From The Straits Times    |
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Photo: Andaz Singapore

Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but brunch is certainly the most fun. It sits comfortably closer to noon rather than at the break of dawn. It reflects the luxury of having time to do what you really want (read: sleep more and catch up with friends). Because when you’re having brunch, it usually means it’s your day off. No grabbing a bowl of too-sweet cereals or burnt toast in a mad rush to that 9am meeting you silently wish you didn’t have to attend.

And you can go all out and stuff yourself sans the guilt because it’s basically two meals in one. All the more reason to check out these bottomless spreads.

 

1. Andaz Singapore – Lazy Breakfast @ Alley on 25

Photo: Andaz Singapore

On the sun-lit 25th floor of contemporary hotel Andaz Singapore, enjoy breakfast “in the sky”. Start your day right with leafy greens such as kale and baby spinach. Then tuck into bread, croissants, muffins and maple pecan plaits from Tiong Bahru Bakery. Heat them up with the toaster and slather on the kaya, peanut butter, butter or berry jam. The spreads might not be anything to shout about but here’s something that is –

Not to be missed are the fluffy waffles, fresh off the waffle makers.  Enjoy them sweet like dessert, topped with whipped cream, doused in maple syrup and dusted with sugar, or stack them with ham and smoked salmon. The tartness from the marinated-in-vinegar gherkins and onion bulbs liven up the savoury waffles and lend a nice crunch to the hearty dish.

The all-you-can-eat buffet also comes with a main from the a la carte menu. Go for your usual eggs benedict and salmon bagel, or try the smokey Australian sirloin steak and egg (sourced from cage-free hens, they’ve got a deeper orange yolk at the core). It comes with some very good skin-on potato fries on the side. Priced at $35, the ‘Lazy Breakfast’ is mighty affordable.

Enjoy free-flow prosecco, wine and beers for double the price. Plus try your hand at making your own tipple at the mojito bar.

Brunch opening hours: 11.30am-2.30pm on weekends and public holidays; Tel:  +65-6408-1288; Address: Andaz Singapore, Level 25, 5 Fraser St; Website: click here.

 

2. Regent Hotel – Basilico

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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A foie gras counter and a cheese room are just two of the highlights that you can find at the Italian buffet brunch. Then you have your usual pastas, pizzas and antipasti. We’ve yet to hear a bad word about this place and it’s not hard to see why.

On Saturdays, it’s $83 per adult without alcohol, and $127 with free-flow prosecco. If you’re feeling flushed, go for champagne and premium beverages, including for the Duval Leroy Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru 2006, which is exclusively available in Singapore at Basilico ($183). You’re already there, so you might as well enjoy it to the fullest.

On Sundays, prices begin at $108 because just when you think it couldn’t get any better, it does, and the sumptuous spread includes live stations and a seafood bar. Think: roasted wagyu beef rum, Amarone wine-braised crispy roast pork belly and smoked salmon with avruga caviar.

Brunch opening hours: 12pm-2.30pm on Saturdays and 12pm-3pm on Sundays; Tel: +65-6725-3232; Address: Regent Hotel, Level 2, 1 Cuscaden Road; Website: click here

 

3. Zafferano Italian Restaurant and Lounge

One with a killer panoramic view of the CBD: Zafferano’s Italian Table Brunch is available on the 43rd floor of Ocean Financial Centre. A sit-down sort of situation, appetisers and mains are served at your table for sharing. Look forward to shell shucked live seasonal oystersburrata freshly important from Italy and cold cuts such as the 24 month ‘Pio Tosini’ ham. All this to whet your appetite before generous portions of hand-crafted potato ‘gnocchi’ and house-made veal ravioli Thank goodness we have a separate room for desserts. Satisfy that sweet tooth with the tiramisu, panna cotta and a chocolate fountain by the dessert bar.

In line with Singapore Grand Prix season, Zafferano will be throwing a champagne brunch party at $168 on September 15. Otherwise the monthly affair is usually held on the last Saturday of the month, starting from $128. 

