Tucked away behind AIA Tower and overlooking Nam Van lakes and Macau Tower in the distance, is Caffé B, a great little Italian restaurant, perfect for a quick business lunch or a more leisurely dinner with friends.
At the helm are the international team of Restaurant Manager Cristiano Cannata and Head Chef Miki Yoshihito.
Hailing from Tokyo, Chef Miki lived in Italy for two years, in Bologna and Apulia, learning traditional Italian cooking techniques, and developing his passion for all things Italian. He came to Macau seven years ago and is now the head chef at Caffé B, which opened around three and a half years ago.
“I started at the pre-opening, left for a while and then came back again last year,” he says. “Our focus is on simple, traditional Italian cuisine, sometimes with a modern twist, and our signature dishes are our Charcoal Grill T-Bone steak and fish.”
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, with many regular lunchtime customers coming over from nearby lawyers’ offices, government departments and banks.
“Our customers are mostly local Chinese and Portuguese. I know that many locals don’t like their food too salty or their pasta too al dente, so I’m always happy to take requests,” notes Chef Miki.
Restaurant Manager Cristiano Cannata agrees: “Worldwide, people love Italian food, but the big mistake is refusing to adapt the Italian flavours to the local tastes,” he says. “The number one thing is to make the customer happy, and as a restaurant manager you have to be able to put yourself in the place of the customer and listen. This is a small restaurant so it’s easy to have a close relationship with customers. Most of our customers are regulars, so I know what they like.”
Cristiano is no stranger to Asian customers and their preferences. He has been in Macau for almost two years, and previously lived in Laos for three and a half years. He also worked in a wine bar in New York city for a decade, and in Turkey.
“Many of our regular customers like to share dishes, Chinese style, so sometimes they’ll call me and say, ‘I’m coming in 3 days, set up a menu for us’. Everything can be shared,” he notes.
The restaurant serves set meals for lunch and a-la-carte at dinner time. The lunchtime sets range from MOP128 for a starter or soup plus pasta, to MOP188 for pasta and a main course.
Must-tries on the dinner menu include Beef Filet with Porcini Mushroom and Red Wine, Black Truffle Sauce (Filetto Di Manzo Con Porcini al Vino Rosso e Pesto di Tartufo Nero) and Grilled Sword Fish Sicilian Style with Cherry Tomato and Black Olives Sauce (Grigliata di Pesce Spada alla Siciliana).
“Macanese people love meat, so we always have our signature charcoal grilled dishes, but I like to create seasonal menus too, so there is always something new for regular customers,” Cristiano adds. “We are working on a new seasonal dinner menu for summer at the moment. The focus will be fresh seafood like Red Snapper, Sea Bass from Italy, Sicilian Red Prawns and Black Cod.”
Representative of the Italian-Japanese partnership between Chef Miki and Cristiano, around half the fish are sourced from Italy and half from Japan. The T-bones are Black Angus beef from Australia, and the pasta is nearly all hand-made on site.
And the wine list? “Ninety-nine percent Italian wines,” says Cristiano with a grin.
The Japanese connection goes deeper than just the presence of Chef Miki in the kitchen. Caffé B is actually owned by Japanese company Three Bond, which manufactures sealing material, adhesives and others products used in automobiles, tranportation equipment, public construction materials, and many other applications.
As well a having factories all over the world, the company also has an interesting F&B angle.
"They have 13 restaurants in Japan, Caffe B in Macau and Singapore, and Sushi B in Italy, France and Switzerland. Sushi B in Paris received a Michelin Star this year, two years in a row," explains Christiano.
After many years running Italian restaurants around the world, how does Cristiano feel about working with a Japanese chef at the grill “Miki is more Italian than me,” laughs the restaurant manager, “he even listens to Italian music in the kitchen! And he’s a real perfectionist.”
Caffé B Macau
Avenida Panoramica Do Lago Nam Van 744 G-H
+853 2838 6886
12 pm – 3 pm / 6 pm- 10:30 pm
