Brunches at cafes are passé. Monti, a waterfront restaurant at iconic The Fullerton Pavilion, is taking weekend brunches up at notch with their Monti Festino – The Longest Brunch with a superb Italian-style ala carte buffet by the bay. This has got to be one of the best weekend brunch buffets where you can dine in style, against a beautiful backdrop of Marina Bay. Have a glass of bubbles, sit back and enjoy a great company of your family and friends over a long lazy brunch session. Naysayers would deem this as an unnecessary indulgence but what better way to spend some quality time with your close ones over good food and giving them a pampering and deserving treat.
Monti is housed right at The Fullerton Pavilion (1-Pavilion) which is about 10 minutes walk from Raffles Place MRT station. It’s centralised and highly accessible location makes it convenient for meetups and gatherings.
If it’s not too warm for you, grab a table by the glass windows so that you are able to enjoy the view outside with your glass of champagne.
For starters, we had a fresh seafood platter, ‘Frutti Di Mare‘ featuring Alaskan King Crab, Cooked Tiger Prawns, Tuna Tataki, Salmon Sashimi, Fine de Claire Oyster, Mussels and Clams. The fresh seafood helps to cleanse the palate which makes it a great appetiser.
“Amp Your Mojito” and DIY Bloody Mary booths
If you’re in need of some cocktails or mocktails, do head over to their ‘Amp Your Mojito’ or DIY Bloody Mary booth and spend some time to pick some bartending skills from the bartenders. Get creative with the Mojito when all the rum, limes, mint leaves and syrups are placed there neatly within your reach. I made myself a Cherry Blossom Mojito that tastes so refreshing with the crushed mint leaves and lime. I don’t think you will ever go wrong with a Mojito.
From fresh sea oyster and salmon, we get to enjoy more seafood delicacies as the chef served us some grilled octopus salad. He came to our table with a cart full of salad ingredients and condiments. On the spot, he tossed up all the leafy greens along with the grilled octopus slices, tomatoes, olives, onions and croutons.
A dash of lemon dressing and ‘Voilà’ – another stunning appetiser.
If you like, toss in some fine blue cheese slices from your table’s Charcuterie and Cheese Platter. Those are some really fine cheeses I must say.
A not-to-be-missed brunch main is Monti’s risotto, ‘Cacio Pepe Etartufo’.
Once again, the chef wheeled in this huge cheese wheel and lit it up some flames to melt the cheese as he stirred in the risotto. To top it off, he added a generous amount of truffle shavings.
It’s nothing too fancy – just some Parmesan cheese, black pepper and truffle. In that way, the truffle shavings and the cheese stand out more. It’s not even truffle-infused oil that you’re indulging in. That’s real truffle shavings.
You can’t call it brunch if there are no eggs and toasts. For toast lovers, try this french toasted served with caramelised bananas, fresh summer berries and honey cinnamon mascarpone. I could have this everyday.
The Poached eggs on Egg Benedict and Egg Salmon Florentine are enough to satsify any egg-lovers in the house.
If that is not enough for you, you can dig into some handmade pasta where you can choose your favourite toppings to go along with your choice of sauce.
Carbonara
Aglio e Olio
For meat lovers, there’s quite a selection too – a roast leg of lamb, roast rib eye, baked salmon fillet and many more.
Pork Ribs
Mussels
Prawn Bowl
Pan-cooked Foie Gras on Toast and Balsamic Reduction
One stellar dish would be their Foie Gras served on toast with wine jelly. The foie gras was nicely pan-fried and it literally just melts in your mouth. It was best to be paired with some champagne.
The dessert cove is another paradise on its own. The selection is just about right and they served one of the best made in-house desserts like Chocolate Torte, Mango Panna Cotta, Peanut Cream Cheese Tartlets, Tiramisu, Zabaglione Shooters and Lemon Rosemary Tartlets.
Our brunch affair lasted for about three hours long. With great food and company, you wouldn’t want to leave this place so soon.
And if you are still up for some jazzy beats, you may even stay on to join the Jazz at Monti crew and groove along to their weekly J@M sessions of live jazz performances by various artists joining the regular line-up. My favourite Jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro performs there as well!
Day: Every Sunday, 12pm-3pm (brunch), 3pm-7pm (live DJs), 9pm onwards (Jazz At Monti crew)
Price: $90++ (buffet only), $120++ (buffet and non-alcoholic drinks), $140++ (buffet and free flow wine), $160++ (buffet and free flow champagne).
Monti
82 Collyer Quay
Singapore 049213
