Sunday Champagne Brunch at St Regis Singapore

What a bunch of Rock Stars you lot are! Looking forward to doing a brunch here!

Rock Star Greeting “Welcome to the famous St Regis Singapore”. You can’t help but feel special when you are greeted with such warmth and then personally escorted through enormous glass doors.

With a new chef on board, St Regis recently revamped their Sunday brunch offering with a more exquisite selection of their house pour champagne, a delectable buffet comprising seafood, roast meats, breads, cheeses, salads and desserts and an ala carte menu from the hot kitchen.

The Buffet
It tries to do what people expect out of a usual buffet in Singapore - fresh seafood, sushi, prime roast meats- lamb and beef, a salad station; which in my opinion, is missing the point of being a French brand.

While it’s all fresh and yummy, I would have liked to see a more French Mediterranean approach. Perhaps have grilled crevettes instead of boiled shrimp that I can get at any other buffets in Singapore? Forget about the sushi and sashimi. Or at least give it a French twist! As for the salad station, I was expecting a potato gratin, ratatouille, shrimp cocktail, anchovies and tomatoes but was disappointed that I couldn’t find any.

What stood out for me from the buffet spread was their excellent selection of cheeses, charcuterie, pastries and breads, foie gras, terrines, rillettes, mousse, aspics and wonderful patisserie selection.

Hot Kitchen Menu
While the buffet spread was nothing out of the ordinary, items on their ala carte menu was truly exceptional. Every item on the menu made it worth the trip. From the scrambled egg with black truffle shavings to the pan-seared foie gras, to the grilled half Maine lobster in garlic butter sauce, you will experience the finesse that the French are known for. The main courses - Chateaubriand de Beef, Filet Cabillaud Roti (baked cod fish, lentil ragout, shimiji mushrooms and asparagus) and Impossible Tomato Farcies (baked tomatoes stuffed with Impossible Meat, rocket pesto and ratatouille) are classic French recipes that are just absolutely delicious.

Wash it all down with that exquisite Ruinart Champagne and be sure to catch the moment when they saber the champagne to mark the long-standing celebratory tradition practiced at St Regis all around the world.

But my thought is, the French should stick to what they know best - quality cartoucherie, distinct cheeses, elegant patisserie and classic French dishes.

An overall enjoyable experience.

As I walked into the st. Regis, I was expecting a sunday brunch experience that other hotels provided me in the past but I definitely was pleasantly surprised when my experience far exceeded any preconceived expectations!
We started with pre lunch cocktails at the Astor Bar, which was like walking back into the 1920s prohibition era with Gatsby- style decadent and glamorous vibes and decor. As I opened the menu, something caught my eye that definitely piqued my interest ! The "Chilli Padi Mary" stuck out as something I would gravitate towards being the self-proclaimed Chilli Queen of Singapore myself. It was everything I needed to recover on a sunday - vodka, tomato juice and that extra oomph the birds eye chillies brought! Not for the faint hearted, this cocktail definitely packs a punch and I will be returning for seconds.

As we proceeded to be seated at the restaurant, the entrance to the dining hall was decked out in the best dessert table I had ever seen. The usual desserts one expected were far more colourful and the pastry chefs definitely spun a different take on them with upping the intricacy, design and modernizing these work of arts !

The lunch itself was amazing with the quality of the produce lined up at the display being the best I have had compared to other brunches I had been to. Loved the raw food like the oysters , Alaskan king crab as well as overdosing on sashimi there which was cold, refreshing and super fresh. The fact that every one was presented with their own half lobster was also a bonus and a pleasant surprise no one expected and was highly generous at their reasonable price point !

As the champers continued to flow, people were trying out the different wines on offer included in the package as well, and so were not just confined to the bubbles for 3 hours. Various a la carte hot items were also ordered and once again , it was highly generous of the st. Regis to impose no limitation on the quantity one could order from the made to order menu, on top of the lavish buffet spread. A must try was the sea urchin and crab custard which was the most beautifully presented dish and one rarely gets to try this delicacy as it is very pricey.

As 3 pm arrived, far to quickly if you ask me , we all exited with full stomachs, a nice buzz from the champagne and I of course adjourned back to the Astor Bar for my Chilli Padi Mary , just one for the road.

Some sound advice thank you for sharing your experience at St. Regus. It certainly has a great appeal when it comes to a Lux experience. The price is also very competitive for such a luxury hotel. We will be sure booking soon.

As soon as you enter the chic atmosphere of the Astor Bar, you feel you have arrived. The intimate surrounds, a perfect pianist and the free flowing champagne and cocktails, (for an hour!), was the perfect way to settle in to our brunch experience at St Regis.

