I’m getting married in July (in Taipei) and altough i’m doing it fairly traditional I don’t want to have a boring meal in a boring room in a boring hotel.
There’s only going to be 40-70 guests, and we want a proper Chinese feast, but we want somewhere that’s a little bit special - nice restaurant, nice environment or something, maybe garden or bit of a view.
Any suggestions from people who have got married here or been to a good wedding? We’re a bit constrained by our decision to do it fairly traditional, and the expectations of the Chinese family and everything, but I’d love to hear some good ideas - especially where’s a good venue - like any nice restaurants in the semi-countryside of Taipei area that would suti a wedding?
Bri… I don’t mean this facetiously at all when I ask this, but can we come?
Alright part of me is just joking (seriously, I’m just joking), but the other part follows along the lines that often times the most random people are invited to Chinese weddings as place setters.
Not to say that you want place setters at your wedding, but to have a table for your ORIENTED friends would be such a trip. You’re like the first person I’ve heard of from ORIENTED to get married! Those invited should bring a nice hong-bao to cover your meal costs, and I’m sure they’d sincerely cheer you on.
I know I do! Seriously, congratulations Bri!
Okay so the folks reading this are going to think I’m crazy. Oh well. I’m running on excess caffeine over here…
quote:Originally posted by Christine:
Not to say that you want place setters at your wedding, but to have a table for your ORIENTED friends would be such a trip.
Great idea! Bri, save me a seat next to Christine. And congratulations!
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Yeah, Bri. Can I come too? I’d like to sit with Poagao, Maoman and Christine!
But seriously, I think you should let your wife’s family find the venue since it’s mainly for them and their friends, but many hotels offer wedding banquet facilities, and in my experience, they’re better than restaurants, but can be a bit more expensive.
Anywhere you’ll find the same sort of food items like sea cucumbers, pai goo, etc. But I went to a banquet once at a Japanese seafood restaurant and it was just awful! (jungxiao e. rd sec.4, near yenji) all the seafood was large in size, but really tough and chewy. yuk!
Many alumni clubs also offer facilities and catering, as well as veterans or business clubs. Perhaps if your inlaws are affiliated with an organization of some sort, this would be a good place to check out first.
The day we got married, we went up to a restaurant on one of the mountains for lunch (not sure which one), just the family, not the big reception or anything we had later. The views and surrounds were wonderful. The food was traditional Chinese fare. They have a big open lot under some trees; maybe you can organize to have an open-air wedding (risky). If you want I can get the address from my wife, and then you can go and check it out. It was about a 45 minute drive from the courts in Shilin.
Thanks guys. Remember what Wolf said a few days ago though. If real life was like Oriented, we’d have to check in our weapons at the door
I understand what you mean Alien, about it being mostly for the inlaws, but I thought, damn it, I want this to be what we want too, and actually I’ve got about a dozen guests coming from overseas on my side too, so I want them to have something they’d enjoy too. That’s why I’m trying to find a restaurant that would have a view or a garden or something that makes it a little bit nicer than a room in a restaurant. It would be the proper reception (with 50-70 people) though, so couldn’t quite be what Smithy suggested.
Thanks for your nice replies, and if you think of something please let me know.
BTW it’s going to be 100% vegetarian so I don’t think a seafood restaurant would work anyway
Hi, I’m not overly informed about what makes a “good” wedding in Taiwan, but i know of a really nice locale in Taipei, near City Hall.
It’s in a really new Hotel/Apartment Suite type of building. I know some people who live there, and i was amazed by how beautiful the courtyard is. It’s like an oasis in the middle of Taipei. It’s called Agora Garden and it’s at 68 Sung Kao Road. It’s near the Warner Village area. As my friend showed me the courtyard, she mentioned that there had been several wedding parties held there. There’s a big waterfall, and i think it would be a really nice place to have a reception. Phone # is (02) 8780-5168. You should give it a look.
Agora Gardens is a pseudo Greek / Roman hell hole. The waterfall is ugly, the grass is terrible. Avoid it Bri. Get married at one of the big hotels - satisfy the inlaws then go back home and have a great relaxed celebration on the beach in your home country.
