So says AI when I asked for a “traditional meatloaf” image…and this is, indeed a satisfying and comforting meal.
I made the meatloaf you see above, and will be sharing th recipe – I got on this “meatloaf train” when I had some leftovers in the refrigerator – when I grew up a meatloaf was everything about to go bad in the fridge!
I decided to look up the definite of a “Meatloaf”, and here’s what popped up:
Meatloaf is a culinary dish made from seasoned ground meat that is mixed with binding agents and extra ingredients, formed into a distinctive “loaf shape“, and then baked or smoked.
As I said, my “binding agents and extra ingredients” could have been old cottage cheese!
So, a quick look at a meatloaf from halfway around the world – let’s head to Macau!
Behold A Macau “Capela!”
I loved a Chicago restaurant called Fat Rice, and their cookbook taught me about the cuisine of Macau, and how to make a “Macau Meatloaf” called a “Capela”!
The word “Capela” refers to a circular shape, the shape of a loaf. So I made this using a bundt pan.
You can see the distinctive typeface of the cookbook – it’s filled with colorful animation, gorgeous photos of food, and great recipes as well – all inspired by the food of Macau, located near Hong Kong.
I decided to make a “Macau Meatloaf” so let’s get cooking!
This is a fast dish to prepare, so heat your oven to 350 degrees now!
As you would expect for a meatloaf, there are a lot of ingredients so let’s do this in stages: I cut the Fat Rice recipe in half as I didn’t want to make a “Capala” for a dozen people!
Ingredients For “Capela” – A Macanese Meatloaf:
2 slices day old bread
3/4 cup milk
1 large yellow onion
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup black olives
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup semi-firm cheese / I used White Cheddar
1 lemon
2 eggs, beaten / 1 egg for egg wash at end
1/2 cup brown mushrooms
1/4 cup almonds and same amount pine nuts
4 slices bacon
To begin, I took two pieces of bread and cut them into cubes, then added 2/3 cup of milk and let it soak – then set aside:
Next up, I chopped a half cup of black olives and brown mushrooms, then diced an entire onion, which I saute’d in olive oil over medium low heat for about ten minutes…
These are pine nuts and almond slivers, a quarter cup of each – and I had a half cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese and the same amount of white cheddar as well…
Finally, I cut 4 slices of bacon in half and it was time to make a meatloaf:
Because there were so many ingredients in there, I mixed it by hand for several minutes, and I added salt and pepper to taste as well- add lemon zest and the juice of one lemon at the end as well:
As you can see, I cut the bacon again and it fit perfectly, which led me to bake it for one hour and twenty minutes, and when I took my “Capela” out of the oven, here’s how it looked:
There was a bit of fat around the edges based on the bacon, so I sopped it up and then it was ready for its close-up:
I took the Meatloaf out of the bundt pan so I could cut it for you and show you the inside – but this is a dish that should be served directly out of the pan!
I really enjoyed this dish – BUT – because of the black olives, mushrooms and almonds, there was a “umami” feel to the dish, especially with the hamburger and pork. I added a bit of seasoning and spicy sauce to the top when eating and helped it “pop” a bit!
I’ve eaten at Chicago’s Fat Rice restaurant several times to enjoy their signature dish:
I chose not to make their famous “Fat Rice” dish, called “Arroz Gordo” – shown above when I had it there – with “Gordo” meaning a riced stuffed with “good stuff” – almost their version of a meatloaf! I made this Chorizo Paella recently:
I loved this dish – but I still had to make it twice!
Click here to find out why:
I love cooking food from around the world, exploring different cultures and flavors – and then sometimes I just need an “All American” classic – meatloaf!
I made this classic Chicken Meatloaf using the recipe from “The Joy Of Cooking” – a classic!
Click here to see how I made it from scratch!
As you can see, the Meatloaf sat atop a large dollop of mashed potato…and what about this?
This is the most decadent mashed potato dish of all time – see the legendary Chef Joel Robuchon’s “pomp puree” recipe here!
These are the ultimate comfort foods – and I told you that 2026 was the year of “Grandmacore” – food that had a rich family history and brought comfort…click here to see the dishes that do just that:
I am sharing and storing all of these recipes on my food website “Bite! Eat! Repeat!” – it’s your site for all things food – if you like what you see, please click on my link and follow this blog as well!
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Travel, Food Writing, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food
Have thoroughly enjoyed you making the Macau meat loaf – have been there from the days of 4-hour ferry rides from Hong Kong but never eaten meat loaf amongst the plethora of Chinese/Portuguese goodies available! Have added mushrooms to the ones I have made but olives, nuts and using a Bundt pan are all newbies 🙂 ! Just for fun > you speak of meatloaves around the world – well, in my native Estonia such is called ‘Pikk Poiss’ or ‘Long Boy’ and is always made by hand into a bread like shape 🙂 ! Now you know 🙂 !