As the wedding bells are soon to ring, we are trying to check off as many to-dos' on our list, one of them which is to get our banquet food tasted. Most banquet venues offer food tasting as part of the package. This process is more important than you think, don't think of it as a free meal for 6-10 people. Think of it as a responsibility as guests will be eating the food on the actual day, so it is one of your duties to make sure that the food is up to standard. After all, Singaporeans love to eat, and after all, you don't want to serve subpar food.
Here are some general tips for your food tasting session: Take photos of the presentation. Evaluate the food. Take notes. Feedback to the chef/coordinator. Ask questions. Finalise.
It's not the first time our family met each other, and we really thank God that everyone got along pretty well and had a great time chatting over dinner. Although the actual venue was at the main ballroom at Fullerton Hotel, the food tasting was hosted at Jade Restaurant - a really exquisite and cosy Cantonese restaurant which has been operating at Fullerton for almost a decade. It is helmed by the hotel's executive chef, Chef Leong Chee Yeng, who is also the in-charge for our wedding menu.
1st dish: Appetiser - Hot and Cold Combination
Surprisingly, the standards set by the appetiser were really high. The combination was nothing like the usual fare that the other restaurants or hotels are doing for weddings. Out of the five, I would say the Tea-smoked Beancurd Carrot Roll was the bomb. Despite its normal "popiah" look, the taste was pretty extraordinary.
2nd dish: Soup
We had troubles deciding whether to go with the Braised Four Treasures in Chicken Consomme or the Braised Crabmeat and Fish Maw in Superior Stock so we requested to try both. For couples getting married, you may want to check with your banquet venue if they are able to do half-and-half for food tasting. Although we like the former, the seniors preferred the latter, and so... we chose the latter. This shows you that a wedding is an affair that goes beyond two parties (not complaining btw).
3rd dish: Prawns
Also known as the Drunken Prawns which did not get drunk enough. The flavours of the wine was faint while the herbs were overpowering. We requested to have more hua diao wine added during the actual day so we are praying for the best.
4th dish: Fish
We had high expectations, yet the Steamed Sea Grouper was the most disappointing out of all. The fish was tough. It doesn't matter how superior the soya sauce is, the fish seems like it has been gymming for the last six months before involuntarily offering itself as a sacrifice for our greater cause. We feedbacked, and Chef Leong explained to us with a little story with the supplier. I reckon we should pray at least thrice as hard for this dish.
5th dish: Vegetables
For the veggies, we went for Siu Pak Choy with Bai Ling Mushrooms (which looks like abalone, but it's not), and with fish maw again. That was the reason why we chose the chicken consomme, but was over-ruled. However, the fish maw was tough - although not as tough as the fish. We requested to have it braised longer so we are hoping for the best.
6th dish: Meat
After attending so, so many weddings with roasted chicken (the one served with salt), we were like - definitely not going with that. We are delighted to find that they have well, other choices. The Deep-Fried Pork Rib in Coffee Sauce was brilliant, the meat was packed with flavours with its nice crusty exterior. Definitely one of the favourites.
7th dish: Carbohydrates
What we thought as a normal fried rice turned out to be a nice surprise. It's fragrant like its name implies, and was packed with shrimps and chicken floss. Despite being stuffed with all the food, most of us managed to wipe this baby cleaned.
8th dish: Desserts
Hot Cream of Chestnut was a nice finish to a great start. Besides the hot cream, we were served two samples of their signature Manjari Cake as well. There's no doubt that the chocolate cake was near perfect, but not everyone might be a fan.