The Brunch List is our new monthly column pinpointing great brunch spots around town. Everything below is all you need to know about where to get leisurely weekend eats.

Brunch in Shanghai has come a long way. It's no longer a just choice between The Westin or Malone's. From cocktails in syringes to big English brekkies, the options these days are staggering. And rather than letting you get yourselves worked up into a frenzy just to find a decent place to relax, we've got it all sorted out for you. Every month, we're picking four. And it just so happens, there are four weekends in a month. That works out nicely, doesn't it? Without further ado, our picks for the month of June.

KABB

KABB offers a standard a la carte selection of egg-based brunch staples (eggs Benedict 95rmb, smoked salmon Benedict 105rmb, Western omelet 70rmb, etc). The food’s reliable, the service is great, it’s always busy, and the outdoor seating is beautiful, but what has us coming back are the Bloody Mary kits. For 75rmb you get a pint glass of tomato juice loaded with vodka, plus shot glasses filled with horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and a bottle of Tabasco. You build the drink as you see fit. For aficionados of the cocktail, it’s a treat, because you can tinker with it and try out different levels of pepper and spice. We recommend ordering your Bloody Mary “American Style” -- with a pint of beer on the side. They have Heineken on tap with pints for 40rmb. On those wobbly mornings when you’re still reeling from the night before, a couple of those combos will blast away your DTs.

Sat:7am-2am
Sun:7am-1am

Lei Garden

Lei Garden is one of several Hong Kong transplants that has come to Shanghai with Michelin stars in its eyes. The dim sum menu here is enormous -- almost 70 items, all exquisitely done. It's mostly the classic stuff that you know and love, like pan-fried radish cakes tossed with a touch of fried egg and topped with spicy X.O. sauce, crispy and fragrant fried durian puffs, shrimp wrapped in tofu skin, zongzi (sticky rice steamed in lotus leaf), as well as more adventurous items like galangal chicken feet or pig trotters. To go with that, you've got a list of premium teas like longjing, pu'er, and keemun. Two people can get out of here sufficiently sated for roughly 400rmb. But before you let the sticker shock set in, bear in mind that the service is great by Shanghai standards. Waiters are helpful, always willing to offer suggestions, you'll never pour your own tea, and, get this, they actually smile.

Daily: 11.30am-2.15pm, 5.30-9.30pm

Melange Oasis

Brunching with little ones can be a fraught experience in Shanghai, with highchairs as rare as hen's teeth; likely hungover, non-parent diners less than diplomatic in their disdain for your bundle of joy's romps, roams and ruckus. But Melange Oasis appears to welcome all of that with open arms. With only two items on the menu, options are a bit limited. But at 55rmb, this is a brunch bargain. The price gets you free-flow coffee and a freshly squeezed juice, plus either yogurt, muesli, fruit salad, toast and jam; or scrambled eggs, crispy bacon rashers, toast and salad. In terms of vibe, there's clearly something of a misnomer going on. On the weekends, it's hardly an "oasis." Babies and toddlers noisily enjoy pint-sized hammocks, over-sized bean bags, and child-height drawing stations. But if you're a parent, you learned to live without peace and quiet a long ago. Besides, there are plenty of pluses, like baby-changing facilities, highchairs, outdoor seating and an emphasis on healthful organics. Sans enfant? Maybe give it a miss, or hit it up on the weekdays. The menu is available then too, and there is far less pram traffic.

Mon-Thu: 9am-12pm
Fri-Sat: 9am-1pm

Hai Pai

The Andaz's Hai Pai does one of the few hotel Sunday brunch buffets in town that doesn't feel like a hotel Sunday brunch. The space is relatively small and intimate, rather than overwhelming and institutional. Add to that ample outdoor seating shaded by umbrellas and cooled off by a bubbling fountain. More importantly, food offerings are focused. Rather than those endless smorgasbords that try to please everybody and nobody at the same time, Hai Pai gives you two options: Chinese or French. On the Chinese side, you'll find all manner of Cantonese style barbecue like roast goose and crispy skin pork as well as a running selection of steamed xiaolong and chashao bao and various stir-fries. The French side -- definitely their stronger suit in our opinion -- features fresh steak tartare, mini croque madames and quiches, a carvery station, a super sinful foie terrine, and fresh pastries and sweets. And that's all just for your first course. They also throw in an a la carte menu of omeletes, lobster risottos, and a pretty tasty eggs Benedict. That's all for 288rmb+15% if you're a teetotaler. Quite a deal for an endless afternoon nosh. Add unlimited Perrier Jouet champagne it's 588rmb+15%. Drink five or six glasses and the champagne will pay for itself.

Every Sun: 11.30am-2.30pm

***

Find all of SmartShanghai's brunch listings here.