Indian cuisine with a Michelin star for just 400 RMB—spiced black lentil mash simmered for 8 hours before serving

▲Nine types of beans, simmered for 8 hours to create this rich black lentil mash. (Photo by reporter Chen Ruizhong, same below)

Reporter Chen Ruizhong / Report from Macao

Located in The Venetian Macao, the Royal Peacock Indian Restaurant has been awarded a Michelin one-star rating for three consecutive years since 2014. It is one of the few Indian restaurants globally to receive Michelin recognition and one of only two in Asia. The restaurant offers a range of traditional Indian dishes, with spices and cookware directly imported from India, paired with organic ingredients from around the world to recreate the classic flavors of Indian cuisine.

▲Tear off a piece of Indian flatbread and pair it with spicy South Indian black pepper chicken curry—it’s delicious.

If French cuisine is about layering ingredients and spices upward to create a lavish performance for the senses, then Indian cuisine feels more like digging a deep hole on the plate, placing the ingredients first, and then slowly infusing them with spices to form a rich, deep, and mellow flavor. When a variety of spices burst forth in the mouth, waves of aromatic changes continuously stimulate the taste buds.

▲Tomato soup with coriander leaves is both spicy and fragrant, perfect with flatbread.

One of Royal Peacock’s signature dishes: the rich black lentil mash is made by separately simmering nine different types of beans according to their individual characteristics and then combining them, requiring a total of 8 hours before serving. Chef Justin Paul, who has 20 years of culinary experience, revealed that most Indian restaurants use seven types of beans, but Royal Peacock adds two mysterious additional varieties. Upon tasting, the slightly tangy sauce offers a blend of salty, sour, and richly spiced flavors that linger on the palate, while the beans retain a slightly coarse texture. Dip a piece of traditional Indian flatbread into the mash, and the deliciousness reaches new heights.

▲The elegantly ambiance of the Royal Peacock restaurant.

Royal Peacock offers dozens of different dishes. In addition to the rich black lentil mash, other dishes such as Indian-style potato cauliflower, creamy mango fish curry, and South Indian black pepper chicken curry all offer surprising and appetite-stimulating flavors. If eating with your hands using flatbread isn’t enough, you can also try a bowl of Indian-style vegetable and butter rice cooked with long-grain rice to satisfy your hunger.

▲%Add∈a more leisurely tasting angle (Justin Paul + garlic, onion, ginger, and other seasonings)