Life on Nanchang Lu: Sunday Brunch: A Shanghai Institution

There's seafood, more than you could ever eat in a single sitting, and your own pesonalised sushi chef; a guy is manning the Peking duck counter just hoping you'll stop by, plus someone is waiting to cook you any kind of pasta dish you might be craving. Then there's cooked-to-order souffle and a Haagen Dazs icecream bar to follow. Did I mention free-flow Mumm champagne? Welcome to Shanghai Sunday brunch, the city's favourite way to spend a cold, grey Sunday. The Marriott at Tomorrow Square has, in addition to all of this, an Indian curry smorgasbord with eight kinds of pickles and chutneys, and a spectacular view over People's Square from its 38th floor location. We had a wonderful afternoon meeting new people from all over the globe, and a few from our own backyard (including a fellow Aussie who kept us updated with the cricket scores for The Ashes throughout the afternoon).

Brunch has become so popular, and there is so much competition for the brunch dollar amongst the big hotels in Shanghai, that they have gone totally over the top in outdoing each other to win your business. Who has a foie gras station? Who can offer the best selection of freshest oysters? Who will make you a cocktail to suit your mood? Who grills fresh Tasmanian salmon or New Zealand lamb racks while you wait? And chocolate fountains? And caviar? And? And? And?

They usually operate on an all-you-can-eat basis, with complete run of everything on the floor, and often with free-flow champagne included. Nearly every big hotel in Shanghai offers one. Personally, I can only cope with about one brunch a month, because they have just become so decadent, and I always drink way too much champagne, and can't resist the foie gras even though I know I should, so the hangover starts to kick in before I've even gone to bed. Evil, evil, evil. Good thing the holiday season is coming up so I can really slow down on all the eating and drinking, right??