Macau Kitchen – Secret Menu Review

With notes from my granddaughter 

Macau Kitchen’s late‑July secret menu evening became a vivid portrait of Luso‑Asian cuisine in motion — and for Simone Hilliard, sharing it with her granddaughter Erica VR brought the experience into sharper focus. As Erica documented each dish with the intent of a critic in the making, the night revealed how food can carry heritage forward, and bind generations.

Macau Kitchen’s late‑July secret menu evening became a vivid portrait of Luso‑Asian cuisine in motion — and for photographer Simone Hilliard, sharing it with her granddaughter Erica VR brought the experience into sharper focus. As Erica documented each dish with the intent of a critic in the making, the night revealed how food can carry heritage forward, binding generations through curiosity, flavour and shared discovery.Macau Kitchen’s secret menu evening in late July  was a vibrant celebration of Progressive Luso‑Asian cuisine — and sharing it with my granddaughter Erica VR made it even more meaningful. Food has always been a thread that binds our family across generations, and watching her take notes with the focus of an aspiring food critic and chef showed that good food can bring together Boomers and Alphas! 

The Secret Menu event was a celebration for this tucked away restaurant. Kei and Hoeyan initially opened as a supper club and then moved to their premises in 2019 serving Macanese and Portuguese cuisine. Various incarnations later they are now serving Luso-Asian food marking, part five of a culinary progression where each stage embraced the region's diaspora and culinary influences.

We began with the Apple Gula Melaka Mocktail, a cooling blend of apple, coconut sugar, tamarind and soda. “Sweet and refreshing,” Erica  wrote — and she was right. It was the perfect antidote to the heatwave and a gentle introduction to the evening’s fusion of Portuguese, Malaccan and Macanese influences.

The Octopus that followed was beautifully tender, its natural saltiness balanced by aromatic herbs. Erica VR noted it was “very soft and flavourful,” and I loved watching thoughtfully commit her verdict to paper.

Then came one of the night’s most unexpected delights: crisp, sweet, zesty Fish Skin Salad marinated in ice. The nutty topping added depth, and Erica’s  verdict “salad delicious with a nutty flavour” captured its surprising harmony.

The Croquettes were feather‑light, never greasy, and paired with a bright garlic dressing. Erica wrote, “very light, not overpowered by flavours.”

Next was a King Prawn in Sweet Curry, served with fresh pineapple. The interplay of sweetness and spice was spot‑on. Erica loved the prawn’s “amazing strong flavour,” even if the texture wasn’t quite for her, an honest critic!

The final savoury dish, a traditional Portuguese Feijoada, brought comforting richness: beans, pork, blood sausage with pork fat, a dish steeped in tradition. 

Dessert was a revelation: a Black Sesame Mousse, airy yet rich, nutty yet delicate. Erica described it as “light and fluffy, like eating a rock,” referring to its striking, stone-like appearance rather than its texture. It was a charming observation.

This event also revealed why Macau Kitchen is entering its next phase. Kei and Hoeyyn are widening the lens, embracing the full Luso‑Asian corridor: Goa, Malacca, Macau, Mozambique, Brazil and southern China,  acknowledging that Macanese food is a diaspora cuisine still evolving. The dishes reflected that evolution: Southeast Asian brightness, Portuguese comfort, Cantonese technique, Malay aromatics, Goan spice traditions. It felt like a menu looking forward as much as back. So it was appropriate that I was reviewing with my granddaughter.

Between a visit from a traditional dancing red lion, the warmth of the staff, and Kei’s storytelling, the evening felt celebratory. Sharing it with my granddaughter reminded me how food binds generations, and how cooking keeps tradition alive. (Simone Hilliard and Erica VR)

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Macau Kitchen  - 93 Leonard’s Street, Edinburgh EH8 9QY

Photography  by Simone Hilliard