cicilau

Thank you all for all the comments! I also visited weddingbells forum and that's how I heard of this place, and the comments there were pretty good with regards to the food quality......but then I wondered whether it'll also be true for people who like traditional Chinese food, or for those from HK who are used to very extravagant buffet.

tsumorichisato: yeah I really like the venue and the atmosphere there (my other choices are Pan Pacific and Fairmont Waterfront), but like you said, I don't think any place can satisfy everyone. Whether something tastes good is such a subjective feeling......I like TCC's menu cos' for $86 per person I can get a full seafood buffet, whereas for the other 2 venues, I'm looking at over $100 for sure.

It's unfortunate that they do not do tastings before the booking is made.......

tsumorichisato

I find tasting only gives you a clue on how the food will be, but don't expect it will turn out to be exactly the same. Cuz you can simply imagine preparing a 2 ppl tasting is a lot different than a 200 ppl banquet. There will be many ppl involved in preparation with a time crunch

I have been to couple golf course's weddings and if you are not happy with TCC's food, those are even 10x worse. And again, that's only applied to my personal experience so I didn't consider having my wedding @ golf course

Have you considered Sutton Place also? Seriously Vancouver didn't have that many venue choices..ai..I was all the way back debating between brock house and TCC.
I really like the view of Pan Pacific and you can also have the ceremony @ their garden I believe. So if you ask me, I prefer the ambiance of Pan Pacific over Fairmont Waterfront. For paying such a high price @ fairmont ( it was about 130/pp back in 2007 I quoted), I am looking for a stunning ballroom that stands pretty alone without too much decor, but I was quite disappointed, you need to pay quite a lot for decor. My husband used to have meetings there, maybe he got too used to it, he doesn't like it there.

I am not saying TCC is flawless, I still think their grand ballroom is too narrow and I don't like the building entrance (facing a bus stop)....

cicilau

I find tasting only gives you a clue on how the food will be, but don't expect it will turn out to be exactly the same. Cuz you can simply imagine preparing a 2 ppl tasting is a lot different than a 2 ...
tsumorichisato 發表於 2009-7-30 14:00

Thanks for your prompt reply tsumorichisato! I totally agree with you on the limited choices of venues in Vancouver.....I plan to have a small and intimate wedding (60 to 70 ppl max), and so all the Chinese restaurants are out as I want the whole place all to myself. Only western venues will allow me to do that.  I also didn't consider golf courses as well cos' it's simply not my taste.

I have considered Sutton Place but what they offer in their buffet menu seem to be very limited, and if I want all the food I can get from TCC's menu, I probably will need to pay a premium for it as well. Same as you, I also want a venue that looks stunning on its own and doesn't require a lot of decoration on my part. That's why I like TCC and the Pan Pacific (with their ocean view). My future mother-in-law likes the banquet food at Brock House (she's been to a wedding there before), but I've heard a lot of negative reviews of Brock House, and I prefer a grander, more elegant room like the ones in TCC than the rustic look ppl get at Brock House.

So if you have to rate the food at TCC on a scale of 10, what will your rating be?

tsumorichisato

60-70 ppl, have u been to the new Shangrila ballroom, it totally fits your guest size, but I haven't seen it in person.

My honest opinion would be around 7 or 7.5/10. My mom was super picky and from all the beginnings she doesn't like western style wedding banquet food, I am glad she felt pretty okay with it.

I know some people had problem with certain dish, like they thought the steak was a bit overcooked, but I have to take the fact that I cannot guaratee over 100 steaks could be cooked just medium right.  Some guests liked how it was done...

