Mar do Inferno Restaurant, Cascais

After a long day trip to Sintra, we stopped by Cascais for dinner before heading back to Lisbon.

While planning the return trip from Sintra, I read about a place called “Boca do Inferno” which seems pretty interesting. It’s a seaside cliff nicknamed “Hell’s Mouth” because of the pounding waves that crashes into the rock formation. Given the right weather and conditions, one may get to see a stunning orangey fiery sunset as the cliff bask in the rays of the setting sun. Since we planned to return to Lisbon by train from Cascais we decided to make a small detour to see the cliff and have dinner at the restaurant nearby.

Upon some quick research, it turned out that the restaurant – Mar do Inferno located next to the cliff is one that serves fresh fishes with pretty good reviews on the quality of the ingredients used.

We took a short stroll along the boardwalk to admire the cliffs and arrived at the restaurant with starving stomachs at around 7pm. The eatery was still pretty empty when we entered as the locals typically have late dinners.

Placed our order of Clams à la Bulhão Pato (€15) and a Seafood Platter for 2 persons (€39.50). Initially we turned down the bread basket as we knew that the food portion would be very filling for us and we wouldn’t need the bread. However the server guaranteed that we would love to dip the bread into gravy of the clams. He was spot on, as we enjoyed slurping every drop of the perfect mixture between olive oil, garlic, coriander and wine used for the ultra fresh clams. I could almost taste a hint of the ocean from the pot of chewy mollusc.

Paired our meal with a nice and relatively cheap half-bottle wine from Duoro region. We soon realised that wines are super affordable in Portugal…you can get one full bottle from as little as €1+ from the supermart… I seriously think they might even be cheaper than the branded mineral water…

Our jaws dropped when we saw the humongous portion of Seafood Platter presented to us. There were 2 fishes – sea bass & golden bream, along with mussels, grilled prawns, sauteed vegetables and potatoes.

I was blown away by the extremely fresh and well-prepared fishes. The flesh were moist and firm. Despite not being a big fan of fishes, we didn’t want any bit to go to waste and tried our best to finish them (left the potatoes and vegs). I think the slight disappointment was with the prawns which weren’t as succulent as I expected.

After the full meal, we took a bus to the train station and left Cascais for Lisbon which was a 40-mins train ride away. The restaurant staff even told us that the last train leaves Cascais at 1.30am!!! It seems that Cascais is a popular place for Lisboêtas to enjoy a break at the beach during summer though unfortunately we were there during winter.

Other photos taken:

Day trip to Sintra, 8am: Waiting for train at Sintra at Rossio station in Lisbon.

Day trip to Sintra, 1st stop: Moorish Castle which is perched on a hilltop as its a military outpost.

Day trip to Sintra, 2nd stop: Pena National Palace a very vibrant and colourful architecture building juxtaposed with various eclectic styles.

 

Day trip to Sintra, 3rd stop: Quinta da Regaleira a mysterious estate with a large mystical park filed with extravagant structures.

Exploring the sprawling garden of Quinta da Regaleira.

One of the main features of the garden – Initiation Well. Its a tower that spirals downwards into the underground as you descends through staircase.

Day trip to Sintra, 4th stop: Cabo da Roca westernmost extent of mainland Portugal and continental Europe. You can go to the tourist office to purchase a Certificate with your name written on it to certify that you had been to the westernmost part of Europe~

Day trip to Sintra, detour to Cascais: Boca do Inferno while I didn’t get to see the stormy waves clashing against the cliff as the weather was very good, I caught a nice sunset.

P.S Lastly I’m taking this opportunity to share some tips with folks who may be interested in planning for a day trip to Sintra from Lisbon as I personally had some difficulties getting verified information on the tickets to purchase for transportation. Perhaps it could also be due to the fact that the train and bus providers may be changing the schemes rather frequently. I hope anyone who stumbles upon my blog may find the following information useful.

When I visited in Feb 2016, we purchased a 1-day bus/train pass (€15) + €0.50 for the Viva Viagem card, from Rossio train station in Lisbon. The bus/train pass covers the main Scotturb bus routes that tourists take in Sintra. I can only comment on the routes below as these are the one I’ve taken.

