Chariot of Fire
That is the first dish that came out, complete with a rather dramatic presentation. It’s visually appealing and delicious to boot. You just can’t argue with lobster…and scallops…and abalone…well, you get the idea. Heh.
Anyway, I was at Jisan and Kwan Yeow’s wedding which occupied a couple of ballrooms at the 15th floor of Sunway Resort Hotel. I’ve been there for the second time in as many weeks. The cocktail reception was at 6 pm but I only managed to get there slightly past 7 pm – and even then, I had to rush from church.
I didn’t realize that my face was sunburnt and peeling too – been swimming a lot lately but it’s always at night so how I got that is a mystery…but it’s not my wedding so here’s one of the best themed weddings I had the pleasure to attend this year.
The wedding invitation came in an old school record (as LPs – the CDs before cassettes). Dress code is Retro Glam but I decided to wear the bespoke suit (new word from Shah) that I got in Phuket, during the Club Med Phuket trip that Jisan took us on.
The cocktail reception area had wine, beer and a variety of sodas. I haven’t had much to eat so I went with the latter.
There’s also a cotton candy stand (that really works!) and a woman twisting balloons for kids (and kids at heart). It’s a precursor to what lies inside.
When the doors to the ballroom opened I don’t think anyone went straight to their seats – there’s just too much to absorb at once!
There’s a place for you to write well wishes to the bride and groom on a record (the very same one that came in the wedding invite but with different words) and clip it using a tiny red wooden peg.
Next to it is a kiosk called Pop Drinks which had mini soda bottles as well as Tora and Ding Dang!
I heard a lot of entranced mutterings – these are the toy boxes we played with as kids! I was heartened when someone told me to help myself and I got a box. Heh.
I guess everything changes over time – Tora is now filled with individually wrapped candy instead of the chocolate balls that all 80’s babies remember (I barely scrape by – born in 1981). There’s also the stuff that you can blow into balloons – exactly the same brand as the ones I played with during primary school.
Sweet nostalgia.
There’s also marshmallows (which were fluffy and delicious – ruined a bit of my appetite, this jar), rock candy and lollipops which you can indulge in at Candy Bites while waiting for the photo booth.
Now, this photo wall is something that’s worth a bit of your time lining up for. There’s plenty of vintage items like scooters and props for you to fluff up before taking a shot.
Each item has a story behind it. This luggage bag is exactly the same one Jisan’s mom used when she studied in Australia way back in the days.
It even has Qantas tags still on it!
We took a group photo here – there’s two photo booths actually.
You can also opt for their photographer to take a photo of you, which gets printed out instantly to the side. There’s a copy for you to take back and even an envelope to keep it in.
It’s little touches like this that elevates a standard wedding into something really quite memorable!
I like how the theme is consistent too – it’s always been a theatre production starring Jisan and Kwan Yeow – the movies of the ROM (Registration of Marriage) and the hilarious slides with speech bubbles of their childhood to adult photos inter-spaced throughout the banquet dishes makes it into a cohesive theme.
(BTW, her name is actually spelled Ji San, I just concatenate the two words into one coz that’s how I was introduced when we met each other years ago while working at different agencies in the same building on the same account – long story, I digress)
Back to the banquet, it must seem like a copywriter wrote the names of the dishes coz it was really fanciful and we were trying to work out what the dishes actually were. Heh.
One side has the beverages list and says:
Wine + Hard Liquor + Beer + Soft Drinks + Chinese Tea
…which was easy enough to decipher. No mystery there – I kept to my 3 drink limit (of whisky) which Aza had a hard time believing (most of the people I know here knew me when I was very much the raging alcoholic). The food menu is where it gets interesting.
Chariot of Fire
This is a wonderful dish which actually deserves its name – there’s even a complicated rein made of links of carrots that’s a work of art in its own right. There’s also a dragon fruit that’s hollowed out and inserted with a candle precariously balanced on the tip. The traditional first dish at a Chinese banquet, this one is full of premium items – lobster chunks, juicy scallops, slices of abalone and a fruit salad with sunflower seeds.
Combination of Love and Blessings
Dried scallops, shiitake mushrooms, kampong (free range) chicken, ginseng and fish maw double boiled into a wonderful clear soup. It seems to be the trend to go this route instead of the traditional shark’s fin soup which gets some PETA/Greenpeace types all worked up and I think it’s a good thing. It tastes even better and it’s good to have a nice double boiled Cantonese clear soup for a change.
Ocean of Love and Passion
This is an entire fish and my favorite dish in wedding banquets. I just love fish cooked in this way – simple, with soy sauce and lots of spring onions on top. It’s delicious, usually my favorite dish but Jisan’s first dish just takes the cake – it blew everything else away. I refer to everything as Jisan coz you know how there’s always a “groom’s side” and a “bride’s side”? I only know the bride and was introduced to the groom today. 🙂
Hearts United in Love
Medallions of tender de-boned chicken served with a sweet and spicy sauce and a side of crackers folded like warm bread. The crackers are warm and meant to be eaten with the chicken medallions like so:
It tastes good but I was really full at this point so I really can’t comment. I was stuffed silly by the good food.
