I’ve been to their pre-wedding dinner, become a heng tai (brother) at Wing Fei’s Chinese wedding door games, and now it’s the night of the actual dinner at Jaya Palace.
My better half and I actually went really early coz she had to do registration and I had to help her with the corsages and ang pow collection (sounds more glamorous than it is, I was little more than a glorified bodyguard at a place which didn’t really require it 
).
Seriously though, I didn’t know there was actually a “money room” at the restaurant where you count ang pows.
There’s actually a very good reason for this – bigger cities like KL has a larger element of crime, so the point is to tabulate the money quickly and pay immediately so you don’t leave with the cash. There has been robberies in the past so people just settle the bill with the ang pows on the spot. Learn something new every day.
The 9-course dinner at Jaya Palace was quite impressive:
Palace Four Season Combination Platter
There’s actually four (4) items in this classic starter despite the five (5) indentations in the platter. It came out with all the bells and whistles which is becoming standard nowadays – the dimming of the lights, the procession of waitresses etc. The sweet and sour pork was nice, as well as the fishballs flanking it. I also liked the fu chuk (beancurd skin) in the middle, but the most popular item was the baby octopus – it was yum!
Double Boiled Soup with Cordyceps Flower, Scallop & Fish Maw
I loved the large dried scallop inside. You don’t usually get ones as big as this from retail shops unless you’re willing to pay a hefty price tag. There were also two pieces of fish maw inside, a classic Cantonese double boiled soup with premium non-controversial ingredients. The broth is based on chicken, I was pleased to see it was dark meat from the thigh.
Roast Whole Suckling Pig
The best dish of the night! This is a *whole suckling pig*, but you only eat the crackling and a little bit of the meat underneath. The skin of a suckling pig is deep fried to perfection and re-arranged in the general shape of a porcine being on the plate. I picked up a piece with my chopsticks and dipped it into the plum sauce – crispy, crunchy and full of flavour. I wanted to have another but by then it was gone. Seriously, that was how good this was. I did get to eat the face of the pig though (it’s quite delicacy in my hometown, not so much here).
Steamed Estuary Grouper Fish w/ Fungus
One of my favorite fishes for steaming. I’ll order RM 22 bowls of estuary grouper fish noodles when I’m craving for some. Estuary grouper (loong tan) is a very nice fish for eating – no bones to content with and a thick layer of collagen between the skin and the flesh. Jaya Palace slightly overcooked the fish but it was still a great dish.
Pepper & Salt Fresh Prawn
The obligatory prawns after the fish dish. I didn’t get to eat this as I was walking around taking photos for the groom and although a table-mate saved one for me, I unwittingly changed my plates for the next course (each course comes with new plates) so I didn’t know what it tasted like. I would have liked prawn.
Braised Sea Cucumber with Pork Knuckles & Mushroom
Lovely! People say sea cucumber don’t have a taste of its own, it absorbs the flavour of the gravy. This is partially true, but I know people who can tell where a sea cucumber comes from (Indonesia etc) so there’s gotta be a taste element in there as well. I’m quite partial to sea cucumber and they do it very well at Jaya Palace.
Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken & Mushroom
This is lor mai gai – a rice dish to fill you up if you’re still hungry. It’s individually portioned and tasted pretty good to me although I noticed a lot of people didn’t touch theirs coz they were quite full from the previous dishes. It was also quite late at this point and one table beside us just tapau their food with them.
Special Fancy Pastries
These are nostalgia inducing edibles – I remember dessert being a foreign concept in Chinese restaurants back in the day, this was all we had. It’s sweet red bean paste encased in flaky pastry and deep fried for a satisfying and sentimental course. There was also a kuih made with the squiggly green bits you see in cendol.
Sweetened Soya Bean with Gingko & White Fungus
I liked this one too, probably coz I didn’t eat much during the previous courses. I ended up drinking more than my fair share since most of my table mates have left and it was just the 3 of us at the table. The white fungus works very well in this sweet tong sui style dessert. It’s very Cantonese to have something like this to mark the end of dinner.
Congratulations to Yee Leng and Wing Fei on their wedding! We managed to take a photo with them after everyone had left and we had settled everything. 🙂
Weddings are always the happiest affairs that could take many stressful months to prepare with a happy and memorable night for everyone. The handsome groom looked worn out, probably too much drinks! You should have guarded and drank on his behalf.
I remembered posting about the wedding dinner I attended which kept guests waiting till almost 9pm as the groom’s entourage were also counting money inside the room. Today your post confirms that my friend was short of collections and had to get his father to help. LOL
Yeah, the planning and execution took a lot of effort. 🙂
Hmm…why did your friend have to delay the wedding dinner coz he was short? The bill is only paid at the end of the night, that’s when the restaurant knows how much beer/wine/liquor has been consumed.
We paid the bill and still had some remaining cash (the point is not to leave with the entire bulk of cash as there has been robberies in the past) at the end of everything so we left after the guests.
Haha! No, the groom didn’t need anyone to drink for him – he’s a good drinker, he even had 2 additional bottles of cognac AFTER the photo was taken and most guests had left to drink with the heng tais.
Ooooo…the suckling pig! Drooling!!! Lovely group pic! Pretty in pink, eh? 😀
Yeah, that’s a really nice suckling pig! 🙂
They only serve the skin and a little bit of middle flesh so it’s so good and crispy.
The pink shirts is one of my favorite shirts, not everyone can pull pink off though. Haha.
Like STP, the suckling pig attracted me. Hehe. Drooling and drooling.
Yup, it’s really delicious! 🙂
I only had one piece, the rest of the table ate everything, it was so popular. We had the face to munch on though, the suckling pig face is also deep fried and edible.
yes, usually Chinese restaurant will have a room for counting money so that they can pay the restaurant immediately.
Hey..you being body guard is not redundant leh. Actually good to have a male there. Read in newspaper few months ago , thieves managed to steal the money deposit box from the reception while the girls were distracted by the accomplice.
Yeah, Yee Ling told me that too. 🙂
There has been a spate of robberies lately in wedding dinners, maybe coz they’re a relatively easy target and you’re sure to get away with mid 5-figures.
I didn’t know it before though, we don’t have this practise in Sibu, everything is paid in advance (at least that was how my sister’s wedding went).
Thanks Kathy!
The food looks good and expensive especially the soup, sea cucumber, estuary fish. First time I see lo mai kai served at a wedding dinner. So sayang those people who did not eat and did not tapao it. Good that you managed to take a photo with the lovely couple for remembrance.
Yeah, those are my favorite dishes! 🙂
I really loved the whole roasted suckling pig too. Yum! It’s actually quite common in Sarawak to serve lor mai kai during wedding dinners coz no rice is served so some people need the carbs.
The people who didn’t eat it were the ones who ate all the fish and prawns and pork. Haha. I think they were full dy, I didn’t even eat much at the beginning coz I was busy and I let the others at the table eat since I was a (honorary) host.