A Taste of Home: Portugal

“A Taste of Home” is a regular magazine column in which we ask the natives of a particular country to introduce us to their national cuisine.

Unfortunately in Beijing, we don’t have a large choice of Portuguese restaurants,” Miguel Ataide Coelho, economic counselor at the Portuguese Embassy, tells us. “We have a Portuguese chef, Ricardo Bizarro, in the Hilton Wangfujing, but the restaurant there, Vasco’s, is more based on Macanese food, sometimes inspired by Portuguese dishes. I believe there’s also a cheaper “Portuguese-inspired” chain with a Portuguese chef overseeing things, but I haven’t been there. At least at this stage, this is the place where you can find more variety for Portuguese food.”

The “place” in question was Camoes in the Legendale Hotel, where Dr. Coelho joined us for dinner. We’d wondered why a hotel would have a Portuguese restaurant, but Dr. Coelho explained this as the result of the Legendale’s Macanese connection, owner and Macau-based tycoon David Chow.

Dr. Coelho began by stressing the importance of seafood in Portuguese cuisine, appealing to our enjoyment of useless trivia by pointing out that Lisbon is the only European capital by the sea. “In China, seafood is always covered in sauce, often with a lot of spice. The Portugal We have a saying, ‘In Portugal, there are 1,001 ways to cook codfish’ Portuguese like to taste the seafood itself, so it’s usually seasoned with salt, drizzled with olive oil and garlic,and served with baked potatoes. Chinese people often find Portuguese-style seafood dry.”

“We must order something with codfish,” Dr. Coelho insisted, adding, “We have a saying, ‘In Portugal, there are 1,001 ways to cook codfish.’” After considering the selection of bacalhau dishes, Dr. Coelho ordered the deep-fried codfish cakes with fresh tomato coulis (RMB 98). These crisp-coated nuggets set us up for the hearty seafood rice in olive oil and tomato sauce (RMB 208), full of fresh mussels, squid and a lovely, creamy stock.

Although seafood was the dominant theme, the “Bairrada” roasted suckling pig, served with sweet potato chips and orange (RMB 198), gave us an insight into the Portuguese fondness for pork. “I’d drive 150km from Lisbon to eat this when I go home,” said Dr. Coelho, referring to the suckling pig strongholdof Mealhada, north of Portugal’s capital. Dr. Coelho pointed out that sweet potato is a Beijing twist, and acknowledged that the skin on the suckling pig wasn’t as crisp as it would be back home, but nevertheless highlighted it as a key dish. Chef Paolo Jorge also insisted we try the roasted duck leg on duck and sausage rice. Echoes of Cantonese barbecued meats here, with tender meat and moist rice grains, full of aromatic flavor and baked to a slightly firm finish.

According to Dr. Coelho, Portuguese exports to China are increasing, with wine, olive oil, sardines (“We have great sardines”) and fruit juice. “But I miss the cheese. St. George’s cheese from the Azures. A little spicy, great for finishing dinner with a little bit of marmalade.”

We finished with homemade Portuguese egg tarts (RMB 50 for four). These familiar treats were created by monks in Lisbon’s Belem district. When the monastery fell upon hard times, the monks sold the original recipe to the nearby Café Pasteis de Belem. The egg tarts we enjoyed, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, are just one of countless variations available around the world, but the Café Pasteis remains the only place in possession of the original recipe. Camoes also offers a selection of dishes from former Portuguese colonies, including Angola, Brazil, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, as well as a selection of red and white Portuguese wines. Unfortunately, with no mid-range Portuguese option in Beijing, Camoes will inevitably be beyond the means of some diners – at a push, a filling dinner for two comes in at around RMB 400-500 (including 15% service charge). If you only order one main, make it the seafood rice.