The Parisian Macao turns 10 with 'Little Prince' theme, Moët & Chandon dinners

Parisian Macao 10th-anniversary party

Hotel decorated throughout with Little Prince concept

Drone show, celebrity chef tables among highlights; Moët & Chandon joins celebrations Sept. 11–13

A drone show lights up the sky above the Parisian Macao. [Photo provided by Sands China]

At 9 p.m. Sunday, as the last of an evening-long tropical downpour faded over the Cotai Strip — Macao's glittering corridor of hotels and casinos — 1,500 drones rose into the sky all at once.

Against the backdrop of a half-scale Eiffel Tower, the drones traced the number "10" and the tower's silhouette against the black sky before shifting shape. They regrouped into champagne flutes and wine glasses, then formed the figure of Baobao — the Parisian Macao's master pastry chef mascot — raising a glass in a toast. The show ran for about 10 minutes.

Staged three times a night, the drone display was organized by Sands China, Macao's largest integrated resort operator, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Parisian Macao.

An exterior view of the Parisian Macao in Macao, China. [Photo provided by Sands China]

Little Prince amid a garden of roses

"If someone loves a flower of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars."

The Little Prince loved the rose that bloomed from a seed blown in by the wind, yet grew disheartened by her demanding nature. He might have found reason to smile at the Parisian Macao. The hotel lobby is home to "The Secret Rose Garden," an installation bursting with hundreds of roses in full bloom. A Little Prince figure sits at the center of the lobby, smiling gently alongside his desert fox, while guests line up beside him for photographs — beaming even more brightly than the prince himself.

A Little Prince installation in the lobby of the Parisian Macao hotel in Macao, China. [Photo provided by Sands China]

The Parisian Macao chose the Little Prince intellectual property to anchor its 10th-anniversary celebrations. From August through October — three months in all — the resort is presenting "An Interstellar Dream with Le Petit Prince." The choice reflects both the stature of author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry as one of France's most celebrated writers and the resonance of the prince's famous line — "What is essential is invisible to the eye" — with the Parisian's own hospitality philosophy.

"The collaboration with the Little Prince is being brought to life across the resort through immersive installations, limited-edition merchandise and themed food and beverage menus," said Janice Wong, a public relations manager at Sands China.

A Little Prince installation at the Parisian Macao hotel in Macao, China. [Photo provided by Sands China]

In practice, Little Prince installations appear throughout the property, not just in the lobby. On the seventh-floor observation deck of the resort's signature Eiffel Tower replica, an arched structure decorated with artificial roses and LED string lights forms "The Love-Lit Way Home." Walking its length, visitors arrive at a figure of the Little Prince seated at the far end, gazing into the distance with an open book in hand. At the Shoppes at Parisian, the resort's retail arcade, installations depicting key scenes from the story have been placed on every floor, turning them into popular spots for tourist photos.

Young guests can join the "Interstellar Adventure" program, a resort-wide scavenger hunt in which children search for Little Prince figures and collect stamps at designated locations. Those who complete the trail receive a limited-edition Parisian Macao 10th-anniversary tote bag. Free stamp passports are given to children staying in a Famille room, visiting the kids' play area Cube Kingdom, or ordering from the children's menu at the Brasserie.

A feast with Moët & Chandon

No celebration is complete without food, and the Parisian put together a special culinary program to mark the occasion.

Every weekend for six weeks from Aug. 7 to Sept. 6, the resort hosted "Celebrity Chef Tables" — a series of exclusive dining events held at Le Cristal Parisien, a private pavilion on the sixth floor. The lineup brought together Michelin-starred chefs from around the world alongside star chefs known from Chinese culinary competition programs, including Chef Hwang Byung-hyun of a two-Michelin-starred French restaurant in Hong Kong. Each chef presented an original culinary journey shaped by their own food philosophy and inspirations.

Moët & Chandon champagne on display at the event venue. [Photo provided by Sands China]

The highlight of the series was a dinner held Sept. 11–13 in partnership with Moët & Chandon, the world's largest champagne house. Jean-Michel Bardet, Moët & Chandon's executive chef, created a bespoke dinner course specially for the Parisian's 10th anniversary — marking the first time Bardet has cooked in person outside France.

What made the dinner particularly notable was its approach to pairing: rather than selecting wines to accompany the food, the team chose the champagnes first and built each course around them. Alongside Moët & Chandon's popular Brut Impérial and Rosé Impérial, the evening featured special bottles that added deeper meaning to the occasion — among them the Grand Vintage 2016, which shares its birth year with the Parisian Macao, and the Collection Impériale Création N°1, created to mark the champagne house's 280th anniversary.

The John Dory dish paired with the Grand Vintage 2016 stood out for its delicate texture, complemented by a tangy-sweet lemon verbena foam and beurre blanc sauce that harmonized beautifully with the vintage. A French pithivier served alongside the Collection Impériale Création N°1 proved an equally fine match, its fresh fruit notes and white pepper spice landing with precision.

Jean-Michel Bardet, executive chef of Moët & Chandon, toasts with a colleague at the dinner event. [Photo provided by Sands China]

Little Prince afternoon tea draws long queues

The Little Prince theme extended to the resort's food and beverage offerings as well, with the afternoon tea set emerging as the most popular item on the menu.

Afternoon tea traces its origins to 1841, when Anna Maria, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, began serving scones, sandwiches and macarons with tea between 3 and 5 p.m. In an era when the English ate only breakfast and dinner, aristocratic women adopted the custom at social gatherings to stave off the afternoon hunger. The tradition spread to Hong Kong through British colonial influence and took root in neighboring Macao as well.

The Parisian serves its Little Prince afternoon tea set at the first-floor lobby café from 3 to 6 p.m. Inspired by scenes from the story, the spread includes a macaron featuring the Little Prince peeking through clouds, rose-shaped Danish pastries, éclairs and sandwiches. Around 4 p.m., when tourists begin to feel peckish, queues regularly form outside the café.

The limited-time Little Prince afternoon tea set sold at the first-floor café of the Parisian Macao. [Photo provided by Sands China]

The drone show, with its 1,500 drones painting the night sky, was another crowd favorite among guests. Running for about 10 minutes each time, the show was staged three times a week — on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — through Sept. 13, depicting the resort's 10th-anniversary imagery alongside a variety of other scenes that gave travelers a memorable moment.

Those who missed the drone show have fireworks to look forward to. Special fireworks displays are scheduled for Oct. 1 and Oct. 3 as part of the Macao International Fireworks Display Contest. Two teams compete each night, launching their displays at 9 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. respectively. While the view from the resort is stunning in its own right, the Cotai Water Jet's "Macao Cruise Fireworks Route" offers passengers a variety of vantage points from the water.

A Little Prince installation beside the half-scale Eiffel Tower replica in front of the Parisian Macao hotel. [Photo provided by Sands China]

carrier@heraldcorp.com