Dear all brides-to-be and bridegrooms-to-be,
My wife and I had our wedding dinner at the Fu Lin Men restaurant (Jurong Country Club branch) recently and we had our fair share of happy moments and some areas of improvement. First of all, we would like to appreciate and thank Cristian (the senior manager for Grand Banquet (Hotel Royal) ) for all his hospitality and effort to make us feel welcomed to Fu Lin Men and also the hearty conversation when we first met. He was very experienced and approachable all along. We gave him two thumbs up for his service and quality of food and restaurant experience.
It started off by us going down to Grand Banquet at Queen St to discuss our wedding banquet package with Cristian. He was very patient to our questions and requests, and he tried to be as accomodating as possible. After much thinking, discussion and changes, we decided on the package. The package is actually quite good, considering all thrown in and minimum effort needed to find other sources. The price is reasonable and the food definitely receives two thumbs up from my wife, my friends and me. At the same time, the staff in Grand Banquet are very experienced and conversational and they will really go all out to make you feel at home and satisfied.
Like I mentioned before, our wedding was held at the Fu Lin Men Jurong Country Club as the premise is better-furnished and bigger, especially after the renovations in Sept/Oct 2013. We had high hopes for our wedding banquet there after the experience with Cristian in the Grand Banquet. However, we would just like to convey some contrasting feelings we felt during our wedding dinner itself. The feelings are mainly feedback from our parents, guests and ownself as a whole during, and after the wedding dinner.
Here are our thoughts:
Positive comments
(1) Guests love the noodles.
(2) Decoration of restaurant was nicely done, especially after the renovations. love the decoration of the easels for the posters.
(3) Cristian and Joanne have been very accommodating to the restaurant design requests and Cristian has tried his best to cater to our needs before the wedding. The staff also helped to decorate the restaurant for its future events.
(4) The Dim Sum tastes good. The groom’s mother like the Dim Sum.
AFI (During the wedding)
(1) Spoilt aircon – 85% of the guests were complaining that it was too hot and male guests who wore blazers had to take off their blazers.
(2) Clear instructions should be passed down to the restaurant AVA crew so they would have to stand by with the sound system at ALL times.
(3) Change of type of fish for 2 VIP tables – Manager did not inform couple that the VIP tables will be served with different type of steam fish from the guests.
(4) Uneven serving of food – Servers did not ensure that the food were served proportionately. Example for the shark fin’s soup, some guests had a lot of shark fins but other guests from the same table did not get even a tiny bit of shark fin. The 2 bowls of shark fins that the bride ate did not have any shark fin too.
(5) Steaming of fish not properly done – Guests complained that the fish was not properly cooked, either overcooked or under cooked.
(6) Service of servers – Servers started clearing plates and food when the guests have not finished eating. Some servers even cleared the plates in front of the guests without asking the guests if they are done with it. The bride’s parents did not manage to eat some of the dishes towards the end as the dishes were cleared before they went back from phototaking.
(7) Faulty mike – Mike gave problems when the groom was singing.
(8) No lights at bridal changing room after 12am – Groom and bride had to pack their stuff in the dark, with the help of 5 small candles.
(9)The shuttle bus is not easily found at the mrt station before the wedding and towards the end of the wedding dinner. More specific directions have to be made. (eg, station exit, more prominent landmarks)
(10)Table seating arrangements, if there are any changes, should be made known to the wedding couple weeks before the event, as it will disrupt the seating plans on actual day. There was a half an hour confusion among the reception and guests due to a new seating arrangement given to the groom on the same day of the wedding.
All in all, there is no doubt that some of the issues of concern are due to the management in the Jurong Country Club itself, such as the aircon issue and the lighting issue after the wedding, so much that the restaurant is to bear the brunt of it. Cristian came all the way to Jurong Country Club that very same night from Queen St to mitigate the issues with us to show his sincerity and service.
Therefore my wife and I came to a conclusion: That is, though both are under the same management; when it comes to experienced staff, quality of food and experience, the Grand Banquet venue with its crew win hands-down. When it comes to Fu Lin Men Jurong Country Club, it will stand out with its venue (facing a beautiful golf course), decorations (Crystal lightings) and bigger space for the event. Couples going for this JCC venue can be assured a pleasant experience, provided there is confirmation on clearing any doubts on the feedback we provided above, with the staff there.
To sum up, the excellent food, service, friendly staff in the Grand Banquet made my wife and me wanting to visit the restaurant again. Cristian is a good manager to talk to and would accomodate to your needs as long as they are reasonable. There are bound to be some happy, funny, frustrating moments during the wedding banquet, but of course, that is why they are called fond memories, aren't they?
Wishing all the couples out there blissful love always!
Warmest regards,
Eason