One of Macau’s most stunning restaurants, Jade Dragon offers superlative service with a setting to match, supremely designed in sophisticated Chinese style and vision.
Now rocking 3 Michelin stars, it’s one of the city’s most acclaimed dining venues, one that I can’t get behind as much as I’d like.
Simply put, standards usually go up in proportion to the prices on the menu, and when you reside in Jade Dragon’s stratosphere, expectations are through the roof.
For dinner, I tried Pata Negra ($180), two pieces of Shrimp ($180 x 2 = $360), Sour Crab Soup ($228), Australian Wagyu Beef and ($380) and a double serving of Pork Noodles because I knew that one wouldn’t be enough ($88 x 2 = $176).
Now, those are some serious prices and if you approach things from a cost versus quality perspective, there’s no way I got my money’s worth.
The Pata Negra, Shrimp and Soup were almost $800 between them and all just okay, nowhere near Michelin level.
I’m not sure they did much of anything with the Pata Negra or Shrimp either, basically just preparing and serving them as is.
The Wagyu Beef and Pork Noodles, on the other hand, were truly amazing. They were the kind of dishes where price becomes irrelevant; whatever it is you pay and then thank the chef later.
Look, I’m not going to lie to you, Jade Dragon gets a lot of things right. As a dining venue, the environment is top notch and the service is fantastic. The cutlery, presentation, furniture, and decoration stun and are simply immaculate. When you’re inside, you definitely feel like you’re somewhere special.
The food though doesn’t always live up to its end of the bargain, which is why I can’t award it a higher ranking. Choose their best dishes however and it will most definitely be a 5 star dining experience.
