Boldly symbolic of burning wood-fire and glowing embers, G Restaurant Awards of Excellence winner Ash & Elm is a vibrant restaurant featuring three culinary theatres – a charcuterie and cheese room; a wood-fired oven; and an open charcoal-grill kitchen. Set within a striking venue that embraces spontaneity and energy, Ash & Elm dishes hearty food presented with flair.
Ash & Elm prides itself on the use of fine produce sourced from around the world, and boasts a la carte options with a selection of sharing platters, house-cured and Michelin Guide-recommended premium meats, as well as sustainably-sourced seafood.
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Anyone that knows me, knows I love a good Champagne brunch and having sampled most of the island’s impressive offerings in this space, I am always excited when a new concept comes to town.
This time we ventured to the timeless, colonial inspired hotel, The Intercontinental where Ash & Elm serves up its Classic Weekend Brunch with Seafood & Caviar. Offering the brunch on both a Saturday and Sunday is a welcome feature especially for those parents amongst us.
Stepping into Ash & Elm, the dark woods and earthy tones are symbolic of burning wood-fire and glowing embers – it presents itself as a proper dining destination with charcuterie and cheese rooms and even a pizza oven. A step above the often bland hotel restaurants.
Our group of 8 decides to embark on the elevated brunch experience, which will feature fine seafood, caviar, gourmet cheese and signature meats from the Charcoal Grill served with unlimited Tattinger Brut champagne. I am fortunate enough to have visited the Tattinger champagne house twice and it is one of my favourite premium champagnes – a subtle blend offering a light, elegant and balanced champagne which is a perfect match for an afternoon brunch.
The style of brunch here is shared platters – so all menu items are presented on the table. However, customisations can easily be made for dietary restrictions (all items are clearly labelled according to dietary needs) and extra items can also be ordered if you so desire. We were impressed when one of our diners had a dietary issue that we had not informed them about in advance and an entire separate platter came out just for her.
Our appetizers included a charcuterie selection, bakery selection, cheeses and grilled shrimps with chilli and chives. Being a huge truffle fan, my favourite was the Truffle Egg Mayo Baguette and I also adored the Compressed Watermelon, Crab, Celery, Guacamole bite.
Champagne brunch for me is all about seafood (and champagne of course!) so the highlight of my afternoon was the Seafood & Caviar – a generous platter brimming with oysters, scallops, Alaskan king crab, Boston lobster and Kaluga Queen Caviar – a luxurious treat indeed!
The next course was immensely popular with the group – Truffle Poached Eggs with Chives and Virginia Ham and Grated Cheese Toast, one guest could not get his hands on enough of those moreish cheese toasties.
Onto the mains and you can select your preferred protein from a fine array of gourmet choices including Spanish Pork, French Yellow Chicken, Beef Short Ribs or the Ocean Catch of the Day – easily something to please everyone.
You would be well advised to leave a little space for dessert as the divine looking platter of sweet morsels is hard to resist – a range of classics including red velvet cake, apple tartin, chocolate brownie, cheesecake, macarons and pralines – enough to send any sweet tooth to heaven and back.
Wholly satisfied and in a champagne induced joyful mood we all agreed this was a stellar addition to the Singapore champagne brunch scene – combining the quality of the offering with the on point service, up-scale ambience and excellent price point we will be sure to recommend this to our fellow brunch revellers.
