Hong Kong is a haven for worker bees who get up during the wee hours of the morning for most of the week. So when the weekend rolls around, it’s time for indulgence.
Waking up late isn’t the only way to enjoy a breather from the stress of everyday life. Some of the most mouth-watering brunches are also scheduled on our favourite days of the week.
This month, sprinkle your weekends with a little love in the form of food that’s good enough to lure you out of bed on a Sunday afternoon.
Here are our choices for must-try brunches this month:
Fiasco at Carbone
Italian dining meets 20th-century New York meets seductive night club in this over-the-top spectacle. Held once a month at Carbone restaurant, the Fiasco show is Hong Kong’s best-kept secret. It features burlesque dancers, singers and performers who act out different scenarios in the life of a Godfather-like figure.
And then there’s the food. Guests are served a seafood tower with oysters, lobster and sashimi; caesar and caprese salads; and a sizable helping of beef carpaccio – and those are just the starters. Those dishes are followed up with two plates of pasta (rigatoni and lobster ravioli), prawns alla scampi, ribeye steak, chicken parmesan and two kinds of cake for dessert. Don’t worry too much about the calories, though, as the lively music (and free-flow prosecco) will have guests on their feet and dancing in no time.
When: Last Saturday of each month, 12:30-3:30pm
Price: $900 per person; an extra $450 for free-flow prosecco and house wines or an extra $600 for Ruinart champagne and house spirits
Address: 9/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham St, Central
Contact: reservations@carbone.com.hk or 2593-2593
Hutong
For traditional Northern Chinese fare, live entertainment and a stunning view of the
city, Hutong can’t be beat. The restaurant’s new Fēng Wèi brunch comes with 18 dishes ranging from dim sum to various meats to sweet desserts. Standout dishes include a steaming, savoury bao filled with matsutake mushrooms; the scallop-topped siu mai; seared foie gras served atop Osmanthus-smoked coddled egg; and the 12-hour braised beef rib with aromatic herbs, served in a lotus leaf.
The restaurant’s signature dish, though, is the crispy soft-shell crab with Sichuan dried chilli, served in a large wooden pot. This dish certainly packs a punch, so be sure to have a full glass of water on hand if you’re not accustomed to spicy food. Live performances vary, but past shows have featured hand puppetry, a “Sichuan face changing” performance and fortune-telling.
When: Weekends and public holidays, 12pm-3pm
Price: $428, or $628 with free-flow Veuve Clicquot champagne and cocktails
Address: 28/F, 1 Peking Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
Contact: www.hutong.com.hk/experience or 3428-8342
Café Siam
Hong Kong is undoubtedly home to many meat lovers, which makes Café Siam the perfect place to indulge in some salty, meaty treats for a delish weekend brunch. The Michelin-recognised cafe recently launched an all-you-can-eat, two-hour buffet brunch with over 20 traditional Thai dishes including curries, meats, noodles and a variety of other dishes that promise to keep patrons satisfied well beyond lunch.
The all-Thai team of cooking experts has concocted an impressive mixture of sweet, spicy, hot and mild variations of classic Thai dishes that will take customers on a delicious food journey from the North of Thailand to the South. As for the icing on the cake, a smooth pumpkin caramel custard serves up a sweet aftertaste, because after all, brunch isn’t brunch without something sweet.
When: Saturdays, 12pm-2:30pm (Central outlet); weekends 12:30pm-4pm (Kennedy Town outlet)
Price: $268 for adults, $158 for children above 4
Address: 2/F-3/F, 21 D’Aguilar Street, Central; G/F, 38 Forbes Street, Kennedy Town
Contact: www.cafesiam.com.hk
Grand Central
Grand Central’s weekend feast appeals to the conventional brunch enthusiast who firmly holds that breakfast – and brunch by extension – should be sugary sweet. Here, customers can savour classics such as buttermilk pancakes and hot chocolate fondant cake. Meat lovers, rest assured: there are plenty of options to choose from, including a variety of hearty meat platters served in skillets.
True to its American origins, Grand Central serves generous portions to keep customers happily stuffed. With a beautiful outdoor area as well as a children’s menu and entertainment in the form of balloon-making, this is one happy brunch spot for families to enjoy after a long week at work and school.
When: Weekends, 11am-3pm
Price: Starting from $158
Address: Grand Central, Shop R001, 3/F & Roof, Civic Square, Elements, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Contact: +852 2736 4888
Text: Emily Petsko/Sadia Lima