China XO's Sunday Brunch. Lazy!

As I plan to uncover the best brunches of Chennai over the next few months, it seemed appropriate to start with one of the very best. Truly reflecting the lazy Sunday brunch feel, you pretty much don't have to move a finger. OK, you have to move your fingers, but that's it. No buffet, no decisions to make, you sit and everything is served to you. Easy Peasy.

On our visit, it was a supremely pleasant Chennai Sunday, so al fresco was great. Nice and breezy, the weather was just perfect for the lazy Sunday lunch. Proceedings started with an excellent green apple iced tea while we waited for the first set to arrive.

There are about 25 dim sums, appetisers and Cheong fun on the menu. Besides this you have a choice of main course, a choice of rice or noodles and dessert, so yes, it is meant to be had over a few hours. The baked chicken puff that stood out from the rest of the dim sums was a cracker of a first dish with a tinge of sweetness in a flaky puff. With edamame and truffle and prawns getting into dim sums of varying sizes and shapes, the two sauces made sure every one of them tasted great.

Round two is where the action is. The crispy prawn cheong fun was a nice little variant of the classic, with a layer of crunch beneath the noodle before your bite hits the prawns. Loved it. The chicken dumpling with its beautifully soft steamed bun with a slightly sweetish chicken filling was another highlight. But the two best dishes, were the crispy prawns and the turnip cakes. In totally contrasting textures, the beautiful crispy prawn with its fantastic crunch smothered in spices and the soft turnip cakes with crunchy garlic were enough to make the brunch worth it. Among the appetisers was the nice and crispy chilly lamb.

Having as many dishes as these guys did, there were a few that were passable. Besides the crispy prawn cheong fun, the other three barely made the cut. The ducks weren't any representation of how good the restaurant is and the chilly chicken and Kung Pao chicken weren't making any impressions either. A fried rice was excellent and so was the crispy noodles.

Desserts didn't live up to the first two courses and both the mango pudding and the crunchy melons were good, though nothing more.

Walk in at about noon and stay till 4 pm, skip dinner and this becomes a lovely way to laze around a Sunday. At 2750 plus tax, taking it to about Rs. 3250 per head, this is an expensive, but high quality brunch. But, and this is a big but. Was there a single dish that blew my socks off? Nope. I would have liked fewer dishes on the menu, but at least one or two that blows your mind off for a price like this.