A fairytale wedding (lunch) at Swissotel Stamford, Singapore.

I always look forward to coming home, but it’s not just the food that beckons. My beautiful girlfriends, my family, and the shopping are just some of the few big reasons for coming home. But this time, there was more to it than just those reasons. The big event of my homecoming this time was a friend’s wedding.

Weddings are joyous affairs, even more so when it’s a close friend who is the one getting wed. The ceremony itself was held at the church and I was trying terribly hard not to shed tears so my makeup wouldn’t run. It was so incredibly beautiful! Even the sky wept at the beauty of it all.

The ceremony was a touching affair and I had to pinch myself to stop myself from letting tears roll down my face. I couldn’t afford to have my eyeliner running! Stephie was incredibly beautiful and HH couldn’t have looked more happy.

But this is a food blog, so let’s roll along to what this blog post is really about. Because let’s not kid ourselves, of course I’m going to talk about the food! But before that, here’s a photo of the lovely bride:

Oh steph. *hearts*

The wedding reception was held at Swissotel Stamford. Taking a look at the dainty menu that was available on each table, it definitely looked like a feast was to be had, and I couldn’t wait to get started! Of course, there’s also that dessert buffet right at the end for a massively grand finish. Dessert Buffet doesn’t that phrase just rolls off your tongue?

Jasmine tea smoked duck with goose liver terrine and apple relish, japanese egg chawan mushi with pan-seared scallop, and red onion with sundried tomato chutney.

Goose Liver Terrine! My very first time. I know, I know the issues and animal cruelty issues behind this particular dish, but I wanted to try it at least once before I made my decision to say yay or nay to eating anymore of it.

And I liked it. I really, really did. So I still haven’t been able to make up my mind. Eat it, don’t eat it?

The Chawan Mushi was soft and amazingly genteel. And the seared scallop in the middle was also a pleasant find. It’s like a treasure hunt when you find extras in your food!

Bread to go with the soup, and the soup was….

Light lobster bisque with lobster crystal dumpling, water chestnuts and tobiko pearls.

And what else would you do with the bread? Dunk it in soup of course.

Also remember what I said about finding treasures in your soup? Halfway through the soup and I managed to fish this out:

Yay, the lobster crystal dumpling!

I’ve been cradling (more than one glass of) french red wine (Chateau Bellevue 2001 Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe to be exact) since the start of the reception and was mightily glad when the mains come out. We were given the choice of Beef or Fish and considering the red in my glass and the red(s) sloshing about in me, I went with the Beef.

braised angus beef cheek in a red wine reduction, grilled angus ribeye, truffle juice, and edamame pea mouseline.

Can I say that this is the most most amazing Beef course I’ve ever had? Angus beef has always been a steady fave, but those beef cheeks were just divine. And of course, you can’t beat truffle juice. My compliments to the chef, I really enjoyed this main.

Thanks to my dear friend, Elsie (who also took these food shots, more on that later), I was able to sample the Fish course.

Baked black cod mignon topped with macademia crust, fresh herb beurre blanc and crushed kiffler potatoes, and white asparagus with sweet hollandaise sauce.

The crust, the crust! The macademia crust was a really beautiful contrast compared to the silky smooth texture of the fish. The white asparagus had been beautifully done though the hollandaise sauce wasn’t quite what I had come to expect from hollandaise sauce. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was still pleasant.

With the mains done, it was time to move on to the grand finale. The dessert buffet! Here, have an avalanche of photos:

Roasted Cocoa Nib with Caramel Coffee Supreme

Sweet Basil Strawberry Heart

Rose-perfumed Meringue With Forest of Fruits Trifle

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Vanilla and Chocolate Macaron Tower

Hot Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts

Chestnut and Passionfruit Custard

Hong Kong Egg Tart

Chocolate Lovers with Raspberry

Phew. Did you get through all those sweets? Stephie wasn’t kidding when she said it was a Dessert Buffet. Scrumptious! My favourite was the Chocolate Lovers with Raspberry and it was really amusing to see the Macaron Tower being so quickly ‘destroyed’. It went quite bald really fast!

Thank you to Han How and Stephie for inviting me to your beautiful wedding. I am honoured to have been able to be a part of this incredibly memorable day for the two of you. May the both of you live long and happy lives together and never stop being cute and and adorable!

I must also say thank you to my lovely friends who played photographer on the day: Elsie and Shu. Without the two of you generously taking shots, I wouldn’t have been able to write up this epicly long post today!

Till next time, girlfriends. Hopefully I’ll be back in Singapore really, really soon!