Bottomless Brunch in Singapore: Stellar at 1-Altitude Takes Sunday Brunch To New Heights With Bubbles & BBQ
PUBLISHED January 26th, 2021 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 01:59 pm
You probably know 1-Altitude as a dance-till-dawn rooftop spot, but it turns out that their Sunday brunch is just as good for getting drunk on grand views. One level down from the 63rd-floor bar, Stellar at 1-Altitude serves up an imaginative array of Australian fine-dining plates. For Sunday afternoons, things get a little more laidback with their Bubbles & BBQ Brunch, recently rolled out last September.
The Sunday Brunch Communal Menu (S$80++) is a three-course affair, but with a sprawling à la carte menu to pick from as well, you won’t run out of choices in a hurry. Your glass won’t be running dry either – for S$160++ per pax, the Communal Menu comes with a free flow of lively Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne, Aussie wines, and cocktails. Complete with wall-to-wall windows overlooking Marina Bay – and far in the distance, a sea of calm blue – it’s more than enough to get you high.
Slim but varied, the Communal Menu presents three to four options each for appetizers, mains, and desserts – pick just one per category and you’re all set. For starters, our vote goes to the truly stellar charcuterie board. The Iberico Cold Cuts feature a generous mix of meats like bresaola and Iberian ham, set off gloriously by charcoal-grilled hunks of sourdough – crisp, buttery, and deeply smoky.
The Charred Asparagus starter is intriguing even for non-fans of this veggie – a bed of sweet, tender asparagus spears, freshened up by buttery globs of feta. It’s worth opting for the version with Smoked Eel (S$28) from the à la carte menu, though. The rich eel slices bring out the charred asparagus’ nutty notes, graced with briny bursts of sea asparagus. But if you’d rather stay with the staples, the Smoked Salmon and Egg Bagel Benedict is by no means a fallback option – not with its toasty sesame bagel and that heavenly hollandaise sauce.
Taking a break from the bubbly, we paired our appetizers with the Frankland Estate Poison Hill Riesling 2018 – a dry Riesling from Western Australia bursting with stone fruit zest and mineral notes. Sweeten the deal with a taste of La Dolcetini (S$15) – a tangy take on the G&T with kumquat-infused Roku gin and elderflower tonic.
For mains, the three-strong selection of pasta, fish, or red meat pretty much covers all bases. Tossed with more asparagus and jamón in a silky egg yolk sauce, the Capellini is veggie-sweet and surprisingly homely – a pity that ours arrived somewhat mushy. The locally sourced Sustainable Barramundi, however, doesn’t disappoint. This salt-crusted fish falls apart in luscious flakes on the fork, and comes bathed in a fragrant pool of lemongrass sauce.
Rounding up the three mains is the Pork Loin with eggplant, but for a wider range of wood-fired meats, you might want to give the à la carte menu a glance. For steak lovers, the Australian Wagyu Rump Cap (S$52) makes for a divinely tender treat, taken to perfection with red wine glaze, drizzles of chervil oil, and nutty morel mushrooms. Pair this with a glass of Tempus Two Pewter Series Barossa Valley Shiraz – this tannin-heavy number spices things up with liquorice and pepper notes.
Brought over from Stellar’s à la carte dinner menu, the desserts are sheer works of art – ‘too pretty to eat’ is hardly hyperbole here. There’s Rolling With Flowers, an exquisite, flower-strewn wheel of coconut sablé balanced on its side. Sandwiched between the shortbread is a colourful medley of kaffir lime leaf curd, beurre noisette, and floral-infused marshmallow – if you can bear to cut into it, you’ll be rewarded with a delightfully light, tangy mess.
For those with darker tastes, the Nine Layers of Chocolate is just as much a feast for the eyes. Think salted coffee cream layered with hard chocolate shell, topped with truffle meringue in the shape of adorable mushrooms. If you’re in the mood to linger – it is a lazy Sunday, after all – head downstairs for round two at the indoor Gastro Lounge, which now opens from 2pm.
Stellar at 1-Altitude is located at Level 62, One Raffles Place, Singapore 048616, p. +65 6438 0410. The Sunday Brunch Communal and A La Carte Menus are available from 12pm to 3pm.
Photos courtesy of Alexis Yang and 1-Altitude