We have TCC to do our wedding cake as well. My husband's family doesn't like it at all cuz they never liked western desserts. For those who used to have western desserts found my cake taste amazing...o well..so now you  understand how subjective it could be towards choices of food/ taste. The pastry chef will custom made the flavor according to whatever you like  and you can try the sample during the tasting

Oh by the way, if you are having 6-7 tables, are you taking the 2nd floor or the main ballroom? I don't know if they have renovated the 2nd floor room but I was falling for the chandeliers in the main ballroom

TCC will charge you the liquor store price for the wine/open bar you picked. However, for each bottle they open for you they charge you for $15. If you are member,  I think it's $8 or $10 per bottle

cicilau

60-70 ppl, have u been to the new Shangrila ballroom, it totally fits your guest size, but I haven't seen it in person.

My honest opinion would be around 7 or 7.5/10. My mom was super picky and from  ...
tsumorichisato 發表於 2009-7-30 16:05

Thank you tsumorichisato! I'll check out Shangri-la as well.

Honestly 7 or 7.5 out of 10 really isn't too bad.....I am not looking for spectacular food, and it seems like it's not that bad if someone as picky as your mom found the food OK. Yeah given the size of my banquet I'll have to use one of the smaller rooms for sure.

I agree with you that I need to be realistic about it -- it's impossible to please everyone, it's impossible to get 100+ medium steak right, and it's impossible for everyone to have the same palate. I know that going western will not please a lot of the older generation in the family (I'm doing buffet as well, which I know that a lot of the older generation wouldn't like it).

Thanks for the info on liquor as well -- I'm not a member, so I'll be looking at the $15 cockage fee. I probably won't do a full open bar -- will just have red and white wine available (plus water, soda and juice maybe).

布小熊

60-70 ppl, have u been to the new Shangrila ballroom, it totally fits your guest size, but I haven't seen it in person.
tsumorichisato 發表於 2009-7-30 04:05 PM

If they used the same kitchen as MARKET by Jean-Georges at Shangrila, then the food would be amazing.
http://www.shangri-la.com/en/pro ... g/restaurant/market
http://www.shangri-la.com/en/pro ... t/weddings/overview

btw if u only have 60 -70, have you check the teahouse?
http://www.vancouverdine.com/teahouse/home.html

cicilau

If they used the same kitchen as MARKET by Jean-Georges at Shangrila, then the food would be amazing.
http://www.shangri-la.com/en/pro ... g/restaurant/market
http://www.sh ...
布小熊 發表於 2009-7-30 16:39

Yeah I just visited Shangri-La's website but there's virtually no information about their wedding services. I may need to email them directly to ask for brochures.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Teahouse, but I prefer to hold my banquet in a hotel or a private club, and that's why I haven't considered stand-alone restaurants yet.

Guy

TCC's ball room is not ideal for wedding... long and narrow.

if you use all of them, people from the furtherest side wont see the dance floor.

華美子

昨晚去了，簡單寫下我的 comment。

張帖寫 六時恭候，七時入席。六時開始有水吧，七時遲了一點點開始。buffet形式，是吃海鮮餐。一開始主人家講太多野，真正開始排隊吃 buffet已是八點。小朋友餓壞了，我要叫 waiter 比點麵包比小朋友充飢。最後還是waiter哥哥好人叫我不用等可以先去取食物，否則九時才輪到我去排。

第一次排是吃冷盆，我不是食家，冷盆對我來說已很豐富了。海鮮有魚有蝦有生蠔和蟹。第二之去排熱食有蝦有魚有帶子和 roast beef，味道不錯。

每台都有藍麵包供應，不過如果麵包是熱的會好一點。甜品亦十分吸引，不過因為我減緊肥因此沒有吃。

服務我覺得唔錯，侍應們都好有禮貌，有講有笑。

老實說，看你和那些比。吃的比起cruise的食物真的比不上，不過亦比很多西式的地方好。婚禮主要不是吃，是見見朋友，和主人家歡喜一番。食物只要過得去，普遍人都不會介意。如果要的是場地和景，我覺得地方算唔錯。

泊車晚上 flat rate 六蚊。Downtown地方算係咁。

cicilau

華美子 thanks for your detailed comments! I just PM'd you......