For those nostalgic for the 1990s, thank god for The 90’s Brunch. It is a pop-up Sunday brunch party that is monthly and changes venue every time. It revolves around your favourite tunes from the 90s along with great food, cocktails and entertainment. The venue is announced the Monday before the brunch. Our brunch took place at the famous party venue that is Fu Manchu.
Firstly, it might be daytime but it is a raucous and riotous affair. There is loud, disco music right from the start and revellers dancing even before the starters are served. The clientele is almost exclusively female with hen parties being their primary targets. They do spend the budget on 90s props such as inflatable brick phones, doughnuts and cardboard cutouts of Gameboy, Pokemon and Tamagotchis.
There are also entertainers whether it is hula hoopers, skating rappers or the diners themselves as there is a lip sync battle post-dinner of classic 90s hits with the winner either given a bottle of Champagne or tickets to their next event.
All your favourite tunes are present whether it is Whitney’s version of ‘I will always love you’ or Aerosmith’s ‘I don’t wanna miss a thing’. This is brunch for the power ballad lovers and almost every guest knew the words to those songs.
The presentation might be lacking in the food with plastic plates used for service but the taste was surprisingly appetising and vegetarian-friendly. The appetisers and main courses had a strong Oriental touch: the starter of stem ginger and lemongrass vegetable Chinese parcel was packed with vibrant flavours especially with a hint of teriyaki sauce.
Main courses were on the petite side even though they were very well-thought out. Vegetable pie was unusually flavoured with Chinese five spices and something I’ve never heard of: honey and soy sesame jam. Chicken thighs were marinated with a strong-tasting hoisin glaze and accompanied with Asian stir-fry and rice noodles.
I wonder if the food has been made with the help of the chefs at Fu Manchu, given that I’ve read the cuisine is entirely different when held at other venues such as Floripa. This probably explains why the weakest entry was the warm sticky toffee pudding, which was dry and had an overly hard texture.
However, the food never seems to play an important role here. They offer bottomless cocktails from 12-1pm so by the time the food is served, the guests seem more concerned about the moves on the dance floor rather than filling their stomachs. Overall, The 90s brunch is an extremely gregarious party, however, make sure you go with the right crowd.
baldwin@townfish.com