• including train ride from Rossio to Sintra
• including #434 which goes to Moorish Castle and Pena National Palace – I earlier read mixed comments on whether this pass can or cannot be used on this particular bus route. Tried and tested, yes it works!
• #435 which goes to Quinta da Regaleira
• #403 which goes to Cabo da Roca
• including train ride from Cascais to Lisbon
• excludes buses in Cascais so if you plan to visit Boca do Inferno like I did, you will need to pay cash on the bus (#427 from Cascais to Boca do Inferno).

Other Related Post:

• Pasteis de Belem, Lisbon

Pastéis de Belém, Lisbon

After close to 1 day since we departed from Singapore’s Changi Airport, we finally arrived at our first culinary stop of our holiday~ We made a dash to the famed egg tart store in Lisbon – Pastéis de Belém, after checking in to our hotel in the old town area.

The best Portuguese egg tart I ever tried till now were the ones from Macau – Lord Stow’s Bakery during my trip in June last year. I was eager to try the authentic ones in Portugal with recipe created by two Catholic nuns in the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (just across the street from where the bakery is located). 

Having read that there is always huge crowd gathering outside the store, I was pleasantly surprised to get a table without much problem. Shortly after we settled down at our table, the service staff in charge of the area where we were seated came to take our order. Perhaps we were lucky or because we got there at non-peak hour?

We were admiring the azulejos (elaborately-painted Portuguese tiles) on the walls when the heavenly egg tarts were served (€1.05 each). Look at the the golden brown crust along with the slightly charred dark brown layer! Don’t they look fabulous?

Holding them daintily using my fingers, I could feel they are fresh from the oven but not too hot to touch. One bite, I could hear the crispiness of the crust before I felt my mouth filled with the rich, smooth and creamy custard. I was amazed at how thin the crust holding the custard was, it’s possibly less than 1mm thick~

Still trying to overcome our jet lag, we didn’t have much appetite. Otherwise I swear I would have eaten at least half a dozen of them! The shop also sells them over the counter for takeaways and we contemplated buying some as snacks. Since our hotel room doesn’t have any microwave to heat them up, we gave it a miss.  In any case, these darlings are best to be eaten warm and fresh from the oven.

We were hugely satisfied with our first culinary highlight of our trip. From here, we went on to explore the other attractions in Belem area.

Other photos taken:

Located a stone’s throw away from our hotel in the old town area was the Santa Justa Elevator. Was slightly disappointed that 3/4 of the facade was covered with scaffolding for restoration work. It was nonetheless interesting to note that although the structure was built using iron, it was decorated with intricate Neo-gothic designs.

Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (top left) and Monument to the Discoveries are just a short walk away from the famed egg tart shop. Right beside the monument was a huge nautical map tiled on the ground, indicating the places conquered by Portugal’s explorers. Malacca in Malaysia had been a Portuguese colony for 130 years (1511–1641) as the Portuguese desire to gain control of the spice trade in the region.

Lastly the Belem Tower,  possibly Lisbon’s most iconic landmark. It is much smaller than I imagined it to be.

BOCA [Relocated]

After trying fabulous Portuguese food in Macau, we were confident that Portuguese food suits our taste bud perfectly. Decided to visit BOCA to try our their dishes.

Started with Sangria Espumante and Sangria Branco difference being first was mixed with sparkling wine and the second is with white wine. The other ingredients used for the cocktail are the same: brandy, elderflower, mint leaves, orange, lemon, lime, peach, star anise, apple juice and ginger ale.

First starter was Clams “Bolhão Pato” Clams, garlic, coriander, white wine, extra virgin olive oil. The dish by itself was a tad too salty but it goes well with the crispy bread soaking up the savoury gravy. Octopus salad Octopus, onions, capsicum, cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar was next. We had a similar dish in Macau and was mersmerised by the tangy sauce with the chewy octopus. The version here reminds me of ceviche but served with octopus instead of fish.

The dish that impressed us most was the Shrimp “porridge” Bread “porridge” with shrimp, extra virgin olive oil, fish stock, coriander. The “porridge” was packed with richness of the fish stock used to make the broth.  The shrimp was crunchy and provided added texture to the mushy bread bits in the dish.

We wanted to end our meal with Portuguese Egg Tarts but was told that it was sold out as they were baked in limited quantities each day. Nonetheless we managed to get our hands on them on another day. It was slight different from the Lord Stow’s one in Macau but tasted more like a baked Creme Brulee.

[Update in May 2017]

BOCA has relocated to 8 Ann Siang Hill Singapore 069788.

