11 photos from Wing Fei’s pre-wedding dinner

Mobile Canopy

It is customary for some Cantonese families to have a pre-wedding dinner at the groom’s side. This is done one (1) day before the actual wedding dinner banquet. Wing Fei’s pre-wedding dinner had 6+1 outdoor canopies equipped with fans and lights (the +1 is the mobile kitchen) and it’s quite common over here in West Malaysia. I’ve been to one in Tangkak, Johor 4 years ago too.

Residential Wedding Canopy

This dinner buffet had 24 tables in total. It actually spans from two of their houses and blocks the (public) street and 18 houses but it’s generally accepted and you don’t need a permit to do this. It’s based on the understanding of neighbors.

Buffet

Buffet spread. The food is replenished from the…

Mobile Chef

…mobile kitchen at the back with the chef pumping out platter after platter of chow.

Tiger Prawns

The most in-demand item is the fried tiger prawns. πŸ˜€

Desserts

They had lots of desserts like watermelon and cempedak as well as jellies for kids and the young at heart.

Plate Of Food

My plate of food.

Jelly Watermelon

I also had several helpings of the Jello desserts.

Canada Auntie

Here’s a photo with the aunties of the groom. One of them came back from Canada!

Chinese Wedding Bed

The traditional Chinese wedding bed. The items here are to be brought over to the bride’s house the next day. You can’t sleep on it the night before and there’s a custom where you get 1 boy and 1 girl to jump on the bed to kickstart the family, so to speak. smirk

Pilot Uniform

I was given a pilot’s uniform by Wing Fei (the groom) as part of his heng tai entourage the next day. It was a lot of fun! πŸ™‚

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16 thoughts on “11 photos from Wing Fei’s pre-wedding dinner”

  1. Lovely! Such traditions must be preserved, it’s our identity, our heritage. I would frown at the more “modern” trendier practices – quite unheard of in the past…or maybe, they were not in the Foochow community. These may vary between the dialects I wouldn’t know – we never had those. Love the look of the prawns – curry looks good too.

    Reply
    • Yeah, it’s quite a revelation! πŸ™‚

      There was a “Master of Etiquette/Customs” they hired for the day, she said some very interesting stuff. The food was pretty good too. I think the heng tai/ji mui practise is from Cantonese (especially Hong Kong) culture and this family is Cantonese so that’s where it comes from. Cheers!

      Reply
    • Yup, it was a lot of fun! πŸ™‚

      The ji mui were dressed in purple (I think – need to check the photos) but they’re not stewardess. I think there’s a reason behind the pilot uniforms too, I know one of the wedding photos was taken by the groom in a captain uniform. He knew I didn’t get to do this (become a heng tai) much so he invited me to.

      Thanks to Wing Fei for the experience!

      Reply
    • Thanks mate! πŸ™‚

      Yeah, I don’t get to do stuff like this (become a heng tai) much coz I went abroad to study at a relatively young age – I was only 15 when I went to Christchurch, New Zealand to do my high school and ended up in Australia after. Thus, all my friends are all over the world, one good thing about studying local is that your friends are all here.

      Reply
    • I didn’t even notice that! πŸ™‚

      You can become a sarong Taliban dy bro. Haha! That photo wasn’t taken by me (coz I was in it, obviously) – forgot who actually took it. I write very fast but I don’t do pictures fast so it takes me a lot of time. I had a friend setup Photoshop Actions for me so it automatically resizes all the photos I have open but I don’t do anything else e.g. sharpen, crop, color, tone, vibrancy etc.

      I’m not a huge fan of all that post-production work, partly coz I’m not good at it.

      Reply
  2. Saw your photo in fb. You look smart in the uniform. πŸ™‚

    Love all the dishes. What a feast. The only Chinese feast I have where the cook and staff cook next to you was in my grandparents’ after funeral dinner. Mostly done in rural areas.

    Reply
    • Thanks Rose! πŸ™‚

      Yeah, the food was good. I liked the food at the bride’s place and the night restaurant too.

      Interesting! I didn’t know people cooked during funerals. Good to know.

      Reply
  3. I had the hen’s night dinner the night before my wedding, my mum cooked a few simple dishes and I invited a few close friends, that’s all.. I did not have that customary stuffs on the bed the night before, hehe.. No kids jumping on the bed too on the actual day.. Your “Triumph In The Skies” uniform very yau ying leh, hehe..

    Reply
    • That’s a very different hen’s night from the ones nowadays! πŸ™‚

      It’s good.

      Nowadays, hen’s nights (or buck/stag nights) can be very Adults Only, it used to be a European/US culture, which somehow got over here. I’ve seen some people during their hen’s nights out and it was quite wild. I think it defeats the purpose of the wedding, personally I won’t have a stag night (not the kind you see in Hollywood movies anyway).

      Reply
  4. Wow! Pilot Huai Bin must be very handsome and dashing looking like Top Gun’s.
    I salute those who observe all the traditions for weddings. I was sad that some newer generations do not even invite all the relatives these days.

    Reply
    • Thanks mate! πŸ™‚

      Yeah, it’s a lot different nowadays, especially for the younger generation. The weddings are getting smaller and personally I’m not for or against it, whatever makes the couple happy.

      Reply
  5. That’s common in West Malaysia. We just need to informed our neighbours as well as invite them over. My bachelor night also like that but of course not so many tables la.We had a buffet.

    Reply
    • Yeah, that’s one good thing about West Malaysia! πŸ™‚

      I see a lot of hen and stag/buck nights in KL nowadays are becoming more European/US-centric. It’s like what Hollywood promotes, the strippers and heavy drinking and all that.

      It’s against my culture, and I’m not going to do something like that coz it’s disrespectful to the person I’m going to be spending the rest of my life with.

      Reply

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