Bubbly brunch
Asia's middle class is embracing the weekend feast that combines breakfast and lunch, accompanied by an opulent sideshow of Champagne and cocktails, writes Andrew Sun
Is it the Champagne? Or is it the brunch? Whatever the attraction, the weekend amalgam of morning and afternoon meals is a perennial favourite for family and friends to gather and waste a whole afternoon in the best possible way.
These days, this leisurely indulgence is no longer confined to hotel lounge cafes. Many enterprising restaurateurs have come up with their own offerings for a slice of the weekend brunch pie. The word "brunch" first entered our lexicon in an 1895 article lauding the concept as a welcome alternative to the heavy meals previously eaten after exhausting English morning hunts or long-winded Sunday church services.
Hotels first latched on to the gimmick because restaurants were closed on Sundays. After the second world war, restaurants fought back by adding cocktails, such as bellinis and mimosas or straight-up Champagne, to the decadent spread. Since then, Sundays have become lazier than ever.
The routine is now particularly popular across Asia, as its burgeoning middle class has discovered the charms of brunch. "I think it's even more popular in Asia and the Middle East," says Imran Khaleel, Zuma restaurant's new deputy general manager, who only arrived in Hong Kong three months ago.
"The Champagne brunch isn't as common now in the US, UK and Europe. The spending is not as much there, so to put on the kind of buffet we have here at Zuma, you really couldn't do it. More people just go out for pancakes and waffles in the US."
