Mitzo Restaurant & Bar: Weekend Yum Cha brunch

I do admit to doing the cafe rounds too often during the weekends. So here's a change!

Mitzo Restaurant & Bar, a contemporary Cantonese restaurant situated right smack in the heart of Orchard Road on the 4th Level of Grand Park Orchard has something exciting up its sleeves for the weekends and public holidays languid afternoons. 

So just chew on this, a classic Cantonese yum cha experience spiked with tea-infused cocktails in place of the more traditional (and not to mention, boring...) tea. All this enjoyed in plush decor and modern designed settings coupled with zealously attentive service.

Mitzo ups the ante with its DIY cocktail stations where the adventurous ones (or in my case, half-sloshed) can put the pedal to the medal and shake up their own cocktails, under the watchful eye of Mitzo's skillful bartenders, of course.

Diners would be delighted to know that each month, the cocktail station refreshes its array of tea-infused alcohol base to encourage a progressive pairing of its concoctions with its dim sum offerings.

In the month of August, I was fortunate enough to wrap my lips around the Brilliant Stardust, which enlivened my palette with a gentle gin infused chrysanthemum tea base, ginger syrup, lemon juice, a hint of rose water and topped with aromatic apple syrup. It's seemingly bizarre combination and immense participation of tea in there helping to create a more wholesome environment for the consumption of alcohol earlier in the day. Not that I felt guilty or anything, but this cocktail is a deceptively smooth criminal. The other Scented Twister features cognac infused with jasmine tea, shaken with goji berry syrup and lemon juice before the final top up with guava soda -  a tad heavier on the palate, the goji berry syrup comes across a wee bit provocative for my liking.

Alcoholic dreams aside, the highlight of the restaurant is the yum cha experience. Here, diners can enjoy an unlimited serving of more than 40 exquisite and authentic Cantonese dishes ranging from roasts, to dim sum and noodle as well as congee.

My advice would be to navigate the menu slowly, portions are rather hefty especially for a party of 2 so try to stick to the recommended items (marked by a singular star on the order chit) and, might I add, DO NOT MISS OUT on the Mitzo Special Barbecued Pork.

Crispy Pork Belly Bun

Some of my favourites from the list includes the Crispy Pork Belly Bun, a homage to the traditional kong bak bao, except that in place of braised pork, roast pork with crispy crackling in tact takes its place.

Then there's the Mini Black Pepper Pork Puff  with luscious chunks of sweet sticky pork, punctuated with bursts of black pepper piquancy and encased in a sweet buttery glossy crust. A definite must order! Under the Dim Sum category, the Steamed Crystal Prawns Dumplings or 'har kao' plays a strong game with twin prawns stuffed amidst tasty meat fillings. Unfortunately, some dishes did not carry the same weight, the Poached Dumpling with Sichuan sauce lacking the oomph to qualify it for this pedigree.

top L: Poached Dumpling with Sichuan Sauce
R: Mini Black Pepper Pork Puff
Bottom L: Steamed Crystal Prawns Dumpling

What we love: The Wasabi Infused Baked Fish and the Stir-fried Osamanthus Chicken; The former throws people's guards off with its aberrant shade of green, but there was just a slight whisper of the Japanese's horseradish signature heat, not enough to overwhelm the sweet firm flesh of the fish itself. The stir-fried chicken was lip-smackingly delicious, plump chunks of chicken glistening from an excellent toss up in a hot wok, accompanied by a myriad of mushrooms and vegetables for contrast. We were also impressed by the Crispy Prawn with spicy mango, the succulent shrimp not overwhelmed by thick gloppy mango syrup, unlike most renditions commonly found, the hint of chili rousing the senses.

Wasabi Infused Baked Fish

Stir-Fried Osmanthus Chicken

For  desserts, I was appeased with the Custard Buns which matched a seedy crunch with fragrant steamed pandan flavoured buns and salted egg yolk custards trickling relentlessly when bit into. The Pandan and Egg Tart was a slight disappointment with the accidental burning of the wrappers edge imbuing the entire dessert with a 'chao-ta' flavor. Upon pointing that out, our server maintained that it was a mistake after doing a double check with the kitchen. But at this point, I was too stuffed to call a second round, only because I was saving space for something a little more extravagant...

Other cocktails available include the Shiso Mojito, Milky way (kind of like an After 8  mint) and the Ginseng Daiquiri

Yes, so I was saving space for a second serving of Mitzo's Special Barbecued Pork, this, my friends, delivers on all spectrum of euphoria. It's impressively bronzed crust with slight charred edges revealing an expert hand of seasoning, the contrast between tender melting flesh and bronzed sugar coated skin is one to behold. Honestly, I regret not diving in for thirds.

Mitzo's servers bristle with efficiency, only stopping for brief moments in between clearing of plates to casually enquire about the progression of the meal. So if you're looking for unobtrusive dining experience with the loved one, than Mitzo would be the perfect venue for a chillax lunch on a lackadaisical weekend. Charges are set at an affordable $68++ per person (for food only) and $118++ per person (including free flow cocktails, house pour wines and beer)

Mitzo Restaurant & Bar

Level 4

Grand Park Orchard

270 Orchard Road

S(238857)

w: www.mitzo.sg