All The Delicious Food You Can Eat At Waldorf Astoria’s Peacock Alley Brunch Buffet

The extravagant Sunday brunch at Waldorf Astoria NY’s Peacock Alley is like heaven on earth. The restaurant is also offering themed brunches - from Canadian Thanksgiving to Halloween - so go check it out!

Make-Your-Own Waldorf Salad

The famous Waldorf Salad, which originates from the Waldorf Hotel in NYC, can be created at your own liking. Ingredients include fresh apples, celery, grapes, walnuts, feta cheese, boiled eggs, and tomatoes over a bed of lettuce.

Caviar Bar

The pricey caviar is available at Peacock Alley, and you can indulge in these pearls of the sea as much as you want. There are four different types, ranging from trout eggs to tobiko, that you can dress with chopped scallions, blinis, creme fraiche, and onions.

Tower of Fresh Seafood

Seafood lovers, rejoice! The fresh seafood selection at Peacock Alley is out of this world. Lobster tails & claws, shrimp, freshly-shucked oysters, and littleneck clams are all available with condiments like cocktail sauce and champagne mignonette.

Breakfast Items

The selection of breakfast items range from good ole’ bacon, sausages, and scrambled eggs to pancakes and blintzes. If you want something cooked to your personal preference, there is a chef who can whip up omelettes, eggs benedict, and much more.

Hot Entrees

If you feel more on the “Lunch” end of Brunch, then you can satisfy your cravings with entrees like turkey, lamb, or salmon that the chef carves in front of you. Depending on the theme of the day, additional hot items could include stuffings, bouillabaisse, red snapper, and more.

Dessert

Do yourself a favor and save room for dessert - you will want every bite of the wide selection of desserts at Peacock Alley. From flan with fresh berries to tiramisu, every dessert items is created with perfection.

Baked Alaska Lollipop

…and don’t forget about the Baked Alaska, concocted right in front of you! The chef torches fire on honey ice cream whipped with fresh meringue. The result? Absolute heaven in your mouth.

Top 7 Brunch Dishes And Drinks That Will Make You Wish It Was The Weekend Every Day

1. Ricotta Pancakes from Foragers Table

The melt-in-your-mouth, heavenly Orange Blossom Ricotta Pancakes from Foragers Table is the fluffiest, most moist pancakes you will ever taste. Each serving has three stacks of light and velvety pancakes topped with candied orange and fresh strawberries for an addition of fruity and citrusy flavors. The soft ricotta cheese in the pancakes batter produce a unique consistency with moist center.

2. Dim Sum Platter from Hakkasan

The signature Hakka Steamed Dim Sum Platter from Hakkasan is unlike any dim sum dishes you will taste in Chinatown. Inside the bamboo steamer is two sets of scallop shumai, har gau, prawn and Chinese chive dumpling, and chicken and corn dumpling. Each dim sum - made using the finest ingredients - is so beautifully executed that a photo snapping is a must before you devour it.

3. Duck Egg and Polenta from La Sirena

The hearty Duck Egg and Polenta from La Sirena - the newest culinary opening of legendary duo Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich - is an interesting fusion of coastal Italian cuisine with the American South influence. The duck egg, which has more viscosity to the yolk and a thickness to the white compared to the chicken egg, is laid atop of creamy, grit-like polenta that is topped with herb and almond pesto.

4. Lox & Bagel from Mr. Purple

Simple yet delightful to the senses, the Lox & Bagel platter from Mr. Purple is a must to satisfy your craving for the ultimate brunch experience. Create your perfect bite of toasted sesame bagel, tomato, onion, capers, and smoked salmon - all smeared with a generous spread of cream cheese. While you are at it, enjoy the vibrant rooftop atmosphere of the restaurant on the 15th floor of Hotel Indigo in the Lower East Side.

5. Sunday Brunch at Peacock Alley

Feast on the quintessential brunch experience at Peacock Alley in the main lobby of The Waldorf Astoria, where you will dine on famed dishes like Eggs Benedict, Waldorf Salad, and red velvet cake while basking in the grand atmosphere. There is no shortage of food options at the Peacock Alley, with the buffet-style menu that ranges from poached jumbo shrimp and beef wellington to omelet station and lemon meringue tart.

6. Roxy Brunch at Roxy Hotel

Are you indecisive when it comes to savory vs. sweet entree at brunch? At Roxy Brunch every Saturday and Sunday, you can get both - and much more - with a diverse buffet spread that includes Belgian waffles made to order, baked ham carving station, lemon verbena scones with clotted cream and lemon curd, and smoked salmon and sturgeon. As an added bonus, you can sit back and relax to the tunes of live jazz music throughout the day.

7. Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary at Del Frisco’s Grille

Just a quick ferry or train ride away from Manhattan, Del Frisco’s Grille in Hoboken serves DIY Bloody Marys that will complement any brunch entrees. You can make between 4-6 glasses of spicy Bloody Marys with this interactive menu, which includes house-made Bloody Mary mix, Tito’s vodka, Tabasco, salt and pepper, and a plate of fixin’s (bacon, pickled okra, limes, beans, pickled peppers and celery). It’s time to get creative!

Starting the Day with a Breakfast Buffet at the Seven Square

Hotel breakfast buffets are the most overrated, pretentious place ever because they provide mediocre, unsubstantial breakfast food at ridiculously exorbitant prices. While staying at the Plaza Hotel on the night before the WingSharers Conference, I dined at the Seven Square buffet on the second floor of the hotel.

Because I woke up at 5:30am, thanks to my jet-legged friend who arrived from LA that night, we decided to just go down to get an early breakfast at 7:30am. The hours are 6:30 to 10 am, and it looked like we were one of the first customers.

We were seated by the window, but couldn't see anything outside because the sun had not risen yet. Right as we sat down, the waiter asked us for coffee or tea. After sipping on my lukewarm earl grey tea, I sought out the buffet bar.

Before taking the picture of the buffet, I customarily asked the waitress if photography was allowed. She asked the chef, and he said as long as I am not disturbing the customers, it should be fine. Since it was early enough, there weren't very many diners. Score!

It was interesting that they had a salad bar at a breakfast buffet. There were seafood salad (but it looked like shrimp was the only sea creature...), olives, tomato and fresh mozzarella, and squash!

The squash was mixed with honey glaze sauce that wasn't too overpowering and topped with pumpkin seeds. I would have been happy with just a platter of these squash. The squash was slightly overcooked--just the way I like it because it is softer to chew that way. Some pieces were way too overcooked to the point they tasted jerky, however.

The overview of the buffet. See how there is only one guest? At first I thought the buffet just wasn't popular, but by the time I left around 8:30, it was much more crowded.

Fresh fruits are very expensive in Korea. Oh, how I wish HUDS would serve something like these in the dining hall! The fruit salad was a mix of semi-sweet kiwi, refreshing Asian pears, and not so special apples. The grapes were so big and fat, while the pineapple was sweet and juicy.

The rice corner...you could make a mini bibimbop with all the vegetables and kimchi. Koreans traditionally eat heavy breakfast to start the day right.

Pastries from a European bakery called Eric Kayser. The paper underneath was stained with excess butter from the pastry. Yikes. I had a bite of that orange mini muffin. It had a hint of pumpkin spice with walnuts. A little too dry for me.

Cereal and oats on top, sugared dry fruits, and nuts & seeds. I really miss having cereal for dinner...haha

Of course I didn't eat the cheese, but I took it for the sake of Mommy because she always has some brie cheese. It also reminded me of ancient Greeks gorging on grapes, wine, and cheese.

Baguette that you can slice from the table.

Different types of sausages and other meat. My friend said they had two types of bacons as well: crispy and tender.

There were pea soup and abalones porridge in the black pot with various toppings on the side. Porridges are sort of like the Korean oatmeal.

The waffles with whipped cream, blueberry jam, and maple syrup. By far one of the worst waffles I have ever had. They were extremely dry, bland, and chalky.

The pancakes were even worse...They were crispy on the outside not from being grilled just now, but from the chalkiness.

I was amazed to see how many different ways one could cook an egg! Steamed beaten eggs on the left, boiled eggs on the right.

Scrambled eggs and poached eggs!

The chef on top cooked not only omelet-to-order, but also rice noodle-to-order. For breakfast???

From left to right are some type of grilled fish that was so dry it tasted like it was grilled for 24 hours, hashed potatoes, bacons, and egg plant gratin that looked very unhealthy. Too heavy, too early!

My first plate included squash (inevitably), fresh fruits, fried rice, poached egg, and abalone porridge. The fried rice had grilled mark from the grill and the tossed sesame seeds added a new twist to the flavor. The egg yolk in the poached egg was half cooked and the creamy yolk helped to make the otherwise dry fried rice somewhat softer. The abalone soup was bland.

