Hong Kong brunch options cater for all tastes, often washed down with free-flow Champagne, wine and beer
Brunch started as a lighter alternative to heavy post-church meals popular in 19th century Britain, before crossing the Atlantic
A weekend is not complete without a leisurely brunch with family and friends. Although brunch is an established concept in Hong Kong, more restaurants are offering new menu choices, from Chinese and Korean to traditional Western fare and, of course, it is more fun with free-flow Champagne, wine and beer.
Brunch started as a lighter alternative to heavy post-church meals that were popular in 19th-century Britain. People who brunched back then enjoyed a late morning meal after a late Saturday night carousing. The trend crossed the Atlantic and was in vogue in the United States by the 1930s.
Hong Kong brunch menus are far from light as most are buffets or semi-buffets and, like a new brunch at The Envoy on the third floor of The Pottinger Hotel, they hark back to British traditional staples alongside colonial-inspired dishes.
“I was born and raised in India before moving to Hong Kong at the age of 12,” says chef Chetan Kohli, who worked with Sebastian Jose Guevara at Wooloomooloo, Simon Evans at Sheraton and Arron Rhodes at Dot Cod Seafood Room before joining The Envoy as the chef de cuisine. “And my early exposure to diverse cultures helped foster my respect, and a desire to explore different culinary scenes.”