Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza, Sofitel KL

Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza

Words: Alison Christ
Photos: Rich Callahan

Who doesn’t love alfresco day-drinking by the pool while listening to KL’s hottest lady DJs? I can’t think of anyone. Monica and I are ready to go with swimsuits in hand to the new Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza. We are super excited to enjoy access to the swimming pool, sundeck, steam rooms, sauna, and changing rooms with no extra cost for only RM148 per person (brunch included!). Of course, we are definitely going for one of the free flows of bubbles, wine, and beer for three hours (RM198) or Champagne, wine, cocktails, and beer for two hours (RM338), it’s Sunday after all!

Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza

We arrive at the beautiful Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara and take the lift to Nizza – The Restaurant, which specializes in French-Italian flavours and is inspired by the glamorous stretch of the Mediterranean coast called La Côte d’Azur or more commonly referred to as the French Riviera. I feel like we’ve left KL as we get ushered into the wine cellar, which has been transformed into the cheese room for the Sunday party. If you love cheese, you’ll be very happy with the large selection and accoutrements here.

Brunch Buffet

Outside of the cellar, we enter the main dining room which is decked out with a gorgeous feast of Smoked Aubergine, Chicken Pastrami, Smoked Duck, Beef Cecina, Wild Mushroom Velouté, Potato Gnocchi, Super Food Salad with Spinach, Quinoa, Avocado, Flaxseeds & Pomegranate, BLT Caesar Salad, Beetroot Carpaccio with Torched Palm Heart & Avocado and many other little goodies and sauces. This spread alone is enough for my lunch! But it doesn’t stop here. After we load up on cheese, salads, and cured meats we head outside to our table, which is located in prime real estate; directly in-between the stunning swimming pool and the beautiful DJ RIMKA. There’s a fan and an awning overhead to cover us from direct sun and it is a beautiful day. I think we will be staying a while. If you’re more of an aircon-kinda-bruncher, fear not as they have very nice tables inside for you to relax and dine on.

Free-flow Brunch

Monica orders an Aperol Spritz and I start with a Mimosa of Terredirai Prosecco and fresh-squeezed orange juice (included in the free flow). We are off to an excellent start and here comes a huge seafood tower, my first thought is this has got to be an extra charge, it’s not, it’s included! Slipper Lobster, Seared Tuna, Crab Salad, Home-Cured Salmon, Mussels, Scallops, Seafood Arancini, Trout Rillettes, Prawns two ways; Cocktail & Tempura, Basil Aioli, and Baby Leaves. Oh my goodness. We are living the Vida Loca here, RIMKA is killing it on the decks, the sun is shining, the vibe is perfect and the free flow is flowing!

DJ RIMKA – Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza

RIMKA the DJ was raised in a multicultural home and nourished by multi-genre music from around the world. Her life in Paris steeped her taste into electronic music and its sub-genres. Hitting the party capitals of the world from Ibiza to Berlin to catch top acts further fuelled her love for the scene. Currently based in Kuala Lumpur, she’s sharing her love for music inspired by her frequent travels to different parts of the world, absorbing their unique sound and vibe to create her distinctive sets and productions. RIMKA’s goal is to transport her audience onto exotic cerebral mindscapes; she’s getting the job done today! The music rotates every other Sunday with RIMKA and LZZY, You can’t go wrong with either of these lovely ladies. LZZY is a self-taught firecracker DJ who loves dropping disco on Sunday afternoons.

Table Orders

The very attentive service staff comes back to let us know we can order some more delightful dishes for the table. We want one of everything (warning in advance –we haven’t even hit the barbecue pit or the live pasta and pizza station yet). Ok, we are convinced to try one of everything… thank goodness Rich one of The Yum List photographers, and our good friend Renee have just joined us! It seems like the entire restaurant staff is delivering us dish after beautiful dish, Organic Peach Melba Tea-Cured Seabass, Sriracha Eggs Crèmeux – Cured Egg Yolk with Truffle Essence, Brioche, Foie Gras Parfait Mousse & Cherry Jelly. Everything is beautifully plated, fresh and delicious, especially the interesting, yes you’re reading correctly, the Peach Melba Tea Cured Seabass. When the epic Spicy Buttermilk Chicken Alla Milanese and Waffle arrives we know we’ve gone too far! There are still a few other dishes to choose from including the Wagyu Beef Skewered with Cashew Nut Sauce (+RM 46), which sounds amazing, we will have to save it for next time.

Cocktails – Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza

We take a little break from stuffing our faces and Shuen, Nizzas assistant head mixologist, serves us two of her favourite creations. Monica goes for the Rosella with peach, gin, clarified milk, and red wine (a special for Valentine’s month), which is light and all too easy to drink. I try the Luxe Tropical with passion fruit, pineapple, Galliano, and prosecco. Dangerous this Luxe Tropical, it seems to have evaporated in my glass, leaving me with no choice but to order another one. Renee’s gone for the Champagne Moet free-flow. Seems we are all making good decisions today.

Live Cooking Stations

We are feeling the mood, enjoying the tunes and the people watching (there are some beautiful people here) we decide to venture up to the BBQ Fire Pit where we can choose from hand-carved Whole Lamb Grilled or Steak on the Pit with all the trimmings, corn on the cob, roasted peppers, sauces and a cool arrangement of mustards. They tell us we could add on Grilled Half Boston Lobster (+RM 48), we decide not to be gluttonous and stroll over to the Live Pasta Station instead; we can pick from Pomodoro or Short Rib Bolognese with Penne or Rigatoni, and a selection of Wood-Fire Pizzas. By now I am almost satiated but I must try a spoonful of the Bolognese with a ton of fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top, definitely worth it.

Dessert Buffet

Just when we can’t imagine eating any more, we are reminded of the Sweet Temptations guaranteed to satisfy every sweet tooth’s deepest desires. From an array of cakes; Azelia Cremoso, Blonde Nappage, Feuilletine Sicilian Cheese Cake, Pistachio, or Greek Yogurt Raspberry Yule Log or Verrines (small glasses) of Panna Cotta, Hazelnut Streusel, Vanilla Crème Catalana, Mini-cakes of Peanut Butter or Raspberry Caramel and Macarons and much more. The pastry chef has been busy, very, very busy. You must remember to save room for dessert!

Free Use of the Hotel Pool

Joel the bar manager for the hotel and an ace mixologist comes over to see how we are enjoying ourselves. The answer, as you can imagine, is swimmingly. Which reminds us that swimming is our next move. Who are we kidding – more like floating around the pool with our cocktails in hand. Joel quickly offers us a refill and gives us pool-friendly glasses including a gold Moet swimming “glass” that Renee absolutely loves. I stick with yet another Luxe Tropical (can’t get enough) and Mon has her go-to Negroni. Ah, life is good, Sundays are good, the Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza is good. We will definitely be back for this often and I highly recommend you to try it this weekend. See you on the sundeck!

Reasons to visit Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza: killer spread of food, awesome vibe & tunes, alfresco dining, swimming pool access, great free flow options, people watching/meeting. 

Nizza
Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara
No. 6 Jalan Damanlela, Bukit Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+60 3 2720 6628

Sunday Brunch Kitchen Party at Nizza Hours
Every Sunday from 12 noon to 3 p.m.

Find more brunch options in KL here and stay up-to-date with the latest gourmet and travel recommendations for Malaysia here and here.