A Chinese Wedding in Malaysia

Many years ago in Yangon,Myammar, I chanced upon a Chinese Wedding. There was a big crowd at a Chinese restaurant and a well- dressed couple whom I believed to be the bride and bridegroom had taken to the stage. I wasn't there for long but I would believe then that Chinese Wedding dinner are the same everywhere in the world. Today, I am not so sure but I can say for sure that Chinese Wedding dinner is almost the same all over Malaysia. Usually, the dinner would be held at night perhaps on the eve of the wedding for the bride and her guests and on the wedding night for the bridegroom and his guests. The guests would sit around a round table for eight to ten people and would give a standing ovation when the bride and bridegroom arrived, that is if they do not come early to receive the guests. An eight course dinner would then begin, starting with the special 'stars surrounding the moon' dish. It's an eight course dinner because eight in Chinese is a lucky number. The second dish would most probably be shark fin soup followed by a meat, chicken, prawn, vegetable and fish dish. The last dish would always be the dessert and these days, in Taiping, ice creams are sometimes served to replace the sweet lovely longans which I really love. Drinks served are usually soft drinks and mineral water, no Chinese tea at all; that is more for the tea drinking ceremony where the bride and bridegroom offer tea to the elders at home during the early part of the day. There would be beer too for beer lovers and lots of merry making too. Guests could take to the stage to sing their favourite songs, regardless of whether they can sing or not but halfway through the dinner, the bride and bridegroom and their immediate families would took to the stage to give a toast to everyone present! Yamseng!

Guests at a Chinese Wedding dinner...