Anyway, this post is about a Sunday Brunch we had a few weeks ago back home in Hong Kong with hubby's aunt and her husband (long-time HK residents). We selected WHISK at The Mira because my aunt-in-law has had her eyes on this restaurant for awhile. We tried to book WHISK earlier this year for dinner to celebrate her birthday, but unfortunately there was a minimum age of 8 years old which meant our son couldn't join us (and she wanted him there). However, for the Sunday Brunch ($675 with free-flow champagne and cocktails, $538 with free-flow soft drinks and juice, and a semi-buffet with a choice of an egg dish and a main course), the minimum age is reduced to include 3-year-olds. WHISK is not the best choice for someone with allergies as there is no option for ordering a-la-carte with allergy requests, and the semi-buffet brunch is rather expensive (HK$395 for children) for a 4-year-old who does not, and cannot, eat much from the buffet spread. We went ahead anyway, and it wasn't terrible. The food was pretty good, however I expected a higher level of service for this kind of restaurant. For instance, our aunt had to request twice for hard-poached egg, and both times the yolk was soft. Then when I asked the kitchen staff to point out desserts that were safe/unsafe for my boy given his allergies, the guy had no idea so he asked another kitchen staff, who helpfully said she will select from the kitchen items that didn't have sesame, nuts or soy. Unfortunately, most of the items she brought out either contained nuts, sesame or alcohol, and the boy could only have one thing out of perhaps eight items. The effort was there, but it could do with a lot more polishing.
The corridor:
There was a live DJ!
The highlight for me was the large spread of seafood, which included oysters au naturale, three types of caviar (the most popular and crowded table so I didn't get a chance to take a photo of it) and lobster. There was also an outdoor barbecue station where we could get huge barbecued shrimps and roasted suckling pig. The quality of the food was good, and we ate too much.
The bread and cheese table (ham and cured meats were further to the right of the shot):
Lobster!
Fish, fish, fish, and oysters! I ate about a dozen oysters:
The dessert table:
Petit fours-type sweets with macaroons (which were pretty good), madeleines, biscuits and :
The outdoor station - suckling pig on the left, and large shrimps on the right:
Carving up the suckling pig at the outdoor BBQ station. I didn't have any, but hubby said it was yum:
Hubby's first plate of many was seafood-focused:
My first plate dominated with oysters:
We could choose from two types of gourmet eggs cooked to order.
Hubby's Fried Egg with Parmesan Foam and Shallot Confit - luxurious and decadent:
My Poached Egg with Truffle & Spinach Crème:
Delicious!
One of my plates with some salad and appetisers:
Hubby's plate of cheese, bread, dried fruits and cured meats:
We also got a choice of a main course, from a selection of four dishes. We decided to order all four dishes (plus a duplicate for the boy) to share. By then we were all stuffed from having a bit of everything from the buffet, that we only had a little taste of each of the main courses. I think that the restaurant should consider excluding this option, which was a bit of an excess, and make the brunch a bit more affordable.
Penne with Peas & Canadian Lobster:
Wagyu Beef Cheek with CoCo Beans & Mashed Potato:
Salmon with Fennel and Mandarin & Fregola:
Confit Duck with Sautèed Mushroom & Black Pepper Sauce:
The dessert plate that was brought out for my son, but the only thing safe to give him was the mini egg tarts:
Hubby went and got other sweets that weren't on the first dessert plate. Dessert is definitely one of the good things going for WHISK's Sunday brunch:
We had an enjoyable time at WHISK, enjoying good food and wonderful company. The restaurant could do with some improvement with regards to allergies, such as allowing for ordering off the a-la-carte menu, or ensuring that staff are well-informed of what goes in the food so that they can assist those with allergies. The Sunday brunch at WHISK is otherwise a good choice for those with no kids and no allergies. I prefer the Sunday buffet at Yamm, also in The Mira, which is better priced and gives the a-la-carte option.
[Prices quoted are exclusive of the 10% service charge.]
WHISK (The Mira)
5/F, The Mira
118 Nathan Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 2315 5999
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