Somewhere between carrying a baby in their womb for nine months and having enhanced neurons (activity in the amygdala is correlated with one’s strong feelings to her baby’s needs) lies a mom’s new-found ability to hide disappointment. Red-streaked report cards get a carefully concealed sigh. An arrest by the authorities is hidden behind a pair of sunglasses in the wee hours of the morning.

Perhaps a bigger effort to celebrate one’s goddess on Mother’s Day is imperative — thanks to one’s daily chants or the phone calendar, 9 May 2021 is the date to save. Skip settling for droopy, drab floral arrangements in a panic. Forget the handmade card hastily scrawled on with a tool grabbed carelessly from the table. The real thrill and deal lies at LAVO Italian Restaurant & Rooftop Bar with the Mother’s Day edition of its famed Sunday Champagne Brunch.

—

Timed between 12p.m. to 3p.m. ($188++ per person with alcohol beverages and $88 sans; children get to attend at $38++ per head), the LAVO Mother’s Day Special is as convivial as it is celebratory. Mother dearest deserves to have her Jonathan Allaert Mother’s Day-themed pastries with free-flow Veuve Clicquot champagne, Peroni beer and cocktails. The wise sage of dietary decisions, she is also more concerned with what one has on his plates.

Fall-off-the-bone tender ossobuco served with zesty gremolata sauce; the cheery yellow shade of Risotto Milanese mimicking the happy hue bubbling in her champagne glass or even a plate of Vitello Tonnato — the Piedmontese dish of cold, sliced veal served atop a slice of sourdough bread and salty fried capers. Finally, wash them all down with a glass of Peroni beer, the bitter-crisp lager cutting through the richness of the dish.

—

Mother is going to want to make a toast to her son for getting Mother’s Day right this month but pay heed to the look she exudes — a fleeting moment when her eyes crinkle softly in happiness. A small price to pay for a mother’s abounding joy.

This story about the LAVO Mother’s Day Special first appeared in our May 2021 issue.