Brunch opening hours: 12pm-3pm on the last Saturday of the month; Tel: +65-6509-1488; Address: Ocean Financial Centre, Level 43, 10 Collyer Quay; Website: click here

 

4. Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore – Origin Grill

On Sundays, Origin Grill offers ‘Vintage Brunch’ at its stylish train voyage-inspired restaurant. Fancy elevating brunch to ‘first-class’? It’s $168 for unlimited wines and cocktails, and $198 for wines, cocktails and vintage wine pouring featuring curated choices from Burgundy, Rioja, and Bordeaux. The mixologist will come round with a cocktail trolley carrying the creation of the day.

Otherwise it’s $108 for the food and non-alcoholic beverages. Kick off with as many appetisers as you’d like. Take for instance pumpkin and goats cheese drizzled with wild honey and pistachios on toast, and glazed pulled pork doughnuts with maple sriracha. Yum. Then choose one main. Options range from hearty steaks like the award-winning John Stone Grass-Fed Dry-Aged 35 Days Striploin and Wylarah cross bred wagyu, to classic scrambled eggs and salmon, elevated with caviar.

But no meal is truly complete without dessert. Wander to the crepe station to create your own sweet French-style pancake. And indulge in fresh bakes such as tarts, financiers and madeleines. You know you want to.

Brunch opening hours: 12pm-3pm on Sundays; Tel: +65-6213-4595; Address: Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, Lobby level, Tower Wing, 22 Orange Grove Road; Website: click here

 

5. Grand Hyatt Hotel – Mezza9

Photo: Grand Hyatt Singapore

Craving freshly-prepped yellow fin tuna, wild-caught swordfish and Atlantic salmon sashimi? Check. Someone else from your brunch gang keen on authentic Thai appetizers? Check. At Grand Hyatt Singapore’s Mezza9, you get nine different dining experiences under one roof. Savour sustainably-sourced seafood such as Main lobsters and Spencer Gulf king prawns from one corner and if you want something from the grill, there’s a weekly changing selection of spit-roasted whole Australian Dorper lambs, German free-range pork leg and Kurobuta pork chops. You hardly have to venture far for the assortment of steamed, wok-fried or roasted Chinese dishes too. Think roasted suckling pig, crispy soon hock fillet, Sri Lankan mud crabs in chilli sauce and stir-fried pepper organic John Stock Black Angus beef. Vegetables and herbs mostly come from Cameron Highlands or the hotel’s own rooftop garden.

Spend $118 without the alcohol. And another $40 for an abundance of Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut Champagne and access to wine-pairing stations that showcase reds, whites, and sakes.  All carefully chosen to match the food prepared in the different kitchens. Whatever is your pick of poison, you’ll be spoiled for choice. There’s also unlimited free-flow of nine hand-crafted gin and tonics, martinis and beer from the party room and mini bar. Cancel your afternoon plans because we can already feel a food coma come on after this one.

Brunch opening hours: 12pm-3pm on Sundays; Tel: +65-6732-1234; Address: Grand Hyatt, 10 Scotts Road; Website: click here

 

6. Pan Pacific Singapore – Edge

Photo: Pan Pacific Singapore

Pan Pacific knows how to elevate Sunday brunch. From the seven interactive live food theatres to the Botanical Gin Cocktails and live music, it’s a theatrical experience. It’s also taking it up a notch with a cooking demo and cocktail-making demonstration. Learn how to cook a dish from the spread and get the mixologist to spill the deets on how to raise the bar at home. 

But what we reckon Cheese lovers will find themselves gravitating towards is the happiness-inducing Swiss cheese fondue station. The revamped menu also incorporates Asian highlights such as pad kra pao (minced pork with Thai basil) and duck egg fried koay kak (fried rice cake). It’s $128 without the booze and $188 and $208 depending on whether you opt for the free-flow Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Champagne or the rose champagne. 

Brunch opening hours: 12pm-3.30pm every Sunday; Tel: +65-6826-8240; Address: Edge, Level 3, Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Boulevard; Website: click here

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