Bottomless Brunch in Singapore: MO Bar Serves Up A la Carte Weekend Brunch with Free Flow Champagne & Cocktails

There aren’t many finer pleasures in life than brunch, views of the city skyline, and all the bubbly you can drink – and MO Bar at Mandarin Oriental, Singapore sweetens the proverbial pot with their adventurous cocktails inspired by history and culture of Asia Pacific.

Available on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 2.30pm, MO Bar’s la carte four-course Weekend Brunch is priced at S$98++ per person. Pair it with two hours of unlimited Ruinart R de Brut and selected cocktails from their Volume III menu at an additional S$58++.

In an era where most great hotel weekend brunches start with cold, fresh seafood, MO Bar didn’t disappoint. All guests begin with a generous enough Seafood Platter, featuring half a snow crab, half a Maine lobster, three plump oysters, and prawns. Served with mignonette and a tangy mango tartar sauce, enjoy the crustacean goodness alongside champagne for maximum enjoyment. The elegant, fine-bubbled Ruinart R de Brut is a well-balanced blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier with fresh yet toasty notes of apple, pear, and brioche.

Thereafter, all we had to do was pick three more dishes from the different sections – Starters & Soups, Rice & Noodles, Main Courses and Desserts. This freestyle brunch means those with limited capacity can eat less and drink more by picking all the snacks, or go all out for the mains and the carbs.

Milkyway
Counting myself amongst the former, personal highlights include the straightforward Wild Mushroom Soup – velvety, thick but not chunky, and warms the stomach after all the cold seafood – and the crispy Tiger Prawns. Coated nicely with masala mayo and served with a fragrant topping of deep fried curry leaves, the portion of five prawns were polished off in no time.
At this point, we held off the bubbly for the cocktails, which are rotated weekly. Both tea inspired tipples were delicious; sour, savoury and effervescent with strong notes of jasmine on the nose, Gao is MO Bar’s take on Vietnam’s fermented tea. Garnished with boba, the source of Milkyway is a no-brainer, though it’s one to save for dessert with an ingredient list of whisky, oolong tea, and brown sugar.

More protein followed in two vastly different choices by my companion: Braised Angus Beef Cheek and the Hong Kong Style Steam Cod. Sitting on mashed potatoes, MO’s take stays true to the European classic that it is with a flavourful red wine sauce, though some Asian mushrooms were employed to accompany the fork tender, hearty hunk of meat. Any Cantonese girl at heart would enjoy the black cod fillet steamed to perfection. And that sauce on jasmine rice? Just glorious.

The Strawberry Vanilla Cheese Mousse is a lighter and fruitier option after all the waist expanding savouries, but If you have a last plate to tick off and want dessert, make it the Grand Cru Chocolate. 72% dark chocolate mousse, cacao, genoise, hazelnut praline feuilletine – there’s everything to love.

MO Bar is located at Mandarin Oriental Singapore, 5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square, Singapore 039797, p. +65 6885 3500. Open Mon-Fri 5pm-10.30pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-10.30pm. 


Chief Editor

Emily heads the editorial team on City Nomads by being a stickler for details, a grammar Nazi, and a really picky eater. Born and bred in Singapore, she loves cats, the written word, and exploring new places. Can be bribed with quality booze across the board.