The plain yogurt with melons, pineapples, and watermelon. I wished the yogurt was more sour and creamier...where is my Greek yogurt?

Although the pancake and the waffle were horrendous, the French Toast was a delight! It had the fluffiest center that dispersed and melted in your mouth. Also the blueberry sauce on top added moistness to the toast.

Steak and Salad Bar at VIPS

I can't seem to avoid buffet in Seoul because Koreans love the concept of all-you-can-eat so much. I had a late afternoon lunch with a girl whom I met during the summer through the Harvard-Ewha program. We wandered around for a place to eat and decided to go to VIPS, a steak and salad bar restaurant.

VIPS specializes in steak and all-you-can-eat salad bar. We ordered a steak to share and enjoyed the salad bar.

Vegetables are really expensive in Korea, so I was glad to see a wide variety of greens, cucumber, corns, tomatoes, celery, etc.

The make-your-own pho bar, bibimbop with roe egg, hot dog, and burrito. I was too busy checking out the items in the salad bar that I didn't attempt these two types of food.

The salad bar had lots of pre-made cold salad. I had way too much of that yellow sweet potato and squash salad. The squash wasn't sweet or mushy enough for my liking.

The persimmon in the persimmon salad at the bottom tasted a bit bland. It's interesting that Koreans make salad made primarily with fruits. The spicy Thai salad looked too red, almost as though they added red food coloring.

The black noodle pasta got its color from the squid ink. The pasta was mixed with shrimp and squid in creamy sauce. The pasta was slightly overcooked because it lacked a chewable texture.

The chicken lentil salad with green beans and tomatoes. When I took a bite of the green beans, the sauce oozed out into my mouth. The chicken was too dry.

This is one of my favorite menu--mango salad. I love that the mango is slightly frozen to preserve the cold taste. At other VIPS I have been to, they used way too much slices of almond or yogurt sauce, but I loved that this place minimized extra garnishment and focused on the mango.

The hot food corner had, from top to bottom, pepperoni pizza, French fries smothered in sweet honey sauce, and fried chicken. I only had a little bit of the French, which they named "Mega Crunch." It was pretty crunchy, indeed, and had a good combination of salty and sweet--just like Pretzel, except sweeter and crunchier.

The rice in the fried rice (with green peas, squids, mushroom) was slightly undercook.

The spicy mussel stew that I didn't try. The broth looked too...bubbly?

My very orange plate. Hey, at least I got some green and a little bit of black in there, too. I just hope my skin won't turn orange ;)

The alfredo pasta that was cooked to order wasn't as creamy or nauseating as other cream-sauce pasta because it was made with soy cream. I wish there had been sprinkles of basil or other spices on top for visual presentation because the pasta, as served, didn't look appealing. The sauce hardened rather quickly...that is the inevitable fate of cream-based pasta.

The smoked salmon and shrimp. I didn't eat these, but you can't really go wrong with the shrimpt (unless, of course, you serve really dry ones).

While enjoying the food from the salad bar, the waiter served us the ribeye steak, cooked medium. I like my steak rare, but the girl didn't like blood. It was served with a side of potatoes, tomatoes, and brocoli, as well as with sweet teriyaki-like sauce with pepper.

The steak had beautiful grill mark on the surface. We accidentally cut it non-linearly so the meat looked very jerky. But the visual is often conceiving! It was rather tender and juicy, probably because it had lots of fatty tissue throughout.

I really wanted to see the marbled steak before it was cooked. The steak was a bit too thin and fatty. We asked for it to be cooked medium, but it was closer to medium rare, which I liked because the meat wasn't too tough.

The fruit bar had pineapple, banana, lychee, and oranges.

The bakery/pastry dessert section with yogurt cake and brownies with walnuts.

The cheesecake was probably 1:1 cake and cheese cream. I didn't eat it. The brownie looked extremely dry and coarse.

I don't really understand why they named it the "yogurt cake." I assume it's because of the frosting? The vanilla cake was too dry, but the frosting was soft and a bit sour. The raspberry sauce on the side made the cake slightly more moist.

Frozen yogurt is the bane of my life. The plain yogurt flavor on the left was slightly sour and very refreshing, while the green tea flavor had an odd bitter aftertaste.

My friend made afogato (frozen yogurt with a shot of espresso). The combination of warm, bitter espresso and cold, sweet frozen yogurt goes really well together. We also brought peach-flavored jello with pomegranate and mango.

I love pomegranate because it reminds me of the Davis High XC team because we would always run to a pomegranate tree at a park and eat one after the run!