Hamish Wyatt/Shanghai Daily

The Hua Ting Hotel and Towers in the Xujiahui area has recently revamped its restaurant and last week, the hotel hosted its first Sunday Champagne Brunch.

Hua Ting’s Executive Chef, Michael Schauss

The brunch is held in the Garden Court Restaurant, located in the lobby of the hotel. While many people have a natural aversion to eating in hotels, especially lobby restaurants, this Sunday brunch is a cut above.
The refurbishment of the Garden Court has been done well and successfully softens the sense of sitting in a lobby. Low hanging and well designed lighting, along with some well placed halogen ceiling lights, give the restaurant an intimate feel, which is quite a feat considering the amount of space that the 220 capacity restaurant takes up.
The Executive Chef, Michael Schauss, from Germany, is a new addition to the Hua Ting. He has worked in the Middle East, Indonesia, Fiji and all over Europe and his experience shows through the similarly globe trotting cuisine offered at the brunch buffet.
One can expect the usual assortment of antipasto, salad, a carvery, rices and all the other sundry elements that constitute the communal feast brunchers can partake of, mouths watering and ears pinned back. There are also a number of remarkable experimentations the chef has laid out for those more interested in quality food as oppose to the typical buffet draw card of sheer quantity.
To accompany a pretty spectacular assortment of fresh seafood including lobster and mussels, Schauss lays on some interesting palate cleansers, the most unusual of which is tomato and basil ice cream.
Not for the culinary conservative, the ice cream is a bizarrely enjoyable, thoroughly savory, ending to the seafood entrees.
To top off their Sunday Champagne brunch, the Hua Ting also provides an extensive wine list and free flowing Laurent-Perrier Champagne to make sure no one goes thirsty.
The brunch is priced at 298 yuan (US$36.80). Until December 30, patrons can take up an offer of "buy three, get one free."
The Hua Ting Hotel is at 1200 Cao Xi Road N., near Zhongshan Road E.
Call 6439 1000 for reservations.