Singapore Brunch: Don Quijote Weekend Brunch Deal Review
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:59
A superior Spanish brunch deal that’s worth every penny and ensures you wont find yourself tilting at windmills.
Much like the iconic protagonist from the esteemed novel by Cervantes, Don Quijote is a restaurant that offers a kaleidoscope of atypical Spanish dishes.
Opened with the view of bringing a novel Spanish dining experience to Singapore and specialising in certain signature dishes hailing from spectacular historic towns in Spain, like Valencia, Don Quijote continues to be the master of its domain.
What drew us to this restaurant, in particular, was its irresistible weekend brunch deal. From a choice of twenty-five food items, the deal offers patrons a wide selection of all-you-can-eat tapas, main course and dessert options, complemented with either a free-flow sangrias and beer option, or a juices option. Their red wine sangrias are especially praiseworthy – refreshing, loaded with fruits and help plenty in washing those heavy dishes down perfectly and help add to that ‘healthy’ weekend glow – or maybe we just believe in the policy of (in this case, very literally) ‘the more the merrier’.
Unlike other good Spanish restaurants, we dare say the majority of unique Spanish dishes offered here would not disappoint even the most trained food aficionado palette. Amongst the impressive array of over eighty dishes they offer, ranging from tapas to succulent meats, to tantalizing seafood dishes and desserts, a few items on the menu in particular are worth special praise and they are the very reason we find ourselves going back to this spacious, old Spanish villa-style restaurant, nestled slightly away from the main cluster of restaurants in Dempsey Road – giving it an exclusive but homely feel.
Some of the noteworthy tapas dishes from the brunch menu include Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic fried shrimp), which is a sinfully oily but irresistibly delicious butter-garlic cooked shrimp dish. It is the perfect build-up on the list of heavier tapas options on the extensive menu. You haven’t had calamari until you’ve tried the Calamares fritos at Don Quijote. Unlike the deep fried crispy calamari we’re used to, where you feel like you’re paying more for the batter than any actual squid, this calarami is cut into whole, generous pieces and is soft and utterly juicy, with just the lightest amount of crispiness and served with house dip. It would take a month of Sundays to list each and every tapas dish you should try but here is a brief list of the ones you simply must sink your teeth into. The Albondigas are a must-have – meatballs in a flavourful tomato oregano sauce, the Rollitos de Esparragos y Bacon – asparagus rolled in bacon – umm, yum? For potato lovers, there’s nothing like the Croquetas con Jambon – Croquettes with cured Spanish ham – crispy but chewy and utterly flavourful on the inside, this dish will want to send you straight to food heaven.
Another reason the restaurant is so special? It is amongst a very small number of restaurants that focuses its brunch deal on its tapas and less emphasis is placed on the main course options of pastas, ensaladas, sopas and carnes. We are after all, humans and (sadly) don’t have four stomachs, so the main course dishes are concentrated to just one, two or three options for each category, so that we can have our hearts fill of the tapas and still have a little room for the rest of it. This is not to play down the main course choices, of course, which are great options in themselves. The pasta con Termera y Setas en Salsa de Nata (Beef and mushroom pasta in cream sauce) is quite easily one of the most skilfully prepared creamy pasta dishes we have ever tried, with just the right amounts of tender beef chunks. The dessert options are a little more conventional, and one is usually too full to partake in any sweet dish after that heavy meal but their bread pudding is pretty darn good if you’ve got even a little space left.
If you’re visiting the restaurant on any other day of the week and are choosing items off their main menu, don’t forget to try their Fideua Negra (Squid Ink Pasta) and their house special, DQ Paella, especially if chorizo, and carnes (meat), in general, is your thing.
¡Buen provecho!
The Weekend Brunch Buffet at Don Quijote happens every Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays from 11am to 2:30pm and is priced at $36++ with Juices and Soft Drinks, $52++ with Beers, Wines and Sangrias, $67 for Any combination including Sangria de Cava and $18++ for kids brunch.
Diya-Maya Tsering Bhalla
