CK and I made a recent sudden decision to get married. We booked an appointment at the court house the day I got back from the UK, and bought our wedding bands over the weekend. Our ceremony was with immediate family only, and it was truly perfect for us. It was a very emotional day for everyone, especially for me. We've been living apart for so long (7 years), that it felt great to have made it this far. Things haven't changed much on the geographical front, however. He is still living in Australia and me in Ottawa. We are both doing what we want to do, so for the time being, we are ok with that.
On the night of our wedding, we celebrated with a traditional 9 course chinese meal (not counting dessert) at Sea King Shark Fin Seafood Restaurant here in Ottawa. I was ecstatic because that meant that I was going to have great food pictures for my blog. CK is now more convinced than ever that I love food more than him :)
Our meal started with a cold plate of meats. Starting at the red squid, and moving clockwise, we had: squid that was dyed red to signify marriage, chicken salad, beef slices, spicy jellyfish, and roasted duck.
Our second course was stir fried snow pea shoots with dried scallops. Snow pea shoots are considered a Chinese delicacy, and are perfect to harvest this time of the year. The snow pea shoots were very tender. It is one of my favourite Chinese vegetables.
Our second course was stir fried snow pea shoots with dried scallops. Snow pea shoots are considered a Chinese delicacy, and are perfect to harvest this time of the year. The snow pea shoots were very tender. It is one of my favourite Chinese vegetables.
Our third course was the shark fin soup, a must at a wedding dinner. Shark fin doesn't have a lot of taste, and they look like little pieces of vermicelli.
Our 4th course was abalone with baby bok choy and chinese mushrooms. This, to me, is also another must at a Chinese wedding dinner.
Following that was the twin lobster. In Chinese culture, good things always come in pairs.
Next came the crispy deep fried whole chicken with shrimp chips.
The 7th dish was a fish dish. The meat of the fish was stir fried, and the bones were deep fried to make them edible. The Chinese believe that fish bones are a good source of calcium.
The 8th course was a combination of long life noodles and pineapple rice. The noodles are called long life noodles because they signify long life to those who eat it.
This was supposed to be the last dish of the meal, but there was a slight mix up.
The 9th course came a little late: deep fried shrimp balls served with a sweet cherry sauce.
It was actually supposed to be the second dish to come out, and the manager apologized profusely for it. The blame was partly on us. We changed the menu so many times that the restaurant was getting confused. One of my guests, who didn't end up coming, was allergic to shrimp, so we originally omitted this dish.
Even though I was stuffed, I still managed to eat 3 shrimp balls.
We finished the meal off with red bean soup and fortune cookies.
New to me was the purple rice in the red bean soup.
This was my father in-law's fortune. We all had a good laugh because he loves wearing his old clothes and his family is always pestering him to buy new clothes!
Here comes the best part of the meal. I SWEAR this was my fortune.
It was the perfect fortune for a die hard foodie, and it definitely made my night.
Here comes the best part of the meal. I SWEAR this was my fortune.It was the perfect fortune for a die hard foodie, and it definitely made my night.
Sea King Shark Fin Seafood Restaurant
1558 Merivale Road
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
613-228-8819
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6 comments:
I just found your blog. Congrats on the nuptuals! That's hilarious that your husband thinks you love food more than him. Your fortune is hilarious too!
Congrats again!
Hi gaga,
Thanks!! It's too bad that my husband does not find it hilarious ;) He knew what he was getting into though.
Hi nooschi,
The food at this place looks delicious and I'm curious about the restaurant now. I'm trying to plan a wedding from Toronto (the horrors) and I was wondering if you had any photos of the inside of the place so I can get a sense of the atmosphere. I would really appreciate it if you had some photos to post! Thanks either way.
P.S. Sorry for replying about an ancient post.
Although I appreciate tradition.. I believe that it is outrageous to be posting and be eating shark fin soup. Like you pointed out, it does not have much taste, and it wastes a whole animal so that you can selfishly enjoy a tasteless tradition. Sharks are endangered because of these kinds of practices, and this has an effect on the oceans (and on the whole planet). There is enough scientific evidence out there confirming it. Please educate yourself on the matter! Here is an example of "new traditions" : http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/03/25/bc-shark-fin-soup-campaign.html
I do wish you all the best, but must agree with above blog that it is unfortunate you felt it necessary to have the shark fin soup. Having attended many Chinese wedding, both in Canada and Singapore,I saw how many of my friends found alternative dishes to shark fin soup to serve at their wedding dinners. In Asia there are ads (paid for and put out by the Chinese community) condemning the eating of shark fin soup and many business and wedding dinners are omitting it. But again, not to take away from the happiness of the moment, but something for others to think about when planning a wedding. Am surprised there are still restaurants in Canada serving it.
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