Immerse in Artistic Excellence From Basquiat to Alain Ducasse at the City of Dreams

From American Neo-expressionism to French haute cuisine, treat yourself to the finer things in life in Macau’s beloved resort.

With the temperatures gradually cooling and the festive season coming slowly upon us, it’s time to treat yourself to a well-deserved break, and there’s no better place to do just that than one of Macau’s best resorts, the City of Dreams. From now until November 24, the resort has partnered up with the multi-dimensional art space Artelli to host legendary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Crowning Journey,” celebrating the famed American artist’s legacy.

Perfect as your afternoon activity, the holistic exploration of Basquiat’s career and legacy spans four main areas of the City of Dreams: the Main Portal, the Southwest Entrance, the Showroom and Artelli. At the Main Portal now stands a towering sculpture of Basquiat’s iconic Pez Dispenser, while the Southwest Entrance is home to a gigantic iNFLated materialisation of Brown Spots, displayed against a mesmerising backdrop of the artist’s paintings wrapping the entire exterior façade of the Showroom. Finally, through the doors under the façade, you’ll find Artelli, the main gallery where a multi-storey space tracks the meteoric rise of Basquiat’s fame from the late ’70s to early ’80s. Don’t forget to drop by the gift shop as well, where you’ll find wonderfully designed merchandise including art puzzles and an exclusive Mahjong set collectors and art lovers simply can’t miss.

As the evening sets in after your journey through Basquiat’s life, head over to Alain Ducasse at Morpheus for one of the most memorable meals of your own. With a newly redesigned menu from Ducasse and his Macau restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine Cedric Satabin, the esteemed two-Michelin-star establishment is now offering the best of what traditional French cuisine has to offer.

An a-la-carte menu features everything from starters such as seasonal vegetables cooked together with black truffle – created by Ducasse three decades ago for his first-ever vegetarian menu – and warm shellfish and crustacean, coco bean and purslane salad, to mains like their cookpot of lightly smoked blue lobster, sea potatoes and wild mushrooms, as well as a Rossini-style beef tenderloin with fluffy potato crisps and Périgueux sauce. But for a comprehensive treat, we’d recommend going for their signature tasting menu, which offers four of their most iconic dishes in half portion.

Following an amuse bouche trio to awaken your taste buds, the menu opens with Ducasse’s iconic chilled langoustine paired with delicate gelée with spices and Kristal caviar, giving you a wonderful taste of the sea that’s just as light and refreshing as it is apPetising. Next up is the foie gras, steamed to perfection and served with in-season figs, hazelnuts and toasted brioche which all work in tandem to create deeper layers of flavour, before moving onto the hand-dived sea scallops from Hokkaido, dressed refreshingly with watercress velouté and fresh walnuts for a welcome contrast in texture. Finally, after a succulent guinea fowl cooked with exceptional precision over a wood fire served with vegetables and fruits ‘au pot’ and poulette sauce, finish your bountiful meal with premium cheeses and delightful desserts.

“The inspiration for us is always seasonality, but this menu goes beyond that and takes us on a new direction,” Satabin shares. “It focuses on the most iconic dishes from Mr. Ducasse, which are all classics of French cuisine. Before, our approach was more contemporary, but now we’re looking to better represent French culture and gAstronomy, and offer a true taste of French fine dining. Because of this, each dish on our signature menu is drawn from Mr. Ducasse’s decades of experience in French fine dining.”