Hong Kong

It's that time of year again when the Easter bunny comes to town and visits many dining establishments in Hong Kong with chocolate eggs for the little ones and photo opportunities for all.

There are Easter brunches at most of the hotels in Hong Kong to celebrate this first festivity of Spring.

Tiffin in the Grand Hyatt in Wanchai features a chocolate and crepe station, and an Easter-egg decorating corner to entertain the little ones. Easter brunch costs HK$638 ($82) per adult and HK$319 ($41) per child (for an additional HK$60 you get free-flowing juice and Moet Chandon Ros).

In Tsimshatsui, the Langham Hotel's L'Eclipse is serving special Easter buffets for lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. For children, there is a mini-buffet serving hot dogs, beef burgers, chicken nuggets and sweets including cotton candy, mini waffles and the bread of the season - hot-cross buns. Lunch is HK$238 per adult and HK$168 per child; dinner is HK$498 per adult and HK$298 per child.

At The Bostonian in the Langham, look for waffles, foie gras, lobster, three types of oysters, and seafood as additions to the regular buffet brunch for Easter. Here it's HK$368 per person and HK$588 per person with unlimited house champagne.

Make it a day for kids only at the Main St. Deli. Here, they can decorate their own 14-centimeter egg with chocolate fondant, M&Ms, gummy sweets, jelly beans and more for HK$88. A professional chef will be on hand to offer tips and help the wee ones create their masterpieces. The classes are available from April 22-25 from 3:30-4:30 pm.

For Easter Sunday at Gaia, Chef Paolo Monti has prepared a gourmet lunch menu starting with its renowned antipasto buffet, including freshly sliced Parma ham, salads and cheeses. The buffet is followed by a choice of fried frittata eggs with wild asparagus; parchment-paper baked salt halibut with olives, capers and onions; beef and smoked buffalo cheese lasagna, or oven slow-roasted lamb leg with new spring garlic. A berries-and-mascarpone mousse tiramisu provides the sweet finish to this sumptuous brunch for HK$328 per person.

In the IFC in Central, Costa is serving a three-course lunch with eggs done two-ways - either eggs cooked to your preference with sausage, bacon, grilled tomato and rosti; or poached eggs with spinach served with champagne sauce. Not an egg lover? A selection of other main dishes is available. Finish off your Easter lunch with a choice of tiramisu, fresh fruit salad with passion fruit sorbet, or yogurt panna cotta with fresh mango sauce. Costa provides an "egg-ceptional" Easter set lunch overlooking Hong Kong's harbor from HK$258 per person.

For a healthy alternative to the traditional chocolate Easter egg, Edible Arrangements has hand-sculpted fruit with chocolate-dipped pineapple bunny rabbits in a field of melon and pineapple daisies, delicious strawberries, mouth-watering cantaloupe and honeydew melon and juicy grapes.

Three different Easter-inspired arrangements are available ranging in price from HK$488 to HK$2,198), or you can make your own. The Easter bunny will be ready to pose for photos at the shop in IFC from 12-6 pm on April 23 and 24.

for China Daily