Five top places for weekend brunch in Hong Kong – come hungry to make the most of them

If you are looking for some new brunch options around Hong Kong, you may want to check out these five places. Some are offering brunches for the first time, while others have spiffed up their menus. One word of advice: pace yourself and come hungry! Mandarin Grill + Bar Sunday roast is a new addition to the one-Michelin-star restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. Get to the restaurant at noon to ensure plenty of time to eat and digest everything. The Sunday roast package costs HK$998 per person including one glass of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs champagne, or HK$1,098 with free-flow house wines. You can pay an additional HK$300 for free-flow Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. Appetisers include fresh oysters, steak tartare with sourdough bread, and grilled scallops with piquillo pepper salsa. What’s brunch without eggs? Choose from eggs Benedict, eggs Florentine or eggs Royale. Next come choices including lobster bisque, lobster cocktail, home-made smoked salmon and the Mandarin Grill salad, followed by the main event. A silver roast trolley appears next to your table. A thick slice of roast beef was cut table-side, with Yorkshire pudding to mop up the gravy. Other main course options include roasted Spanish suckling pig, and roasted wild turbot. We tried the roast Mangalica pork, which was delicious too, though it seemed tiny in comparison to the portion of roast beef. Dessert choices include blueberry cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, Black Forest gateau and fresh fruit. While you can choose three desserts each, your stomach may not have the room to fit all of them in. The feast is so good, you won’t need (nor have room) to eat dinner later. 1/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, tel: 2825 4004 Sabatini Another old favourite in Tsim Sha Tsui East is Sabatini Ristorante Italiano at the Royal Garden. Recently installed chef Claudio Favero has created a tempting brunch spread. Start the meal with appetisers such as chilled Boston lobster, Canadian crab legs, prawns, sautéed mussels, beef carpaccio, Norwegian smoked salmon and prosciutto de Parma with melon. Then watch your next course made to order – scrambled eggs with black truffle, pan-seared duck liver, or focaccia with tomato, mozzarella and pistachio. There’s also charcoal-grilled seafood, and veal is another option. A brunch fanatic on her favourite Hong Kong breakfasts and more Main courses include rack of veal with mustard and honey, grilled calamari and prawns with mixed salad and lemon, and rack of lamb marinated with herbs and chilli garlic oil. Finally there’s dessert. If you haven’t tried the restaurant’s signature St. Honoré Gateau, it’s a must; there’s also tiramisu and cheesecake. Phew! The brunch costs from HK$628 on Saturdays, and HK$668 on Sundays and public holidays. Guests can pay extra for free-flow Prosecco, red wine or white wine, or upgrade to Barons de Rothschild champagne. 3/F, The Royal Garden, 69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2733 2000. Mercato by Jean-Georges If you haven’t discovered it yet, Mercato, the Italian restaurant of Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, has some of the best prices for quality Italian dishes. It recently began offering a semi-buffet brunch for a very reasonable HK$298 per person. Tempt the taste buds with Fine de Claire oysters and cured meats and cheeses, followed by a choice of an appetiser and a main. The selection of appetisers includes salmon tartare, burrata cheese with fresh heirloom tomatoes, or the restaurant’s signature house-made ricotta with strawberry served with crusty bread. For mains, there’s the classic avocado toast with a poached egg and heirloom tomatoes; crispy chicken sandwich with a fried egg, yuzu pickles and chilli pepper aioli; crab spaghetti with cherry peppers and mint; and black truffle, three cheese and farm egg pizza. Save room for dessert because chef Anthony Burd’s cinnamon bun is an absolute sweet indulgence, along with other treats like tiramisu, chocolate souffle tart, and blueberry macadamia cake. Have free flow prosecco, Peroni beer, white and red wines as well as cocktails for an extra HK$198, or, for an additional HK$60, Mumm champagne. 8/F, California Tower, 32 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, tel: 3706 8567 Oyster & Wine Bar Enjoy brunch with a fantastic view of Victoria Harbour at Oyster & Wine Bar, on the top floor of the Sheraton Hong Kong. Diners can choose from three free-flow Perrier-Jouet champagnes to complement their brunch: Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut (HK$998), Perrier-Jouet Blason Rose (HK1,298), and Perrier-Jouet Blanc de Blancs (HK$1,498). Once champagne is sorted, start with a choice of seasonal oysters, Alaskan king crab legs, snow crabs, whelks, king prawns, cold cuts, sashimi and sushi, salads and cheeses. Things get more savoury with linguine finished in a giant Parmesan wheel at one of the live stations, or there’s home-cured beetroot gravlax, USDA prime rib, lobster bisque and classic French bouillabaisse. When it comes to the mains, chef Oscar Chow has mouth-watering dishes such as steamed Boston lobster with champagne cream foam, grilled king prawn seasoned with butter and herbs, sous vide pork belly with vignole, Swiss char, French beans and seared foie gras. For dessert choose from crispy mango and blueberry millefeuille, caramelised Portuguese tart, or made-to-order mini souffles with a choice of either vanilla, Grand Marnier, Kahlua or ginger sauce. 18/F, Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel and Towers, 20 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2369 1111 Ole To mark its 20th anniversary, this Spanish restaurant has a staggering nine-course brunch that’s available at weekends and on public holidays for HK$380 per person. Starters include Iberico ham, gazpacho, sizzling garlic prawns, grilled Spanish octopus with aioli and paprika, and baby squid in ink sauce with shrimp and almond. Main courses include seafood paella, roasted suckling pig “Segovia style”, grilled baby lamb chops, and eggplant stuffed with mushroom and vegetable mousseline. If you manage to get through the first eight courses, dessert is in order. Choose from “leche frita” (fried milk with toffee reduction), Spanish churros with hot chocolate sauce, or orange flambeed Catalan cream. 1/F, Shun Ho Tower, 24-30 Ice House Street, Central, tel: 2523 8624