Mother’s Day is around the corner once again!

You don’t need a commercialised day to show your love for this special woman in your life, but honestly, it’s a good reminder for us to treat our mums extra nice once in a while. Make her happy – now is as good a time as any.

And if you haven’t figured out what to do to yet, don’t fret. Here are some suggestions!

For the mum who loves decadence and excess

Bring her to a nice, luxurious buffet, of course. One of the more interesting ones I’ve come across lately (and one that I REALLY want to go to myself) is the Supercharged Sunday Brunch at Oscar’s, Conrad Centennial. With a name like that, it suggests that the spread is going to be rather… super.

And from what I can see, the buffet brunch looks magnificent indeed. Picture this: delectable Boston lobsters, big juicy oysters, premium roast “London Duck”, suckling pig, and free flow champagne. Doesn’t that sound wonderfully indulgent to you?

If that gets a bit overwhelming, you can balance it out at their 4 metre-long (WHAT?!) salad bar which features fresh greens, chilled shakes and more. O. M. G. Sorry, I’m getting carried away, this is for your mothers, not me… but if your mother is like me (crazy over good food, the more the merrier), then she would totally love this!

And there are organic pastas at live stations, and soft poached organic eggs too…

Anyway, this brunch costs around S$98++ (inclusive of coffee and tea), S$118++ (free flow of sparkling wine, house wines and selected cocktails) or S$158++ per person (free flow of Laurent-Perrier Brut, NV Champagne, house wines and selected cocktails). Daniel Food Diary has a promotional tie-up with Oscars, where 1 dines free with every 3 paying adults – check out his post here!

For the mum who enjoys good traditional cuisine

One of my favourite Chinese, or more specifically, Cantonese restaurants in Singapore is Asia Grand at Odeon Towers. The food is authentic, delicious and not exorbitantly priced, and the ambience is pleasant. Many of the servers speak Cantonese, lending to the traditional feel of the place.

Their Peking duck is one of the popular items on their menu, which is brought to your table and sliced in front of you and then wrapped into pretty little rolls. It is moist, juicy and crispy, a delicious treat.

The other standout dish is their Hot and Sour Soup, which has a good balance of flavours and thickness of broth. Asia Grand Restaurant even has the stamp of approval from my mum!

Expect to spend around S$40-$50 per person, depending on what you order.

For the hip, forever young mum

To a hipster cafe, of course. But not just any cafe, bring her to a one with all the hipster trippings like industrial walls and strange stuffed creatures sitting outside as decorations – but also serves up really good food.

Symmetry is one of the cafes where I feel really puts in effort into the food and not just the coffee, with well thought out dishes on the menu. Plus, it is a cafe by day and restaurant by night, so if brunch is not really your mum’s thing, Symmetry can be a classy yet hip establishment to visit for dinner as well.

Helmed by a Le Cordon Bleu chef, their Sunday brunch menu includes delicious sounding dishes like Crab & Sweet Corn Zucchini Fritters, Pot Roast Smoked Ham Hock, Charred Miso & Ginger Marinated Mackerel and of course, their signature Big Breakfast (with the awesome berry butter! See my post on Symmetry to read about it) and more.

Expect to spend around S$40-$50 per person, depending on what you order.

For the quirky, adventurous mum

What is more adventurous than eating something you can’t see? Present mum with a fun challenge, something out of her ordinary routine, at NOX – Dine in the Dark. On 8 May, they are offering a luxurious 3-course Mother’s Day Mystery Set Lunch (S$88++). And mothers dine free with every 3 paying guests!

You and mum will also get complimentary glasses of sparkling wine, coffee/tea, and petit fours – if you manage to consume them in pitch darkness, that is… Just kidding.

I personally have tried this ‘dining in the dark’ concept, but at the Society for the Visually Handicapped and not a restaurant, and must say, it’s quite the experience. You will get a feel of heightened senses and how you suddenly rely more on your hearing, smell, touch to consume – and hopefully, enjoy – a meal.

For the mum who appreciates nature

Nestled within a nice quiet corner of our UNESCO world heritage site, The Botanic Gardens, Halia is a peaceful breezy restaurant with inspired modern Asian-European fusion cuisine that delights.

With dishes like Prawn Satay Salad with Ginger Flower Dressing and Wagyu Beef Brisket Rendang, Halia offers original dishes that aim to delight its diners.

On Sundays from 10am to 5pm, they offer a brunch menu with the usual egg offerings, as well as their Singapore-style Chilli Crab Spaghettini (S$26) – I tried this at the Raffles Hotel branch, and I must say, it is pretty darn amazing.

Another highlight is their ginger drinks, which are soothing yet full of flavour – try the Chilled Lemongrass Ginger Infusion (S$8.50) for a burst of tangy, cool refreshment.

Expect to spend around S$40-$50 per person, depending on what you order.

For something more than food

If your mum is not a foodie, or if schedules conflict and you can’t have a meal together on Sunday, why not send her a surprise bouquet of flowers?

And you don’t have to spend a bomb to do so too!

I came across Floral Garage one day while searching online for flowers to buy for a friend, and really liked their ‘Freestyle Bouquet’ service, which helps you to customise a creative, beautiful bouquet based on a description which you provide them, for example – ‘a sweet 20 year old girl who likes pink’. Their prices are also pretty reasonable.

The kind folks at Floral Garage are offering a free Freestyle Bouquet with local delivery (U.P. S$34.90, plus delivery fees of S$15-S$30) for one of you lucky IngredientsofHappiness readers to present to mum this Sunday.

Follow this link here to our Facebook page to take part in this simple online contest.

If you prefer to buy a different design or wish to have it sent earlier, do visit Floral Garage’s website to check out their range of flowers – as prices go up tomorrow onwards. Use my discount code: Michelle10 to get 10% off all flowers 🙂

Whatever it is you decide to do, whether you’re treating her to something luxurious, on a budget or can’t be physically present, I believe Mum will appreciate any gesture of love from you – even if its just extra hugs and kisses on this day.

So good luck, and Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers out there!