Wedding Review - Qian Xi Lou @ Paya Lebar

I've always wanted to write on wedding dinners that I attend. It is good to find that most of the restaurants/hotels in SG offer vegetarian options for guests. I guess this was some concern for some people as we do not know if they do offer and I've heard of fellow vegetarian friends turning down invitations when they hear its not from a real veg. place. As per my understanding, most chinese places understand the term "Vegetarian" and will usually prepare the food separately. Hence, strict vegetarians need not worry about this. I've created a new Label under "Veg Wedding Dinner" so that you can prep yourself should you be going these places some day.

This year seems to be a mad rush for people as I've got a total of 7 invitations to date! For us Chinese, the best month to get married is the 8th Month of the lunar calendar. This was a wedding lunch I've just attended.

The Lunch Menu~

In a typical setting, lunch or dinner, a full course usually comprises of 8 mains and 1 dessert.

Cold Dish

Cold Dish usually comprises of 5-6 small bites like the above. At Qian Xi Lou, we had mini spring rolls, Taro Samosa, Taro Roll, Ba Kwa, Seaweed Roll and Taro Wu Xiang. Aint too bad if you do not mind eating Taro (aka Yam). However, what I did not really like about it is that most of these dishes are deep fried. It is therefore recommended to drink chinese tea to remove some excess oil.

Shark's Fin

Usually after the 1st dish, we will be served with shark's fin or soups. The veg version of shark's fin comprises of mainly mushrooms and enoki mushrooms. The "shark's Fins" here are actually Tang Hun (glass noodles). Aint too bad as the "soup" is stewed for some time and has a strong mushrom aroma. Some places use the Konnyaku jelly Stripes in replacement.

Cereal Prawns

I love the cereal here, frangrantly pan-fried and added with sugar for the sweet after-taste! However, it would have been better if the prawns are fried in batter.

Fish in Sauce

This was my fav. dish of the day. The Fish is made of tau kee (豆支) and the fried. Lastly Served with Veg. Oyster sauce. I like the texture as it is chewy. Definitely differnt from the real one. Tasted like Bai Ye Tofu.

Monkeyhead Mushroom

I've always like monkeyhead mushrooms as it is a really difficult dish to cook well. So far i think only Lingzhi is done the perfect job. The moneyhead mushroom has to be soaked before marinating and fried, then to cook into sauce. Sadly, the chef was not able to deliver this dish. The mushrooms were way too hard.

Yam Ring

Just as I thought we had enough of Yam (from the first dish), we were served with this Yam Ring. It is deep fried and then served with some mixed veg in the middle. Not too bad as the yam was crispy on the outside, and really soft inside, but I did not fancy the mixed veg in the middle.

Abalone & Mushrooms with Spinach

Was sharing with my mum the chef had an easy way out as most of the dishes uses the same sauce! Spinach was not fresh as I had a hard time chewing it. The mushrooms are of good quality!

Braised Noodles

Normal thin noodles cooked with lots of mushrooms and carrots. A little salty.

The Dessert - Yam Paste (Or Nee)

Again its yam! This dessert is a very common and popular Teochew dish and most people would use this as dessert as it is very difficult to make it well. First you heve got to steam the Yam, mash then fry with "lard" till fragrant. Of cos, the veg version omits lard! it is then served with Ginko Nuts and Coconut Milk. A really sinful and fattening dessert. The texture here was really well done. Very smooth but a little too sweet for me perhaps due to the rich coconut milk.

Noted that I did not include any price, as it has been "included" in the red packet you provide. Most places for such vegetarian set would have cost Between 600 to 800 bucks.

Location: Katong Complex (Paya Lebar), 4th Floor