Back for More: VIC

 
Brunch in Beijing is usually a bacchanalian affair, so give it a French twist – a nation and cuisine not known for culinary circumspection – and you can imagine the possibilities. Luckily for us gourmands, imagination has become reality with VIC’s new I Feel “Brunch” concept. Begin your French experience at the door (Sofitel is a French hotel chain after all), as staff greet you with a deferential “bonjour.”

This is a brunch with a focus on quality over quantity; you won’t find the usual spectrum of mediocre pasta, pizza and pad thai here. Instead, small touches (or big opulent ones depending on your perspective) give a suggestion of the quality of the food on offer. Live Boston lobsters nervously await their fate next to their boiled brethren. A hulking wheel of raclette cheese rests beneath a grill, ready to be melted over new potatoes and air-dried ham. Upon closer inspection, a waxen red flower turns out to be crafted from solid chocolateThis is not to say that you won’t eat your fill – my, but you will – just that the genteel dining room and carefully selected ingredients are better suited to a refined Sunday outing than a brash eating and drinking contest. Should you be in the mood to drink, stepped pricing from RMB 420 to 620 (plus 15% service charge) allows you to select your preferred level of sobriety. 

The attention to detail carries into the drinks selection, which runs over with impressive names: Kronenbourg 1664, Parallèle 45 wines, champagne by Laurent-Perrier. Juices from French artisanal producer Patrick Font delight with a depth of fruit flavor that can only come from sun-baked southern Mediterranean orchards. Sit back, sip your juice and feel just a little bit less guilty about that second plate of stunning macarons and éclairs.
 
Daily 10am-10pm, Brunch, Sunday, 12pm-4pm. 6/F, Sofitel Beijing, Bldg C, Wanda Plaza, 93 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (8599 6666)
朝阳区建国路93号万达广场C坐索菲特酒店6层
500m west of Dawanglu station (Line 1)
 
 
Photo: Sui