Saffron is located in the plush Banyan Tree Macau which opened last year in May as part of the Galaxy Macau hotel complex. The Banyan Tree hotel brand has its roots in Thailand as their first resort was opened in Phuket.
Executive Chairman, K.P. Ho is the inspiration behind the Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts and I have had the good fortune to have worked for him twice, the first time at the Banyan Tree in Bangkok, which used to be a Westin property, and also at the Sheraton Grande Laguna in Phuket.
Upon entering the restaurant, there was no hostess to greet us with a ‘Wai’, which I think is important as first impression do count. The Feng Shui décor includes high ceilings with handsome dark wood, which is present in the wonderful ornaments, wall panels and dining furniture. The restaurant has an open kitchen giving it a very spacious feeling, and cosy designed cushions, subtle lighting and soothing music by the beautiful in-house Khim player, giving a wonderfully relaxed yet elegant Thai setting.
Saffron offers a wide variety of traditional food with a contemporary touch from all four regions of the country, and also some modern looking Thai dishes, including signature curries and sauces. Hot and spicy, rich and mild, diners are introduced to the whole array of spices and exotic herbs of Thai cuisine. In Thai cuisine, the order of preference is usually as follows: sour first, then sweet, spicy and finally salty.
We ordered the signature set dinner menu which for two persons at MOP398++ looks like my find of the year. Included in the price, we had a selection of signature Thai appetizer samplers including grilled fish cakes; fried Pandan leaf wrapped spicy chicken; crisp, rice noodle-wrapped prawns; and grilled chicken breast satay. Tom Yum Kung, the famous hot and spicy prawn soup came next, followed by a main course of gentle braised chicken curry; apple eggplants and sweet basil leaves; fried squid in garlic and pepper with a squid ink sauce; crispy fried fish fillet, with three flavour pineapple sweet chilli sauce; stir fried assorted Asian vegetables with oyster sauce; and to end with, we ordered the mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream.
First to arrive were the wonderful (and I must add complimentary) crispy rice and prawn crackers, which came with three excellent dips. This was followed by the selection of Saffron signature Thai appetizer samplers, including grilled fish cakes, which came piping hot and crispy with bags of favour, simply served with a sweet chilli sauce. The fried Pandan leaf wrapped spicy chicken was very good too – nice, tender and delicious pieces of chicken but it was not spicy as stated on menu. The crispy rice noodle-wrapped prawns were nice enough – the prawns were fresh and nicely presented but nothing special. The grilled chicken breast satay was tasty and came with a light peanut sauce.
Tom Yum Kung, is one of the most famous and most enjoyable soups in the world, if prepared properly. Our soup had plenty of prawns, straw mushrooms, herbs and spices with just the right balance of spicy and sour; top-notch, very enjoyable indeed. The chicken curry, apple eggplants and sweet basil leaves were accompanied by crispy fish and salted egg, which is a nice touch and the curry was good and tasty, with tender pieces of chicken and eggplants of the Thai variety in a rich and creamy curry sauce. Even though the curries rely more on flavour than heat alone, I still think that a tad more spiciness would have been better.
The fried squid in garlic and pepper with squid ink sauce was rather dry and tasteless, non-descriptive, and bit of a disappointment really. The crispy fried fish fillet, with three-flavour pineapple sweet chilli sauce was fresh and delicious but could have been a little bit crispier, and the stir fried Asian vegetables with oyster sauce were cooked perfectly but nothing exciting.
All this came with a choice of four, yes four different kinds of rice. You can choose from plain Jasmine rice, brown rice, Saffron or Pandan rice – what a treat!
Jasmine tea arrived before dessert to refresh the palate and was another neat touch, but a lightly scented lemon grass cold towel (like they do in Thailand) would have been perfect.
To finish with, the mango sticky rice had just the right amount of fresh coconut and sweetness and the coconut ice cream was very nice and refreshing.
The a la carte menu is rather expensive but if you stick to the special set dinner menu then it is probably the best value in town. Special mention to the service, which I thought was excellent, especially the efficient and engaging Hana, beautiful surroundings and very good, authentic Thai food. If you want to experience genuine Thai hospitality, then even before you learn to say ‘Rao pai kin khao kan, phom hiu mak mak’ (Let’s go and eat then, I am really starving), I would head for Saffron very quickly before everybody else hears about the great set menus.