Romance and Bloom
A dish of flavorful Shiitake mushrooms pregnant with juices that practically bursts in your mouth combined with fu chok (a soy bean byproduct). You know how I feel about soy products but the mushrooms were awesome! I had several with the broccoli even though I was so full at this point I had to loosen my belt.
The carved dragon is made of flour. Our table had got into the discussion of what it was made of and I took the head up – it’s really heavy – and tried to get a piece off (salty).
Unity and Commitment
This is a package of glutinous rice mixed with spring onions, salted egg, lap cheong (waxed sausage) and various other goodies in a wrapped leaf. I found myself eating more and more of it despite being full several dishes back. It’s really good and the presentation of every dish is impeccable – either with nice plating or individually served like this one…
…with a thoughtful orchid by the side of the plate.
The menu also had an aside that went: Stay tuned for the Celebration of Love “The Sweetness of Marriage”
It is a veritable buffet of desserts!
A smorgasbord of delights sure to please anyone with a sweet tooth.
Again, I found myself overeating but I couldn’t resist the strawberry mousse and the creamy chocolates.
I really liked how they did the traditional yum seng (toast to the couple) in one half of the ballroom. The wedding reception has tables on one side and the other side can be made into anything, depending on the occasion.
Jisan and Kwan Yeow got everyone to wear the sunglasses provided as a wedding favor on each table and get to the side to toast the bride and groom. See what I mean by a consistent theme from the movie style invites to the sunnies?
I really enjoyed myself at the wedding – it was a lot of fun I met a lot of old friends too.
My warmest regards to the newly-weds Chan Ji San and Teh Kwan Yeow!
I managed to get a photo with Jisan, the new Mrs Teh, too!
It was a great evening and I wish you both matrimonial bliss and happy endings! Congratulations Mr and Mrs Teh! 🙂
omg you have so many pictures I couldn’t load them all before several times. it looks very grand. how many tables were there? it seem like a huge wedding. my congrats to the couple too! (:
Hello Lisa! 🙂
Yeah, I put up more photos than usual coz I didn’t have to edit them. Heh. I used the camera to do filters instead and that turned out alright so all I needed to do was to resize.
It was a lot of fun! I think there were easily more than 500+ people there coz there’s over 55 tables, that I could remember at least. Very large and festive wedding.
Cheers! 😀
Congrats to your friends! That certainly was a posh wedding reception, Sunway Resort no less. Seems to be catching on, this drinks and stuff in the foyer prior to the reception proper but usually they just have cocktails and drinks – this one is really elaborate. Ideal for places like KL, I guess…where a 7 o’ clock dinner will not start till 9 or so….so the early birds can keep themselves occupied and have lots of fun.
Food looks good. The 1st dish certainly had and exquisite presentation but I wish they had used a smaller plate or something else, a bamboo tray or basket perhaps for that dragon fruit. Reminds me of coffee shops where they have too much to carry so they just dump the plates overlapping like that.
The chicken looks good – interesting combination, eaten with crackers like that. Brings to mind the roast chicken dish here in the old days….with all the keropok around it. Kids used to dive in for the keropok right away, not surprised.
Whole thing must have cost a bomb…and the ultimate million-dollar question – your turn, Huai Bin? When? Muahahahahaha!!!!
I’m sure he will answer the million dollar question when he’s found his perfect lady.
Am I right, HB?
Heh! It’s a bit tricky to be marrying anyone when I haven’t found anyone yet. 😉
Well, as my dad always says, there’s no such thing as a perfect person, just the person that’s perfect for/to you.
I’ve passed up a couple of chances back in my younger days but yeah, now I’m just going to take it slow and see how it goes.
Thanks Ciana! 🙂
Cheers buddy! 🙂
Yeah, a lot of weddings have cocktail receptions before the dinner proper – at least the recent ones that I’ve been to. I guess it gives people a chance to mingle around before the wedding dinner.
I loved the first dish, especially the lobster chunks! It wasn’t a small plate balanced on the front, perhaps precariously is the wrong word to use. Haha.
It was actually fused with it so there’s no danger of it toppling over. I think it’s custom built or at least stuck there for that dish.
Yeah, I really liked the chicken medallions too – described to me, it’s like they make it all out of tender dark meat (thighs, drumsticks) instead of everything and I at first thought it was cross-sections of the latter, deboned.
Haha! Yeah I remember that dish as a kid during wedding dinners where the keropok is all we’ll eat.
My turn? I don’t think it’s going to be anytime soon buddy.
I’m not even seeing anyone currently. Heh.
Cheers, my friend and happy birthday! 😀
Thanks, Huai Bin… Cheers!
Hope you had a great birthday buddy! 🙂
Why is everyone wearing sunglasses?
Oh! Those are wedding favors that were on the table where we were seated. 🙂
There were individually wrapped plastic sunnies on each seating which we put on for the yum seng session – all part of the theme.