Other Related Posts:

• Hashi Japanese Restaurant
• Oso Ristorante
• Eight Cafe & Bar
• Restaurant Andre

Antonio, Macau

After watching “The House of Dancing Water” show in City of Dreams, we returned to Taipa Village once again for our dinner. Since Macau used to be a Portugese colony up till 1999, we reckoned we should look for a restaurant to enjoy a Portuguese meal. Was down to A Lorcha, Fernando’s and Antonio.  Decided to dine at Antonio largely due to its location and also read about it from Anthony Bourdain’s Guide.

We sat on the ground floor dining hall next to a window overlooking the small alley outside. The tables were pretty close to each other, but the decor of the restaurant was warm and homely.

Read about the good range of wine available at the restaurant, so we ordered a bottle of white wine by Antonio Private 2012 from Duoro Region. The white wine from Duoro region are from a grape varieties which I have not tried before.

Ordered a salad thinking that we would need some fibre since we hadn’t eaten much veg during the trip. Although the Salada de Polvo Português Portuguese Octopus Salad had more octopus than veg, we enjoyed the refreshing dish. It was appetizing and octopus was nicely cooked. The other starter we tried was Ameijoas à Bulhão Pato Sautéed Clams with Garlic, Coriander, Olive Oil and White Wine Sauce. We could tell that the clams were fresh as it had an ocean-fresh aroma. The flesh was tender and chewy, the wine sauce was flavoursome.

The key highlight of our meal was the Arroz de Marisco à “António” Servido em Tacho de Barro 2 pessoas Wet Seafood Rice “Antonio” Style (crab, mussel, clams meat, prawns) Style Served in a Ceramic Pot – 2 Persons. The bright orange gravy filled with umami of rich prawn stock was tantalisingly good.  Unlike paella or risotto which is slightly drier, the Portuguese seafood rice is much more soupy. The portion was also pretty filling for the two of us, we had no choice but to leave behind some rice which goes soooo well with the gravy!  Combined with the fresh and juicy seafood, this dish is simply fantastic! Glad that we ended our day with this fabulous meal.

Not forgetting the entertaining a table-side dessert service of Crepes Suzette (2 unidades) Crepes Suzette (2 Units).  It’s definitely a dessert of choice for those with sweet tooth like me.

At the end of the meal, we were served a glass of Port wine each with compliments from the restaurant. Port really tasted much better than the other ultra-sweet dessert wines (some taste like cough syrup). We also enjoyed the white wine so much that before we left, we purchased a bottle of red Antonio Private 2010 back.

Antonio is definitely a restaurant which we would highly recommend to visit when in Macau.

Other Photos:

Grand Lisboa hotel is one of the tallest building in city centre, visible from almost everywhere in old Macau town. The hotel lobby has countless treasures on display, including a 200 carat diamond, the Horse bronze head of the chinese zodiac from old Summer Palace etc. These treasures are prized possessions of Macau’s gambling kingpin Mr Stanley Ho who owns the place. While he may have placed the treasures at the lobby to allow common folks like us to get a glimpse of the rare artworks, it’s also perfect stage for him to showcase of his wealth. Would loved to capture some photos but the lobby is as busy as a train terminal…packed with curious visitors here to admire the treasures.

To escape from the afternoon heat, we booked tickets to watch a fascinating show at City of Dreams (instead of go shopping in the resorts filled with the same-old international brands…). “The House of Dancing Water” is performed in a purpose-built theatre with a gigantic water tank that can transform into dry area in matter of seconds!

Performers possessed amazing skills and ability to execute acrobatic stunts in this well-choreographed show.

One of my favourite activity in Macau is to explore the different malls and capture the extravagant displays. Seen here is a golden dragon reaching for it’s pearl in City of Dreams.

It had been a long and fruitful day exploring Macau. There’s so much to see and experience that it would be a waste for visitors to only visit Macau as a “by-the-way” kind of day tour from HK. Although its a small city, it has many unique characteristic stemming from their Chinese-Portuguese history including architecture, road signages, food and not forgetting the exciting array of entertainment resorts.

Other Related Posts:

• Food Hunt @ Taipa Village 氹仔, Macau
• ★ The Eight 8餐廳, Macau
• Leitaria I Son 義順牛奶公司, Macau
• Tsui Wah Restaurant 翠華餐廳, Macau