Dolce Vita

A couple of girlfriends and I have birthdays which are close to each other, so instead of celebrating multiple times in a short span of 3 weeks, we decided to just combine the celebrations into one splurge.

Brunch at Dolce Vita at Mandarin Oriental was definitely an indulgence. It was an a-la-carte buffet, and there was a wide variety of starters, mains and desserts to try. They offer a free-flow champagne option, but we decided to just go for the juice version of the buffet, which I thought was good enough since all the juices were freshly squeezed.

Everything on the menu sounded really good and we wanted to try them all! Unfortunately, there just simply was not enough tummy space. Still, I think we covered most of the menu!

Here's what I had for starters (yes, just me! I've not yet included the other stuff my friends had!):


Complimentary selection of cold cuts, drizzled with pesto








Fresh rock oysters with mignonette sauce & lemon








Terrine of fois gras with fig chutney and caramelized brioche








Raw marinated beef tenderloin with truffle vinaigrette and mushrooms






And actually I had the veloute of asparagus as well, but I had dived into it forgetting to take a picture :) I thoroughly enjoyed the starters, especially the veloute and the fois gras. The veloute was so creamy and smooth, it was like silk running down your throat. The flavour was subtle, yet rich, making it a lovely and warming starter. It was so good, I had two! For a quirky twist, they served it in little espresso cups :) The fois gras was good too, done in two different styles - pan fried and as a terrine. The flavours were bold and the fois gras melts in your mouth - perfect!

Mains:


Cod fish fillet with artichokes and capers









Pan fried beef tenderloin with potato gnocchi and rosemary jus








Aquarello risotto with black Piedmont truffles








Osso bucco served with polenta







Again there another dish I did not take pictures of - the baramundi fillet with basil risotto. I'll be hard-pressed to say which main course I liked the best. The truffle risotto was creamy and not too heavy, beef was superbly tender and had a robust flavour, the osso bucco was hearty and comforting, and the fish dishes were just very well done! Try them all!

And finally, for desserts:


Tiramisu with almond-coffee











Variation of Valrhona chocolate











Red wine poached figs with gingerbread ice-cream








Pistachio sabayon gratinated forest berries with pistachio ice-cream and raspberry sorbet







Caramelized vanilla form with marinated citrus fruit ragout and vanilla sorbet








As you can tell, I definitely saved space for dessert. In fact, I had two tiramisus, and two caramelized vanilla foams! I liked how all the desserts came with the Oriental motif on a little square of chocolate. Again, if you go for the buffet, just try all the desserts! You won't be disappointed. The vanilla foam was something new that I had never heard of before. It was a refreshing dessert, light, cool and citrusy. A good way to end a heavy meal! The fruits and sorbet were not evenly spread throughout the foam, which I liked, because that made each mouthful a bit of a surprise.

Surprisingly I was not as stuffed as I thought I would be though, and it was probably because we had a slow and leisurely brunch which lasted three hours! We were one of the first to arrive, and the last to leave :) I thoroughly enjoyed the spread, and it's something I would certainly consider going back for again!