainment on Broadway street is free.
The action really ratchets up at night with a diverse list of performers, which include pedicab singers, stilt walkers and roaming musicians. There’s live music every night on a stage that’s been set up on the back of semi trailer truck that’s cleverly called “Band on the Run”.
BARS
Broadway Macau has two drinking establishments on Broadway Street.
The Roadhouse – The Roadhouse has both indoor and outdoor seating, as well as live entertainment six nights a week, with only Mondays dark. The shows start around 9:00 pm and then continues all the way until 2 am. Expect to hear some combination of rock, blues and pop.
Current special is a Happy Hour promotion daily from 5 pm to 8 pm daily, which is Buy 1 Get 1 Free.
Drinks at the Roadhouse are all reasonably priced, with beer $43 to $72, hard stuff $63 to $130 and cocktails $55 to $75. Bottles of wine range from $270 to $420 while whisky is $65 to $100 and shooters $50 to $99.
There’s also a comprehensive food menu with appetizers $30 to $100, salads $60 to $110 and burgers and sandwiches $105 to $135. Other standard pub fare includes grilled chicken ($115), baby back ribs ($300), and fish and chips ($95) while pizza and pasta are $105 to $130 and steak $250.
The Mexican menu looks fantastic featuring burritos ($100 to $135), fajitas ($150 to $190), tacos ($65 to $90) and quesadillas ($110). A lot of Filipino fare is on offer as well, including Crispy Pata ($140), Spicy Suzuki Sisig ($100), Tokwa’t Baboy ($100) and Dinakdakan ($90), while Ireland is represented with Potato and Leek Soup ($60), Potato Skins ($110) Sausage and Chips ($120) and Shepherds Pie ($140).
The Roadhouse is generally considered to be one of the two best bars in Macau, with the other being the Old Taipa Tavern in Taipa Village.
The Roadhouse is open from 4 pm to 4 am (Monday to Friday),and 12 pm to 4 am (Saturdays and Sundays).
Duffy’s Irish Pub – Duffy’s Irish Pub is a lot more low key than the Roadhouse, it’s the place to go to if you want to keep things low key and just chill. It’s also the venue to watch live sports, particularly those popular in the UK, like soccer, rugby and cricket. The bar is owned by the same people who run the Roadhouse, that’s why their food menu is the same.
Drink prices are a bit different though, with beer available for $45 to $72, cocktails $65 to $75 and draught beer (including Guinness) $66 to $90. Other choices include licquers ($50), shooters ($50 to $99), harder shots ($65 to $100) and sangria ($220 a jug).
Duffy’s Irish Pub is open everyday from 5 pm to 2 am.
SHOPPING
There are a few shops selling souvenirs on Broadway street, but it’s mostly just small stuff. For a real shopping experience, head over to the Galaxy for the Promenade, their luxurious retail quarter home to over 200 brand name designer outlets and fashion boutiques.
SUMMARY
Although Broadway Macau is marketed as a new hotel, it’s actually almost ten years old and you can really see it in the lackluster rooms and facilities. Some modern refurbishment would definitely go a long way in making it a more appealing living destination.
The only reason to stay there would to be to pay a little more so you can access the pools across the road at Galaxy for free, but that special isn’t on all the time. Hopefully it returns in the future.
LOCATION
Connected to the Galaxy via an elevated walkway, Broadway Macau is a little removed from the main action on the Cotai Strip. To get to the Venetian and the City of Dreams, for example, would probably take 20 minutes on foot. For those who have never been to the Cotai Strip, it’s really in the middle of nowhere. There are no buildings, shops, or businesses, just big empty lots and massive hotel complexes.