The Waldorf Astoria Shanghai On The Bund Takes Sunday Brunch To New Heights With Launch Of The Waldorf Astoria Brunch

A blend of “breakfast” and “lunch” – the word brunch was first used by a British writer, Guy Beringer in 1985 to lighter meals served late in the morning. Neither breakfast of lunch, the brunch culture has reinvented the way on the way one seeks for food and it is now a norm that brunch becomes a celebrated social affair.

The team at The Waldorf Astoria Shanghai, were inspired with the story of when Conrad Hilton took over the Waldorf Astoria brand in 1949, he mentioned that Waldorf Astoria New York was deemed as “The Greatest of Them All,” This quote is the essence in creating the culinary experience for the Waldorf Astoria Brunch.

General Manager of Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, Mr. Brian Tong is the composer in curating the experience. From the inspirations to the items on the menu, he had precise thoughts on what he envisions the brunch to be. One of his very first projects when he was first onboard in this hotel was to define Grand Brasserie’s venue concept – New York, Paris café concept, which fits perfectly with the venue’s design and ambiance. This was crucial in delivery of the brunch concept. It wasn’t just about laying expensive food on the buffet, but it was luxury experience that he want delivered. With menus dated 1910s from Waldorf Astoria New York, he made sure that the brunch was assembled with a classic touch to it.

The Waldorf Astoria Brunch is built on seven key highlights – Premium cold seafood gala station, freshly chucked imported oysters, lavender themed dessert room, prime selection of Parisian deli, foie gras and salad station, barbecue grill & meats, interactive trolleys and beverage and healthy juice bar.

The premium cold seafood gala station includes high quality sashimi and poached seafood such as toro tuna, king crab, white wine poached prawn, poached live lobster, scampi, New Zealand clam, octopus, fire seared salmon, abalone and crab. These seafood were carefully selected based on their texture and weight and flavor. With the meticulously selected seafood, the culinary team handles them with care and respect to brings out the best flavor of the crustaceans.

The cold section of the buffet showcases superior quality cold cuts，5J Spanish Iberico ham and variety of hard and soft cheeses. One of the must-eats are the à la minute pan-fried foie gras. Well-seasoned foie gras are pan-fried to perfection paired with duck confit, served on brioche toast.

Interactive trolleys
As an extension of the buffet counter, five interactive trolleys are brought in to increase the interaction between the culinary team with guests. The bread and butter trolley is equipped with a variety of bread – baguette, rye bread, hard rolls and more. The freshly baked bread are served with salted or unsalted butter shaped into perfect rocher.

Premium oysters, namely Gillardeau N2 and Carina N2, both air flown from France are delivered from table to table, for guests to experience being served while being seated. Carefully chucked and cleaned with a brush, the juicy oysters are served to the table paired with Kaluga hybrid caviar.

Two roast carvings trolley, serving special Sunday roasts – bone in ham and garlic and herb crusted lamb rack allows chefs to showcase their carving skills and the meat is kept hot till it reached the table of guests, giving time for the guests to document their interactive dining experience.

The most interesting of all, is the liquid nitrogen dessert. Fresh fruit juices are placed in a cooled mixing bowl and liquid nitrogen are poured in and mixed till it forms to be ice cream and fruit condiments are added to give refreshing touch to this frozen treat.

An à la minute menu is offered for soup, main courses and pancakes. The menu consists of seafood bouillabaisse, Waldorf Astoria Wagyu Beef Burger, Truffle Cream Porcini Omelet and one of the world’s most beloved dishes – Lobster Eggs Benedict. Eggs Benedict was created in 1984 when Lemuel Benedict, a Wall Street broker ordered “some buttered toast, crisp bacon, poached eggs and a pitcher of Hollandaise sauce after a night celebrating with friends. Oscar Tschirky – Waldorf Astoria New York’s affable maître d’ of fifty years was impressed with the dish and gave a little twist to it and named it Eggs Benedict and market it to the public.

Making use of the outdoor terrace space at Grand Brasserie, a barbecue pit presents a display of charcoal grilled tomahawk steaks and T-bones. Nothing beats the smoky flavor on grilled meat on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

A meal wouldn’t be complete without drinks at the far end of Grand Brasserie, a beverage station is setup with healthy and deliciously concocted refreshing drinks. Talented bartenders from our acclaimed Long Bar mixes medleys of drinks with freshly pressed juices to go with the hearty fare.

Lavender Dessert room
To end the meal with a sweet note, a lavender themed dessert room is made for insta-worthy photos and dessert lovers. The curation of space was made for guests to mix and mingle with another with the little touches that is included like the chrome colored bunny, and ferris wheel. The hand-made crepe paper lavender flowers and grass are made to different height and sizes to emulate a free spirited space. The desserts in the dessert room have also tones of lavender color to match the space. The innovative pastry team is driven to retain the hearts of guests with the sweets made with no artificial additives whether it is coloring, flavoring or sweeteners. One of the favorites is the black tea taro pudding. This lavender colored dessert is creamy and smooth with hints of black tea isn’t sweet, yet satisfying.

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