Brunch (breakfast + lunch) easily turned into tunch (lunch + high tea) as we ate, talked and laughed at Private Affairs. I didn’t expect to spend more than 4 hours there but we did! Amazing how time flies when food is involved.
Sunshine Brunch (11.30 to 3.30pm) takes the form of a semi-ala carte buffet with a single order of main course and unlimited flow of appetisers and desserts. Prices start from $68++/$30++ per adult/child below 12. Add $50++ for free flow of house sparkling, red and white wine or $15++ for free flow of juices and soft drinks.
Brunch started with a lovely 3 tier afternoon tea stand of sunny essentials. Though nothing extraordinary, I particularly like the creamy Yogurt & Berries Espuma, more so than the Strawberry & Raisin Museli. Already thinking of seconds!
Banana & walnut muffins and scones with an interesting basil crème fraiche and berries jam.
Brunch includes 2 eggs (fried, scrambled, omelette or benedict) with choice of sausages, bacon or ham.
The eggs benedict wasn’t well done, with an overcooked yolk and tough whites.
I adore cured/smoked salmon to bits but they can be a bit of a ‘meh’ dish sometimes. But Chef Paul’s version changes my mind completely! His cured salmon with braised leek, avruga and yuzu vinaigrette is a perfect balance of salty and sweet. Love this so much that we had about 4 extra servings of this!
Frankly, the Alaskan King Crab Cake was a major disappointment. May be more appropriate to call this a croquette since the bulk of it is potato with no crab meat in sight =(
That said, the mango cilantro salsa, peanut & laksa leaf vinaigrette is brilliant! Akin to satay sauce, just so much tastier than I licked the plate clean.
Seared Kurobuta Pork Terrine with grilled melon and olive crumbs.
Chef Paul’s creativity when it comes to plating shines through with the Duck Carpaccio, topped with a delicately thin granny smith and mustard dressing.
For cold appetisers, there’s also an oyster bar with different sauces such as smoked miso powder with yuzu jelly, rice vinegar & coriander, namjin dressing but my favourite is the carrot puree topping.
Soup of the day was green pea soup, which we agreed was too salty to make finishing this feasible.
Another personal favourite of mine after the awesome cured salmon is the seared Hokkaido Scallops with lush purple carrot scrambled, avruga and yellow curry emulsion. Love the combination of different flavours and textures.
The spread of spicy eggplant & cucumber in green pumpkin seed oil, sherry & oyster vinaigrette was nice with a strong flavour but the Naan Pancake was too starchy for me. A little more fluff would be good!
Kurobuta Pork Ribs with confit onion, arugula tossed in papaya seed dressing.
I’ve mentioned before that barramundi is a boring fish to me so I wasn’t exactly jumping with excitement when I knew that the Sunday’s Catch for my main was a pan-fried barramundi.
To be fair, it was very fresh and not overcooked with a crispy skin and soft flesh. Nothing wrong that I can pinpoint but it just didn’t have that oomph factor to make it a memorable fish.
Other mains include Kurobuta Pork Belly with shimeiji mushroom, black pepper star anise sauce, and …
… Wagyu Beef Burger with balsamic onion balls, chips and truffle mayo.
I thought it was a nice ending to brunch when desserts were also served in a 3 tier stand, just like how we started with one too.
Friends know that I’m never gonna be a cheesecake lover but if I really really really have to choose, I’d go for the cheesecakes at Private Affairs. Like the cheesecake I tried at dinner, the Passionfruit Cheesecake with pistachio crumbs was so light and non-cheesy that it’s almost not like a cheesecake at all.
Chocolate tarts with raspberry coulis, bread & butter puddings with black sesame ice cream and lemon cured hazelnut cannelloni.
Desserts of the day: Apple cake with lemongrass ice cream.
No prizes for guessing which ones we like best!
With that, brunch came to an end. While I won’t say I’m blown away by the food (I’m not), there are some items on the menu I really like, such as the cured salmon (I know this is the 3rd time I’m mentioning it but it’s REALLY GOOD!), which I hope won’t be taken off the menu.
To get a real feel of Chef Paul’s culinary skills, go for dinner. Not lunch or brunch but dinner, which is so much more exquisite and impressive.
And good news for oysters’ lovers! Private Affairs recently launched Oyster Nights (Fridays, 7 to 9pm), held at its reservations-only lounge above the restaurant. For $38++, you will be served two glasses of Cava sparking wine from Spain and free flow of aphrodisiacs oysters of the day.
Special thanks to Chef Paul and Melanie for the kind invitation and hospitality =)
the cured salmon!!! Wish I had space for more!
this is too much!
You’ve disappeared!
Hey Kaelyn
I’m going this friday for oyster night. Trying to eat 120 of them!
Omg are you serious, 120?! That’s ALOT haha. I’m waving the white flag at 5 oysters! Let me know how many you had in the end! Wanna know whether you really can stomach 120 gosh.
disappeared?? you’re getting more and more frequent in your postings…scary!
I had 84. Not 120 that I was hoping for but a number I’m proud of. Luckily there were different toppings on the oysters, so that kept things interesting.
Hey were you at Orchard today around 4 p.m.? Near the Tangs-Hyatt stretch?
Haha, like hungryepicurean, I’m amazed you managed 84!! Well done haha. Actually Chef Paul asked me to drop by to see how many you could eat! I was expecting you to stop at 50 max but wow, you far exceeded my expectations! =) So which topping is your fav?
Eh, I was at Orchard yest but at the somerset area. Didn’t go the Tangs stretch so maybe you saw someone who looks like me? I have a common face haha.
@David: Wow! Cool!! 84 is not bad a number! Enjoyed Pte Affairs?
Wah K, you have a stalker! Haha!! Just joking =) She probably was.
I can probably skip dinner after this brunch man! That’s a lot of food!
Were you more impressed with Private Affairs or Jan Par Andre? Need to plan my future food endeavours
That’s a tough qn! But I’ll go for Jaan for that special occasion. I like that the flavours at Jaan are more balanced and delicate compared to PA, which can be a bit extreme at times. Plus, it’s hard to beat the view and ambience at Jaan! Iggy’s is another good place to conside too =)
I actually went to Iggy’s and I was fairly disappointed, possibly because I had such high expectations, seeing as to how they just broke into the top 50 best restaurants. Haha, I think I’ll end up going to Jaan, and maybe lunch at PA. Thanks for the feedback though