(Last updated: December 3, 2025)
Aji debuted in the 2025 Michelin Guide with a shiny one star rating, but if we’re being honest, it just might deserve two. The restaurant sits inside MGM Cotai, the gold-and-glass jewellery-box wonder, and it leans heavily into a concept they call “Asian Bistronomy”, which melds French cooking techniques with Asian flavours. Whether that’s an actual culinary philosophy or just marketing mumbo jumbo I don’t know, but Aji’s food delivers 100%.
I chose Aji because it had just been awarded its first Michelin star, and that felt right for the occasion. We were celebrating my co-worker landing her first full-time teaching position at one of Macau’s most well-known schools. And as a homeroom teacher, at that. TOUGH. (She might only be 24, but give it a year or two and she’ll look 34.)
No matter what, she earned this meal.
Two is company and three is a crowd, and we were a crowd that night. The two ladies each ordered the three-course set at $490 per person, which includes one starter, one main, one dessert and one drink. I went my own way and ordered à la carte. Let’s start with the sets.
The Hamachi was fresh and neatly presented, but flavour-wise it was just… there. Even with the soy on the plate, it needed something — a lift, a spark, anything.
As served, it basically amounted to pretty sashimi on a plate, and nothing more. 2.5 stars
The Soft-Shell Crab was a completely different matter. Crisp, packed with flavour and superb with the sharp plum sauce, it came close to must-order territory. 5 stars
The mains kept the momentum going with two marvellous options.
The Antarctic Cod initially tasted as mild as it looked, but the sauce completely changed the dish. Deep, savoury and far stronger than expected, it made me reconsider what cod can actually do. 4.5 stars
But the MB5+ Oyster Blade Steak was the knockout. The minute I tasted it, I started wondering whether it might be the best steak in Macau.
Perfectly cooked and beautifully marbled, it only got better as I chewed and chewed and chewed. 5 stars
For my own meal, the Foie Gras ($220) came properly seared, almost liquid in the centre and served with just enough rose apple to cut through the fat. Excellent. 4.5 stars
The Iberico Pork Chop ($280) didn’t quite reach the same level. The meat itself was good, but the sauce pushed the dish into a fussier, sweeter direction that felt unnecessary. There was a slight kimchi-pear note that made me wish they’d taken a simpler, cleaner approach. A respectable 3.5 stars, but not something I’d order again.
Desserts were good across the board. The Hojicha Cake was the best of them, followed closely by the Pandan Brûlée. Even the usually forgettable Tiramisu ($100) earned its place on the table.
Excluding a $750 bottle of wine, our bill came to $1750, or roughly $600 per person. For MGM Cotai and this level of cooking, it’s almost a bargain.
The staff even brought out a celebratory cake for my friend — a sweet gesture — though they did spell Ella’s name as “Elias.” And now, forevermore, around the office she is known as Elias.
Aji occupies one of MGM Cotai’s massive open atriums rather than a conventional enclosed dining room. The red bar dominates one side, while the open frontage leaves the restaurant exposed to the light and movement of the hotel.
Aji already has one Michelin star, and it wouldn’t surprise me if a second one is on the horizon.
