Would you be happy with this meal?

posted 2 years ago in Food
  • poll: Would you have enough to eat?
    I would have something that appealed at every course : (51 votes)
    73 %
    Not for every course, but I'd have enough overall : (16 votes)
    23 %
    This needs some changes (suggestions below) : (3 votes)
    4 %

    70 votes

    • Post # 1
    Member
    1048 posts
    Bumble bee
    • Wedding: May 2019

    Hi all!

    My fiance and I live in Taiwan (he’s Taiwanese; I’m American) and we’re having our wedding here.  Our dinner will be a traditional Chinese wedding banquet, with some alterations/additions made for my Western friends and family who will come for the wedding.  I love the local cuisine and am an adventurous eater, but I want to make sure there’s enough on the menu for pople not accustomed to authentic Chinese/Taiwanese food to enjoy.  I’d really appreciate some opinions!

    There is an alternate vegetarian option for every course served at vegetarian tables, since some members of my fiance’s family are vegetarian Buddhists.  As far as I know, no one on my side is vegetarian.  Also, all the courses come with white rice and a variety of complementary vegetables.  Portions are quite small, as there are a LOT of courses!

    Cocktail hour:  A variety of dim-sum apps, including steamed dumplings, gyoza and spring rolls.  Also, a raw bar with seafood/shellfish in place of the traditional abalone course.

    First course:  Diner’s choice of roast suckling pig with hoisin sauce (traditional dish) or cubed filet mignon with garlic and bok-choi

    Second course:  Diner’s choice of deep-fried stuffed crab claws with prawns (traditional dish) or sweet and sour chicken

    Third course:  Diner’s choice of scallops with asparagus (traditional dish) or tempura vegetables

    Fourth course:  Diner’s choice of seafood soup (traditional dish) or corn soup, both served under a pastry dome.

    Fifth course:  Diner’s choice of stir fried lobster with ginger and scallions (traditional dish) or steamed turbot in a mushroom broth (traditional dish)

    Sixth course:  Diner’s choice of crispy roast squab (traditional dish) or lettuce rolls with chicken and vegetables.

    Seventh course:  Lo Mei Fun – sticky rice with Chinese sausage, mushrooms, eggs, vegetables, and scallions (the traditional final dish)

    Then we’ll have dessert, which we haven’t decided on yet.

    Do you think most people would be okay with this menu?  I don’t need everyone to love every course equally, but I do want to be sure everyone will be able to eat enough to be happy.

    Thanks for your help!

     

     

    Post # 2
    Member
    5048 posts
    Bee Keeper
    • Wedding: September 2017

    Do you have any quests with food allergies or who are vegetarian?

    The menu is appealing to me but I am not a picky eater or limited by allergies.

    Post # 3
    Member
    1048 posts
    Bumble bee
    • Wedding: May 2019

    j9marie :  Like I mentioned, there will be a totally separate vegetarian menu for every course.  My fiance has relatives who are vegetarian for religious reasons (Buddhists) and they’ll be served veggie meals prepared with cookware never used for meat.  Buddhism is a major religion here, so the venue is totally prepared for that.  I don’t know of any allergies, but we’ll have a line on the RSVP card where people can indicate any dietary issues.

    ETA:  It might be possible to also get the vegetarian course subbed in on an ad hoc basis if people don’t find a particular meat course appealing, but I’ll need to double check that.

    Post # 4
    Member
    5048 posts
    Bee Keeper
    • Wedding: September 2017

    xiexie :  Sorry, had some how missed that in your original post. I see no issue with your menu.

    Post # 5
    Member
    2867 posts
    Sugar bee
    • Wedding: November 2018

    Your menu sounds like a dreammmm! The only course that I might struggle with is the seafood vs corn soup. I’m not big on fishy soup and I am a weirdo that doesn’t like corn so I would be out on that one. Do you have any options that maybe aren’t seafood? 

    Post # 6
    Member
    1105 posts
    Bumble bee
    • Wedding: September 2018

    I would look forward to a choice from every course except one, and that’s due to an allergy. 

    Post # 7
    Member
    47190 posts
    Honey Beekeeper
    • Wedding: November 1999

    I think it is a superlative menu. I am not of the opinion that you have to cater to picky eaters when you have so many courses. If every course comes with rice and vegetables, they can eat those if there’s one item they don’t like.

    Post # 8
    Member
    1631 posts
    Bumble bee

    There is enough in there for a picky eater to satiate themselves with and it sounds delicious to me. 

    Post # 9
    Member
    2332 posts
    Buzzing bee
    • Wedding: January 2015

    Omg yum! Can I come?

    Post # 10
    Member
    4534 posts
    Honey bee
    • Wedding: November 1999

    xiexie :  sounds amazing…. Can I come?

    You have catered to those who are vegetarian, you’ve considered you guests with more western palates, you are considering any guests who are allergic to things when they notify you on RSVP cards. I think you are golden! The other thing is that you have loads of courses and if someone doesn’t find anything of interest in one course they have plenty of options before or after. 

    Post # 11
    Member
    4910 posts
    Honey bee

    xiexie :  My only concern would be food allergies. Barring that this sounds very nice and tasty! I’ve never had a 7 course meal before! 

    Post # 12
    Member
    4910 posts
    Honey bee

    The filet with bok choy sounds soo good. Mmm

    Post # 13
    Member
    146 posts
    Blushing bee
    • Wedding: March 2018

    It sounds so good I would fly to your wedding just to eat it! 

    Post # 14
    Member
    2129 posts
    Buzzing bee

    There is definitely enough on that menu that I would be more than satisfied, but I wouldn’t be able to eat any of it due to allergies. Personally I don’t think picky eaters should be bent over backwards for, maybe that’s because the picky eaters in my life are so difficult they will only eat the most basic of basic (think: chips, burgers, hot dogs without toppings, etc). But it might pay to start asking around for allergy info, because a coeliac would put a huge spanner in the works.

    My only real concern with your menu is that there is a lot of meat/seafood/deep frying going on. I love that, but 7 courses (even though they are small) would have me feeling ill and tbh I’d probably leave right after dinner to go into a food coma. If that is of any concern to you (you know your guests, I don’t) maybe offer a ‘fresh’ salad option as one of your non-traditional options? Even if it has a fresh, zingy, Chinese dressing to keep with the rest of the menu. Just a thought, anyway. Sounds delicious but heavy. 

    Post # 15
    Member
    1048 posts
    Bumble bee
    • Wedding: May 2019

    smalltownbigworld :  Unfortunately not!  The seafood soup is a traditional dish and the corn is the typical alternate.  There is a vegetable soup, but it has corn in it too.  However, the corn soup comes with some AMAZING cheddar biscuits, so maybe people who don’t like corn or seafood coud enjoy those with the rice and veggie sides!

    LOL – they actually gave me six cheddar biscuits to take home after the tasting because I would not stop raving about them!

    sweatergal007 :  The filet is incredible!  They serve it in this basket of crunchy fried potato strings and it’s just so good!  I’m going to choose that and FH is going to get the pork so we can share, since everything in that course is irresistable.

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