Once we had enjoyed catching up over delectable canapés and drink, we headed into the light and airy Brasserie Les Saveurs, where we were able to enjoy a relaxing view of the pool and water fountains while choosing from an array of appetisers and mains.

In the meantime the smoked salmon tartare with avocado and salmon caviar arrived, which I enjoyed immensely. I also thoroughly enjoyed my appetiser of Pan Seared Foie Gras - it just melted in my mouth.

Continuing on with the Foie Gras theme, I selected samples of the Foie Gras Mouse in a charcoal cone, Foie Gras Terrine and my favourite dish of the day, the Crème Brulee Foie Gras from the generous buffet. I also relished the tastes of both the Duck and Salmon Rilletes alongside the beautiful variety of salads made of high quality ingredients.

As the fun and frivolity flowed between our group, so did the free flowing Ruinart Champagne. And once we were finished with the bubbles we were able to move to wine, where there was a nice selection of red and whites (and Bloody Mary’s!), which kept our thirst at bay throughout the afternoon.

Next we were treated to grilled Maine lobster with garlic butter sauce. The lobster was incredibly succulent and cooked to perfection. This was definitely a highlight of the brunch.

As our bellies expanded we were treated to the sweet sounds of a gorgeous female jazz singer, which lulled us into expanding our bellies even more with our mains. My main of baked cod with lentil ragout and green asparagus was delicious, however I did have food envy, as the grilled beef tenderloin with green peas and French beans looked and smelt incredible.

However, I was not disappointed when it came to the selection of decadent sweets. A heavenly chocolate macaron, a slice of Opera Cake and a kefir lime jelly mousse were the perfect way to end of the afternoon.

This was my first brunch in Singapore and I found it a more refined, relaxed and intimate compared to brunches in some of the high-end Hong Kong hotels. I look forward to more brunches of this caliber in Singapore!

View the menu here: http://www.bit.ly/SundayBrunch_EC1

The Sunday brunch at St Regis is an all afternoon affair! The first leg begins at the Astor Bar where champagne and cocktails are served. Warm and cosy in atmosphere I walked in to the sound of piano playing in the background.

Leather upholstered chairs with a cosy bar in the back, the ambience of this bar lends itself to a beautiful backdrop for brunch to begin. Laughter and cheer are but part of this whole experience in ushering forth the weekend fun.

As I sipped my glass of Ruinart champagne and enjoyed the chatter of friends, I felt that the St Regis had crafted the perfect model. I don’t know about you but I like having an aperitif in a classy bar before the actual big bang lunch. A lovely pre-cursor to build my appetite for the rest of the afternoon.

I was pre-empted that brunch was about to start in the Brasserie Les Saveurs of the St Regis. Walking across the hotel lobby I was shown to my table, with a beautiful outlook to the greenery outdoors.

Unlike most other brunches I was given a menu card to order my starter of eggs done in a variety of ways – benedict, poached or scrambled. Not an eggs fan?

Well there was foie gras on the list too! So that was my choice. Milling around to the buffet there were the usual bakery and patisserie treats, charcuterie and desserts, a plethora of seafood mains and carvery too.

The trick in my mind when at a buffet is to identify favourites and leave the rest. So a brown roll with spicy salami and shaved jamon was my choice of starter with the third glass of champagne! Scrumptious combo.

My next a la carte order of grilled half Maine lobster with garlic butter sauce was really fresh. Tender to the bite, the lobster flesh pulled away from the shell easily and I wish I could have had another half.

Back to the buffet I picked up the foie gras crème brulee which turned out to be everything I thought it would. In fact I went back for seconds later, not in the least perturbed by the high cholesterol food I was devouring.

Back at the buffet main the chef was shucking oysters and combining a crab meat, sea urchin foam with caviar. Talk about rich food. This certainly crowned it!

A chat and a light interval to prepare for the Chateaubriand de Boeuf that was about to arrive. Served with green peas and French beans this was a succulent piece of meat grilled to perfection.

In fact in terms of portion it was pretty generous too. Other mains included baked cod and a vegetarian option, all of which looked amazing. Truly by this time I was ready to call it a day.

But my crepe suzette which was part of the a la carte menu arrived. There is something to be said for that bit of sweet after a full meal. It is always welcome and in fact has become quite a habit with me.

The brunch menu changed a couple of weeks ago. Promising more high quality products and inhouse fare, it is evident to see the value in this brunch. For $198++ how could anyone not try this?

View the menu here: http://www.bit.ly/SundayBrunch_EC1