Review: Di Wei, Empire Hotel

My cousin from my mother's side got hitched last year and invited the family over to his wedding dinner. Technically, only my sister is close to them while my parents do make the occasional visits to the cousin during the festive season. Me? Um.... I suppose I got invited by connection like everything else :(

Finally got a chance to get all made up and dressed up. These days, I don't make the effort to dress up nicely when I go out. Eh, what for when I am going out alone? fml. Wearing this dress for the first time, it took me some starving and tights to fit nicely into it. Well, the mental image is uncalled for but I am sure your mind could conjure up something else to override it. Do you think I look nice in it? Actually, I don't care. Screw your opinion especially if it is along the lines of I don't look remotely nice in it because I think I rocked the dress.

The dessert table came with lots of cupcakes and cookies and fruit tarts. They all look too nice to be eaten. Were they or not? I mean they are edible, after all. Would be such a waste not to enjoy them but at the same time, the wedding planner/decorator probably took the time to come up with this display and to eat it would be ruining it.

End of the day, I took some to eat because people were also eating them anyway and I was mighty hungry. The cupcake (on the left) was a nice carrot cupcake, a good deviation from the usual boring standard plain butter cupcake. Unfortunately, the icing was a little too greasy tasting for my liking.
Fruit tart was just so-so.

The couple dated for a couple of years before settling down. He is in his mid 30s if not mistaken. I am already 32. A cat seems like a good idea for companionship. If only it doesn't shed so much. Or cost of it pooing is more than mine.

The hall was rather long and spacious. Very cold as well. True to Malaysian fashion, punctuality is a non-existent concept in Chinese wedding dinners. If the card says dinner starts at 8pm, it's almost guaranteed that the first dish will be arrive at your table at 9pm. Or 8.45pm if you are lucky. What is it with folks and not being punctual?

The main table for the happy couple and immediate family members. Having sat at a main table once, it was quite an experience. It was good to be served personally but it also does get rather boring if your neighbors ~~are boring~~ have nothing in common with you (I had the good fortune of sitting beside my sister's in-laws during her wedding dinner).

The table for ordinary guests. How much do you give these days? Most of my friends are now married. Those who aren't by now probably won't be handing me any invite anytime soon. Maybe at all. Eh, don't feel offended. Have comfort in that I won't be either. Lets rejoice in the comforts of our lonely homes.

Perfumed fabric roses as door gifts. I suppose it's functional as it kept my car smelling a bit nicer for awhile.

Menu of the night. I missed some dishes because it was just too dark :(

Empire fire and ice hors d'oeuvres. Just a fancy name for 4season starters. Overall, I like the components of this dish though my parents found it was just average.

Braised crab meat in superior chicken broth. I am biased towards soup. Any soup.
There hasn't really been a soup that I disliked. I may not like it but soup is soup and it nourishes my tummy and soul and that's all that really matters when it comes to soup.

Roast chicken served with prawn crackers. This is what happens when you keep your guests waiting for too long that they immediately dive into the easier to eat pieces immediately. The chicken had a rather crispy skin but a tad bit salty on the inside.Too much of this and I could feel my hair dropping (more).

One of the best fried rice ever. Think it's due to the shredded fresh lettuce that adds a nice raw crunch to it.
Love the bits of shrimp and meat too. Loved it so much that I had bowl after bowl. Eh, paid for already. And they were all my relatives. You know what they say, don't need to pretend as we are all family :D