The wasabi prawn was delicious. Many of the guests complimented on how tasty it was. Even my mother in law was so impressed that for my upcoming brother-in-law's wedding in March in another hotel, she almost twisted the arm of the chef to allow her to change the prawn dish to wasabi prawn.
I thought that the soup with the sharksfin (can't remember what its called now) was impressive too, there were chunks of sharks fin in it(both during the food tasting and on the wedding night). I have been to wedding dinners at many 5 star hotels and you're lucky to get one strand of sharksfin in the soup!
All the food they served was quality, quality. Everything was cooked to perfection, nothing was overcooked or undercooked. There was no el cheapo substitutes - true to the spirit of a 5/6 star hotel. The dessert we chose tasted like cheng tng, BUT it was yummy as they used fresh lily bulbs in it instead of dried ones - first time in my life I had tasted the sublime crunchiness of fresh lily bulbs.
I have been to one 5 star hotel which served hainanese chicken in its menu. And the prawns were not fresh - the meat was mushy and the heads were falling off. I was NOT impressed.
Even the housewine provided by Raffles was really nice! It was a French merlot which was very smooth and easy to drink. My guests were impressed and some even went to ask the waiters for the name of the wine.
Another reason to choose Raffles is the bridal suite! You will love the indulgence of it! Anything you need, you just call the butler and it will be delivered. And the toiletries they provide are those from the Amrita Spa - really really nice! The rooms in Raffles Hotel is worth $700+/night, it is worth this once in a lifetime experience.
I have been very lucky to have been put up in 5star/6star hotels all over the world - including Park Hyatt Seoul, Grand Hyatt HK (their flagship hotel), Westin Sydney, Hilton Istanbul, Hilton London, Hilton Sydney etc etc. The experience as an inhouse guest in Raffles is indeed unique and very enjoyable, its nothing like the other hotels. It truly stands out.
From the time I placed a booking with them, until my wedding, the co-ordinators have provided me very good service and been extremely prompt with my requests. A few times, they even email back (presumably from their blackberry) when they are on leave and on weekends. How many of you will respond to work emails while you are on your holiday, especially when it is not an urgent matter at all? I thought this is a sign of true dedication to their work and great service. Sure, they took a few hours to email back, but I thought that was still great considering they are on leave and my query was of no urgency. Of course, people who expect immediate service will be disappointed and classify this as bad service. Sometimes it boils down to expectations too.
I also thought that the wedding favours given by Raffles hotel were really elegant. There was a good choice to choose from. I have been so a fair few weddings where the favours looked so cheapskate that I would have been embarrassed as the bride to know that my guests received such awful gifts.
I was overseas for the 2 months prior to my wedding. When I came back to Singapore 17 days before my wedding (and out of this 17 days I went overseas again for 3 days for work). I thought everything was going to be a mess. But Raffles Hotel had it all under control and I really had to do very little, just enjoy the day. I didn't even think of march-in music, and ON THE DAY ITSELF my coordinator came at 4pm and asked me if I had any preferences for march in song, and I asked for one particular song. She immediately sent her men to locate the song, which they did after half hour. We also didn't bring our own laptop, so they also scrambled to find one for us.
Prior to booking with Raffles I made enquiries at several 5 star hotels and was not impressed with the service at a few of them. It was a "take-it-or-leave-it" attitude. Some didn't even return my call after 2 days!?! I had to call them repeatedly.
I think those of you who chose this hotel, you really made a good choice.