Brunch food is a dime a dozen here on our sunny island – just drop a pin randomly on our map and we guarantee that you’ll find a cafe, bakery, or bistro out there that serves weekend brunch.
But if you’re looking for something a little different than the usual Egg’s Benedict or Big Breakfast, you should consider making your way to Mandarin Oriental’s MO Bar.
At MO Bar, weekend brunch looks less like pastries and fresh bakes, and more like fresh succulent seafood with plenty of appetisers, mains, and dessert options for you to choose from. Keep reading as we share more about this indulgent menu and what we think about it.
MO Bar Weekend Brunch review
With MO Bar’s special Weekend Brunch, all guests begin their dining experience with fresh succulent seafood, with selections of snow crab, Maine lobster, seasonal oysters, and prawns.
If you’re thinking that the seafood platter is just a mini tasting portion or is for sharing, think again.
The Seafood Platter in this menu is a humongous plate featuring half a snow crab, half a Maine lobster, three very plump oysters, and four prawns sitting on top of a bed of ice for your enjoyment, and it’s so sizeable that those with a normal appetite may get full just with this dish itself – and we haven’t even touched the appetisers yet!
Eating seafood is always a messy affair, but with this Seafood Platter by MO Bar, we didn’t mind getting down and dirty at all.
The seafood itself tasted so sweet, fresh, and briny, it was as if they were caught from the seas just moments before they were served to us.
The bed of seafood comes accompanied by a trio of sauces, including a tangy mango tartar sauce, but we hardly reached out for the accompaniments as the sweetness and freshness from the seafood alone were more than enough to whet our appetite.
From our experience, the Seafood Platter is best enjoyed alongside a flute of Ruinart R de Brut champagne to complement all the crustacean goodness.
The Seafood Platter certainly did not disappoint and although we were about 60% full from just that dish itself, we were excited to pick three more dishes from the different categories – Starters and Soups, Rice and Noodles, Main Courses, and Sweets, all prepared with ingredients that are sourced freshly both locally and regionally, and curated carefully to MO BAR’s highest quality standards.
This freestyle brunch means those with limited capacity can eat less by picking all the snacks, and those with bigger appetites can go all out for the mains and the carbs.
Timeless favourites include Tiger Prawns, crisply cooked with curry leaves and masala mayo; Braised Angus Beef Cheek cooked to perfection in wine sauce; and Tagliatelle Tartufo, a pasta dish coated with creamy black truffle sauce and roasted mushrooms.
We decided to go with one serving of starters and ordered the Tiger Prawns as recommended for our enjoyment.
It was served as promised, fragrant and crispy with a hint of spice that has just enough kick to tickle your taste buds.
This appetiser was definitely our personal favourite, and the portion of five prawns was polished off in no time.
As we were craving Asian-inspired food that day, we went with Taiwanese Beef Noodles and Cantonese Style Fried Rice from the Rice and Noodles section.
With a bowl of Chinese noodles, braised beef short ribs, and tendon drenched in superior broth, this comforting dish instantly took me back to the better days spent travelling in Taipei, specifically on a rainy afternoon where I sought refuge from the heavy drizzle by savouring a steaming hot bowl of beef noodles at a shop in Jiufen.
The Cantonese Style Fried Rice didn’t disappoint either as the chef cooked it with enough wok hei (which literally means the ‘breath of the wok’) for the aroma to shine through the plate of jasmine rice, prawns, vegetables, spring onions, and fried egg.
In line with our Asian-inspired choices, we chose the Hong Kong Style Steamed Cod alongside a serving of Braised Angus Beef Cheek from the main courses.
As a Cantonese girl at heart, I thoroughly enjoyed the black cod fillet that was steamed to perfection. And that soy sauce on jasmine rice? It was just so glorious, that I had to resist really, really, really hard not to ask for more.
Meanwhile, MO Bar stayed true to the European classic beef cheek dish and served it with mash potatoes, slivers of shimeiji mushrooms, and flavourful red wine sauce.
Even though it was a hearty hunk of fork-tender meat, the beef fell a little short in comparison to the steamed cod fillet.
Perhaps it was my choice of protein that put the beef cheek at a disadvantage? I’m planning on my second visit already, just to find out if the beef cheek would taste better with the black truffle pasta.
Apart from soaking in the breathtaking views of the Marina Bay cityscape, we ended our bountiful meal on a sweet note with the sumptuous Gran Cru Chocolate, a dessert featuring 72% dark chocolate mousse, cacao, genoise, and hazelnut praline feuilletine that you won’t stop at just one bite.
MO Bar’s Weekend Brunch is available on Saturdays and Sundays (including public holidays) from 12pm to 2.30pm. It is priced at S$98++ per person (which comes up to just under S$115 after the inclusion of service charge and government tax), and you can add on two hours of free-flow champagnes and selected cocktails for just S$58++ per person.
You’ll find MO Bar within Mandarin Oriental, Singapore that’s located at 5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square, Singapore 039797. Call 6885 3500 or email [email protected] for table reservations and enquiries. Visit here for further information.
Photos courtesy of writer and Mandarin Oriental, Singapore.
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