31 Jan Mistral, Sofitel, Macau

Mistral is a restaurant located within the Sofitel at Ponte 16. Normally the lunch buffet is 168MOP, but this January and February it has been reduced to 98MOP, or about 14AUD after including the 10% service charge. I don’t particularly like the concept of buffets with the overeating, greed, waste and lack of enjoyment of the food typically involved, however, the deal was too good to refuse.

Appetisers included: terrines, cured fish and meats, sushi, salads in little dishes (prawn and apple, crab, octopus and orange and capsicum, potato, tuna, jelly fish), soba, marinated pork, thick, yellow vegetable soup, pork and hairy cucumber soup.

The mains weren’t that impressive. Main available were: pork, chestnuts and taro; chilli crab; braised baby cabbage; stir-fried snow peas and squid; duck breast; boiled potatoes; roast goose, spare ribs and char siu; a noodle station with a choice of three noodles and toppings including konnyaku, kombu, fish balls and fish cakes (mum said the fish balls were really good). The only main dish I really liked was the fish curry, which was tucked away off to the side next to the noodle station.

There were many, many desserts to choose from: macarons, apple pie, baked cheesecake, tiramisu, a pie and mashed ?walnut tart, profiteroles, coffee mouse with crunchy bits on top, a stronger coffee mousse, a green mousse, mango pudding, fruits, sugared fruits, ice cream (mango, vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, coffee with nut bits and a green icecream) with a selection of toppings (sprinkles, raspberry sauce and a white sauce). Unfortunately two of the mousse glasses were too narrow to fit the spoon, so we had to use the end of a spoon to get at the mousse at the bottom.

There were two breads I tried. One was a small, skinny, brown, multigrain bread and the other was an orange-coloured fat loaf that had herbs in it. I couldn’t pick out all the herbs, but I did taste thyme.

Although the mains fell short, overall it was an enjoyable experience and was totally worth the 14AUD.