I think the idea of dividing the ballroom into two so that one side can have the tables and the other being modular – for the booths at first, to the yum seng session to the desserts where everything is setup there is a great idea.
Cheers mate! 🙂
Gosh so special! I’ve never been to any themed wedding before!
I’d love to have a wedding like this *dreaming*
Yeah, it was a lot of fun!
Well, if you want the contact of their wedding planner, I can ask them for you. 🙂
I like how the theme was cohesive throughout from the invitation to the event itself – the sunnies on everyone’s table (paparazzi/celebrity nod there?) and the bright bulb lights like a star’s dressing table on the photo booths.
Nice touches!
Cheers Charmaine! 🙂
That’s a very interesting wedding! I’ve been to several themed wedding but none as well-planned and executed as this! Ding Dang! Wow!
Lol at bespoke.. When Shah first used that word, I don’t even know what that is! I still don’t know NOW! >_<
Indeed, it was rather well executed, I thought.
I liked all the little touches they put in – made it all very festive. 🙂
Haha! A bespoke suit means a tailored suit. I got that one done in Phuket during the Club Med Phuket trip with Jisan so I thought it was appropriate to wear it then.
Yeah! We had a lot fun of thinking back to the days of Ding Dang and Tora at our table! The latter came as I was a bit older though so I was more familiar with Ding Dang, especially their commercials between cartoons and how it changes every week.
Tora now has sweets instead of chocolate balls! It has changed quite a bit since our days.
Cheers Merryn! 😀
This is one of the most posh wedding I have ever seen… the display.. the old exhibits of my days.. hahaha.. and of course the FOOD!! oh gosh.. this must be a Very costly wedding.. I am really outdated.. i guess nowadays the weddings are mostly in the hands of the planner… Well done job!
Lastly and not least, Congratulations to the lovely couple!
Hello Reana! 🙂
Yeah, it’s very well executed eh? I was very impressed with it too! It was great to see all of the memories of childhood come back to life. 🙂
Indeed, I think a lot of weddings use wedding planners nowadays. In fact, two of my friends are wedding planners!
Yup, the food was really good too, I’m hungry thinking about those lobster chunks. Heh.
Thanks Reana! 😀
Great coverage! I was there til Ji San marched in the hall. Would have introduce myself if I saw and recognise you 🙂 cheers
J
Hello there Jon! 🙂
Oh, too bad we missed each other!
No worries, there’s always a next time. Hope to catch up with you then!
Cheers mate!
Very nice themed wedding. This certainly will bring back a lot of good old memories. Ding Dang is still in the market now?
Yeah, indeed, it was a good trip down memory lane. Heh.
Hmm…good question, I don’t know if Ding Dang is still in the market. I would imagine so since they got a hold of it.
I guess it’s usually sold near schools and such places.
That’s where I got them during my childhood anyway – mobile (literally, on a motorcycle) kiosks or temporary ones set up next to school.
Cheers buddy! 🙂
Drool drool! The close up of the chicken on the cracker is food porn! Any idea what cuisine it is? Chicken served with crackers, now is it Malay, Chinese, Nyonya??
Haha! Yeah, that is a magnificent work, that piece of chicken medallion. It tastes like dark meat e.g. a slice straight off a drumstick but it’s not.
It’s chicken meat made into medallions and tenderized so it just seems that way.
I love dark meat, it’s the only parts of the chicken I like (thigh, drums etc) – I’m not really a white meat person (breasts) – need a bit of fat in the meat.
Hmm…that’s a good question. I would guess fusion Chinese? Heh.
Or maybe it’s a Chinese dish that I don’t know about.
Cheers mate! 🙂
wow that’s a very huge venue, grand wedding it is! 🙂 congrats to both of them
Yeah, it’s a really huge wedding venue! 🙂
I was just at the Sunway Resort Hotel the week before, went to this ballroom by mistake – the 15th floor ones is the largest.
It was good too – met lots of people I haven’t seen in a while and caught up with them.
I really liked the concept of the wedding with all the booths and such to entertain guests before the dinner proper. Nicely done!
Cheers Fish! 😀
Such a lovely set up for a wedding dinner. Memorable and fun. Different from the usual works.
Yeah, it was a really nice wedding! 🙂
I enjoyed being there, it was a lot of fun, a lot more interactive than the usual wedding.
It was very different indeed – a breath of fresh air into the usual wedding banquets.
I like the theme and the booths are setup to be more like a carnival where everyone celebrates *with* the couple.
Good food too, especially the lobster. 😉
Cheers!
ooh i forgot that you know Ji San. I only know kwan yeow’s brother. heheh… nice wedding and i must say your bespoke suit looks really good on you!
Yeah, we used to work in the same building and went out for lunch a couple of times even though we’re from different agencies.
Haha! Thanks, I had that done in Phuket during the Club Med trip, it was a lot of fun. I like how it fits on me, though off the shelf stuff can as well, a bespoke one does indeed fit better.
Yup, it was a very nice wedding indeed. Very different – I love the concept of entertainment via booths and the printing of immediate photos for guests to bring back, it’s like we’re celebrating with the couple. 🙂