28th June 2009.
The wedding of a couple who met online via their blogs ..
It was a most splendid wedding, classy and modish. Perfectly groomed ladies & suave men, no shabby uncles or aunties in 50’s hairstyle in sight, no ah bengs nor ah lians with multi- colour hair extensions or Japanese inspired garb.
Thank God.
The wedding started promptly enough at 800pm, one can’t complain if compared to the typical Chinese weddings, where the wedded couple only make their grand entrance by 9pm!
Anyhow, the guests were all treated to tasty hors d’oeuvres and free flow of wine and drinks at the reception area outside of the ballroom, where they mingled, laughed & chatted, setting the relaxed mood for the evening ahead.
Ahhh…
Westin Hotel.
Impeccable service, fantastic food & refined setting.
Definitely a recommended venue for functions if that night was of any indication.
The curtain raiser for the night was
The Westin Combination Platter
consisting of
Sesame Marinated Fresh Seaweed and Deep Sea jelly
Coffee Cured Salmon
Soya Chicken Terrine
Peking Duck Roll
A dedicated waitress/waiter to every table, he/she serves each guest their portion for each course, as you can see from my collage.
Guests are welcome to help themselves to the surplus of the dish after the first round of serving of course.
While the jelly fish wasn’t extraordinary & the salmon didn’t taste of coffee (now, I don’t think I want my fresh salmon to taste of coffee either), it was really fresh and certainly whetted our appetite for the night.
The peking duck roll was wonderfully tender and generously plump with fillings & while the chicken terrine was tasty enough.
And as with the “modern” way of today, the shark fin soup was tactfully replaced with the Cognac Flavoured River Prawn Bisque with Shell Abalone Clam and Young Coconut
which was thick, robust & wonderfully flavourful with copious amount of clams and prawns bits.
The Warm Smoked Fragrant Duck, Braised Chinese Lotus & Plum Sauce was tender with its crisp skin sporting a beautiful mahogany glaze, and its flesh thoroughly imbued with the delectable flavour of smoky-ness.
Salted Egg yolks are great fried coated on seafood, be it crabs, squids or prawns.
The Wok Fried Prawn, Salted Egg Yolk with Roasted Pine Nuts are no exception. And kudos to the chef for the added pine nuts, for it was absolutely divine biting into the springy prawns married with the nutty flavour of crunchy pine nuts. For someone who doesn’t fancy prawns, I took second helpings.
Half-way through stuffing ourselves, entertainment came in the form of the talented groom family, where the bridegroom and family members wowed the audience with a few classical pieces of violin numbers.
Their close & best friends put up some stellar performances too; and sang passionately with voices that were way better than our local singers.
Of course, the emcee got all unmarried maidens lined up for the bouquet throwing ceremony.
I was, of course seated tightly at my seat, polishing the remainders of the sublime
Roasted Sea bass Fillet, Baby Pak Choy, in Light Green Curry Sauce.
Brilliant presentation no?
It does away for the need of cutting up the fish, picking out of bones and the resultant messy mass of fish parts.
The flesh was so so smooth and sweet, married perfectly with the light yet creamy Thai inspired sauce, which wasn’t spicy & allowed the natural freshness of the fish to shone.
Instead of the conformist dish of broccoli with mushrooms, the Oven Roasted Button mushrooms, Green Asparagus, Snail Butter Sauce was indeed a welcoming twist.
I love asparagus in any form so this was already in my favour. The earthy sweet mushrooms were very lightly roasted in olive oil allowing the “natural” taste of the mushrooms to take centre stage, which went marvellously with the accompanying rich gravy.
My attempts at cutting down on carbs went *pooof!!* the moment this was served.
Wok Fried HK Kwai Fa Noodle Carrot Beansprout and Assorted Seafood
sounded really interesting on the menu and was even more impressive in taste.
Not much of the wok-hei as the name indicates but it was so darn delicious I could eat this everyday!
The finishing dish of the night did not disappoint.
Cold Poached Lemongrass Pineapple topped with Yogurt Ice Cream was a remarkable creation.
Refreshing, light & uplifting.
Congratulations to bridgegroom + bride!
Happiest congrats to Josiah and Kim! Are they food bloggers too? I'll bet they are..the food they ordered is GLORIOUS! Not the kind of wedding food I'm used to…(that also made me HATE weddings!)
And no shabby uncles or aunties in 50's hairstyle in sight, no ah bengs nor ah lians with multi- color hair extensions or Japanese inspired garb? Hallelujah indeed! LMAO!!!!
Whoaaaa… they met online and ended up in a wedding? Woohoooo…. I'm wondering who will be the next couple? *wink* 😀
It's funny that no matter where you go in the world, weddings are always celebrated and loved in a way that no other celebration is. Still all the cheesy traditions too…throwing of boquet and a big cake.
That bok choy looks heaven sent!
Wa , so high class one ! Fantastic food & pretty women !
Just like a beautiful Hong Kong singer's party one.
Happy days are back !
What a spectacular wedding function! The food looks great!
burpandslurp: Hehehe! They are bloggers but not purely food. However, they do know their food!
selba: I was thinkin of the similarity! *wink*. No la, too soon to tell! ;p
laura: hi hi! yups, the food was goooodd! The wedding was a mix of old and new traditions..I like how they retain only the good parts of each! LOL.
food for tots: yes it was. else i wont be bloggin abt it! heheh..
wow… the food looks scrumptious! haha~ but i wasn't invited! *sobs* that's what blogs are for – at least i can eye the fooooooooooooddd…
*stomach growling*
you ah…
The internet is a great love platform, aint it, hehe! Oh yes, Westin has a good reputation where food & service is concerned – pretty consistent, they are!
looks like a classy, cozy wedding filled with close friends and relatives. lovely looking food too! hehehe will this love story be replicated soon? ;p
jadezheng: Oh.. same here la.. I only get to eye the events u go to! LOL!
thule: Yes yes, what?? ;p
PureGlutton: Yup, Westin so far been really consistent. Might go try Prego one day!
sc: hehe..if it is, you will be invited! LOL!
Hmm…I remember meeting a certain someone online as well 😉
UnkaLeong: 😉
interesting
Wonderful post! I love your blog, and am a loyal reader. I will return sunday!
Lucky u get to attend their wedding! You know it’s been a year right??