I recently attended the wedding dinner of a cousin in Conrad Centennial Hotel. The customary 8-course Chinese dinner was from Golden Peony Restaurant in the hotel. My cousin kindly arranged my full-vegetarian dinner course. As it was fine dining, with each course being served individually, I could observe and compare what the others were having in the normal 8-course dinner with my vegetarian version. I remember those days when you attended wedding dinners, if you were a vegetarian, you would be allocated to a table where all the vegetarians would sit and partake the meal, separated from your friends or loved ones having the usual non-vegetarian dinner. I am glad that those days are over, as now I could sit with my cousins.
Beautifully decorated ballroom with nice romantic touches and friendly staff with super fast service.
Let's take a look at the menu of the 8-course dinner. They did not display the vegetarian menu as I was the only one at the table having that. The below photos are for an individual portion.
First course was Happiness Platter (top bottom photo) - Suckling pig, Vietnamese spring roll, Sliced smoked duck, Chilled sea whelk in Thai sauce, and Sea jelly with XO chilli sauce.
My vegetarian version came in a nicely decorated plate; Veggie dumpling, Mock Cuttlefish, Yam ball, and Mock ham with mango slice. A pretty delectable combination.
Second course - Lobster Soup vs my what tasted like mock fish maw with enoki mushroom and black fungus. I was pretty sure the taste of the broil was similar, the taste of sharksfin soup minus the sharksfin. Dribbled with vinegar and pepper, the taste was totally alike.
Third course - Conrad Prawn Duo. The dish came with 2 prawns, one deep fried wrapped in mashed taro, sauteed with green vegetables. My vegetarian equivalent dish was what looked like mock scallops sauteed with asparagus. The 'scallops' were soft and chewy, a nice combination with the asparagus.
Fourth Course - Red Grouper steamed with superior soy sauce. My cousins told me it was very fresh. Although it was served in individual portions, they presented the head and tail of the fish on the table too, I guess it represented 有头有尾. My dish was a fried mock fish made of soy bean tossed with very appetising mango slices and Thai sauce.
Fifth Course - Baby Abalone Braised with Black Mushroom & Spinach. This was pretty standard. The vegetarian version came with Braised Black Mushroom with Broccoli. The bonus was, I got to have extra mushrooms from those who did not like them.
Sixth Course - Crispy Chicken with Crackers. This is an natural winner. My vegetarian equivalent was Braised Spinach with a mixed of ingredients and what seemed like mock sea cucumber. It was actually radish nicely braised.
Seventh Course - Mian Xian Noodles stir fried with assorted vegetables, barbecued pork and diced prawns. Mine was also Mian Xian stir fried with bean sprouts and carrots and thinly sliced capsicum. My cousin tried it and said the vegetarian version tasted better.
Eighth Course - Desserts! Sweet Yam Paste served with golden pumpkin puree and also the wedding cake - a very nice homemade 4-tier Strawberry Chiffon Cake specially made by cousin's teacher. I loved both desserts.
What an FULLfilling dinner! We were too full from the entire 8-course dinner! Plus all the red/white wine! The huge VIP table was so pretty. And by now, with so many of us, we have a big collection of the cute Conrad teddy bears.
May the couple be blessed with wedded bliss and happiness always!
The Conrad teddy bears, very cute! =)
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