Scrumptious Wedding Dinner

I finally got the pictures to a wedding dinner I attended last month. It was J's good friend's wedding and the lovely couple had hosted a dinner in his hometown, good ol' lil' Muar! It was catered by my dad's friend's restaurant and I have to say, was one of the most elaborate and scrumptious wedding dinners I had ever eaten! Enjoy the pictures!

1st Course - A beautifully plated lobster.

What a grand entrance it was and the lobster on each table created quite a stir! The lobster pieces were steamed then mixed with a fruit and mayo dressing before they were placed back into the shell. The shell was surrounded by lovely siew mai (I think!) filled with chunks of pork and prawn, and some pink prawn dumplings.

2nd course - Sharks Fin Soup

Despite the recent controversy about sharks fin soup, lots of people still serve this costly Chinese delicacy at wedding dinners. And this were real good sharks fins! They call it pao chi (in Hokkien) which basically means that the fins are in pieces as opposed to slivers. This ensures that it doesn't break apart in the soup when stirred and each diner is assured of a generous helping of large pieces of fin in their bowls.

3rd course - Steamed pomfret

The quintessential fish course was a steamed large white pomfret, generously covered with mushrooms, lettuce and tomatoes. This style of steaming is called Teochew steaming and uses preserved plums to give it a tangy, salty and light broth.

4th course - Suckling pig

This restaurant is famous for their suckling pig and has been featured in Singapore foodie programmes before. Singaporeans come in droves on weekends just to eat his well-seasoned and beautifully roasted suckling pig. This was a whole piglet with a lovely crisp skin. I don't really eat suckling pig but I really love the papaya and cucumber pickles surrounding it!

5th course - Stewed Goose Web

This is another expensive Chinese delicacy - Stewed goose webbed feet. This was my first time trying it. It was rather interesting, a little like stewed chicken feet although I found it quite hard to eat politely and delicately with all those bones! Not quite formal dinner fare!

6th course - Ying and Yang Prawns

These were prawns done two ways - 1 side was butter prawns and the other salad prawns. This restaurant does pretty good salad prawns. He fries the prawns before mixing them with a light, tangy mayo and pineapple salad. It's crunchy and creamy - yummy!

7th course - Braised Sea Cucumber

Yet another Chinese delicacy! This was sea cucumber which had been cut into pieces, stuffed with minced pork then braised in a fragrant sauce. It was nice! Sea cucumber doesn't have much taste of its own and absorbs the flavour from the braising sauce. It was a little crunchy which contrasted nicely with the soft pork.

8th course - Or-Nee

Ah, the final course! Chinese generally have 8 courses for wedding dinners as the number 8 signifies prosperity for the happy couple. Or-Nee is a traditional Teochew dessert made out of mashed yams, slices of pumpkin, gingko nuts, red dates and drizzled with a thick, super-sweet syrup. It was really too sweet for me. I think the yam is cooked with lard to give it the smoothness and fragrance. A high caloric dessert!

I asked Dad what the significance of this dish was as the groom's family weren't Teochews and he said it was probably to symbolise a sweet marriage which lasts forever (hence the stickiness of the dessert!). Chinese food...it's all about symbolism!

It was definitely a wedding dinner to remember, thanks to the lovely couple!