I attended a wedding last year at Agora Gardens. One of my good friends got married to an American music producer there, and clearly they had not been informed of all details by the hotel staff. After the guests had been seated, the groom and guests at the head table awaited the entrance of the lovely bride. The lights were dimmed, and the bridesmaids, carrying candles, entered, followed by the lovely bride to the accompanying strains of music, starting out low then growing to a thunderous and triumphant climax… “Star Wars”!!!
The groom turned to look at me, the only other westerner there, and we both had to struggle from breaking out into hysterical laughter. Some of the guests noticed the tears streaming down our face and later commented that “you foreigners are very sentimental”. I’ll never forget it - the only thing missing was Chewbacca giving away the bride.
The food there was only okay, but they served lukewarm shark fin soup, to which I am opposed on moral grounds (the shark part as well as the temperature part).
Married to the Star Wars music. That rocks! Your friend should just be thankful they didn’t spring ‘Titanic’ on them. I would have thought that that would have been more in keeping with Taiwan style.
If you are looking for an upscale vegetarian restaurant in Taipei City, then I suggest that you look at ads in the English papers, THIS MONTH IN TAIWAN, and some of the other local tourist magazines that are given away in hotels.
Although, if you were able to set up in the national park somewhere it might work.
Chinese weddings to me have always felt more like a business than a ceremony. So I congratulate you on trying to do something different and leave you with this thought:
The End of the Road
Looking back over “ages and ages hence,”
Through what can only be described as a prison fence.
And knowing now how way led on to way,
Should I really have saved that road for another day?
When I was young and armed with choice,
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And I - I took the one less travelled by,
But Why? - Why? - Oh my God! Why?
According to this article, as many as 40 sharks are killed for every Chinese wedding banquet. If you’re getting married, request minestrone! If you’re attending a wedding banquet where they serve shark fin soup, give the soup a miss. Otherwise, sharks will become rarer and rarer, and surfers will start getting cocky.
Hi Bri, congrats. I’ve been following this thread closely cause I too am getting married this year. Common kids, how about some more suggestions. Looks like I’m setting up a tent in Junghe if I can’t think of a better idea soon.
quote[quote] According to this article, as many as 40 sharks are killed for every Chinese wedding banquet. [/quote]
Not at ours. We’re going vegetarian.
Thanks for the recent posts you guys. I thought this thread was dead. We’re still at square one, and not really sure how to start. Our latest plan is to try and find upmarket vegetarian restaurants, or a ‘really nice place’ that we can use and get catering form a veg restaurant.
I know the plaza you mean Sandman (it is Far Eastern I think). Is that like a nice traditional Chinese restaurant then. Do you remember how the prices compared with standard hotel offerings? 1000 a person or so?
We’d still like a place with a little garden, or view or something, but we are going pretty traditional, and want something nicely ‘Chinese’ for rellies and friends coming over from my side.
So been to any ‘upscale’ veggie places, like the one on Changchuan Rd?
quote:Originally posted by Bu Lai En:
I know the plaza you mean Sandman (it is Far Eastern I think). Is that like a nice traditional Chinese restaurant then. Do you remember how the prices compared with standard hotel offerings? 1000 a person or so?
We’d still like a place with a little garden, or view or …
The place was a Shanghaiese restaurant, pretty swish, (ivory chopsticks with silver chasing, deep pile carpet, wood paneling, antiques around the place, that kind of thing) with a stupendous view from the 39th floor.
Thing is, we discussed the menu with the manager beforehand and he was very cool and helpful. He might well be willing to do veggie for you. Price was a bit higher than $1,000, though – closer to NT$1,800 as far as I can remember, but that included unlimited and pretty good red & white Chilean wine. We had around 80 people, many of whom were BIG drinkers, so we got our money’s worth!
None of that single bottle of shaoshing wine per table nonsense!
Has anyone had a buffet style wedding. Like, help yourself to as much scalloped potato as you want. Where could I do this, sussed out New York, New York, and it was about $800 a person. That sounds pretty good doesn’t it. If they’ve got half the western food I’m expecting them to have, I’ll sing that Franky Sinatra song solo at Warner not long after my beer runs out. Anyway, has anywone done western? where? how was it? Amos.