The red and white at the blu

It was all about Weddings at the Blu: A Bridal Affair and the Niña Ballroom of the Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu (Serging Osmeña Boulevard  Corner Juan Luna Avenue, www.radissonblu.com/ +63 32 4029900) was transformed into the Red Room for the Chinese Banquet affair and the White Room for the classic white wedding banquet.

At the Red Room, it was a Chinese Culinary Love Story to showcase the capacity of the hotel to organize Chinese Lauriat Banquets for its valued clientele, not only for wedding receptions but also for anniversaries, birthday parties that require elaborate celebrations.

Immediately, you would notice the Spartan table settings at the Red compared to the luxurious set-up at the White Room because for the Chinese, food is supreme and they do not allow distractions to compete with the food being served. They also have an inner table top that rotates because the food on the serving plate is displayed first before the food is shared. You eat first with your eyes!

The feast began with a platter for the Chinese Appetizer Tasting. Chinese Executive Chef Peter Yeung Siu Man prepared the following: Pork Knuckle with Garlic Vinegar, Five Spices Lo Su Soya Duck Breast, Crispy Unagi Roll with Plum Sauce, Asparagus in Abalone Sauce and Spicy Szechuan Beef. The waiters moved around and carried the serving plates to dish up the food individually to each guest.

This was followed by the Deep Fried Stuffed Crab with Garlic Mushroom Sauce. It is more traditional to serve the crabs whole but in reality, it is very difficult to retrieve the succulent meat and it is indeed very practical to stuff it.

The soup came next, the Abalone with Chicken Dumpling Soup and this was served in individual cups, very convenient for the guest. Most of the abalone now is farm-raised and this industry has grown tremendously in the last few years because of the huge demand from China.

The Yin Yang Prawn Combination was then served, Wok Fried Prawn in XO sauce and Prawn Ball with Mango Salad Dressing.  The presentation was beautiful and your favorite food columnist was able to view it because I went backstage to take photos (some are printed here while other pictures were provided by the hotel). If it was placed on the dinner table before it was apportioned by the waiters, dinners would also have appreciated its beauty.

This was followed by three main dishes, Stewed Baby Pork Rib in Mongolian BBQ Sauce, Steamed Grouper “kiri” Style and Braised Bamboo Fungus & Assorted Mushroom in Oyster Sauce.

Bamboo fungus comes from the Szechuan regions of China and looks very lovely that sometimes it is called “the princess in white skirt’ because of its white netted skirt and has a crepitant texture when you chew it. It would have been better if it was served in small individual food baskets with a transparent cover.

To complete the meal, tradition dictates that you serve carbohydrates (rice or noodle) only at the end and Chef Peter Yeung Siu Man complied with the Fried Rice with Beef in Shrimp Paste. By the way, is it true that in China today, the wedding ceremony and the reception is held, excuse me, in the same restaurant? [email protected]