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There is none of the gimmicky floor shows that you have at some other big hotel brunches; however, the spread of food is slightly less eclectic too. This did not bother me in the slightest as I have never been interested in eating curry and sushi in the same meal anyway.

The world of luxury hotels conjures up a lot of images for me. It is a world with which I, along with almost the entire population of the world, have had little, if any, contact. I’m thinking big suites - not just a hotel room, but a room with rooms. People lounge around on the furniture in their white hotel dressing gown in the middle of the day, sending emails and reading the paper, which was brought up by a stooping bell-boy who was trained at a famous hotel in Switzerland.

It is a world that handsome, young entrepreneurs, traders and corporate lawyers know. A world of offices with excellent city views, the sound of rubber-soled loafers on white yacht decks, Range Rovers with tinted windows, Tattler magazine (being featured, not reading it!) and enormous family Christmas reunions in a log cabin with excellent skiing nearby.

Having spent the morning luxuriating in your suite watching the 24 hour news channel and having seen the half-hourly bulletin at least six times, your pangs of hunger intensify, signifying it is time to go down for brunch. If you are in luck, you are in the Hongqiao Millennium.

The brunch buffet there really is very good – hard to find fault with it at all. There are salads, terrines, cold meats, olives (good olives). One salad consisted of asparagus and roast peppers, all sparkly and glistening with brown olives and smears of anchovy here and there. There’s also smoked salmon and sashimi of various kinds (the sashimi was the only disappointment of the meal – pulpy, strange taste, not the kind of thing I want in my mouth); fresh Canadian oysters, sloppy and utterly delightful; Alaskan crab, scallops and mussels. There is also foie gras, and fresh steaks and lamb chops are seared at your command. The carvery has prime rib, lamb, turkey and beef. There are a few hot Chinese dishes, including soup and dumplings. And then there are bacon and sausages, pastries and breads and a tidy selection of puddings, cakes and pies. The Linzer Torte, a lattice of ground nuts and sticky jam, is a specialty and is made in the best of German baking traditions.

The buffet happens in Café O, which is a spacious and light café on the ground floor, looking out through tall windows into the hotel gardens. The chairs are comfortable and the café feels cozy.

This symphony of food is conducted by Bernhardt Reineke, a meister of the hotel restaurant world. Bernhardt has worked in hotels around Europe, as well as for 13 years in Hong Kong and China.

The Millennium brunch is a very good deal at RMB198, which gets you free access to the buffet and soft drinks. There is none of the gimmicky floor shows that you have at some other big hotel brunches; however, the spread of food is slightly less eclectic too. This did not bother me in the slightest as I have never been interested in eating curry and sushi in the same meal anyway. Freshly pressed fruit juice is a la carte and if you want brunch with free flow champagne, you are looking at RMB398.

- by Charles Prior

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