Wedding Venue Hunting at Concorde Hotel's Openhouse

Here's the third showcase my fiance and I went to after our visit to Marina Mandarin's wedding open house and Goodwood Park's wedding open house. Before I begin, let me remind you, this is written to my own PERSONAL opinion. Everyone have different experiences and opinions, so do take what I write with a pinch of salt. 

Concorde Hotel, formerly known as Le Meridien Singapore, is located at the Le Meridien Shopping Center in between Somerset and Douby Ghaut. Here's their wedding package. 

It wasn't even one of our choices as we felt the shopping center located below the hotel is rather dodgy and the exterior looks pretty old. In fact, my fiance was bitching about the shopping center, until my friend who was accompanying us with her husband told us her sister held her wedding there last year and it was a pretty good experience. She told us to go in with an open mind. 

So since we were around the area, why not just pop by and look around? 

My friend said they installed escalators outside the mall that will take us straight to the hotel lobby on the third instead of walking past those dodgy massage parlours to take the lift to the lobby. She did however, mention that despite the dodgy massage parlours, the mall does have shops that are known for giving good manicure and hair services (she swears that her friends do go there for their manicures and stuff despite the dodgy shops) and highlighted that on my wedding day if anything should happen to my nails or hair, I can just go down to the mall and touch up. 

Point taken. 

When we exited the lift to the main lobby. Ok, it wasn't like what we expected. We expected the place to be peeling, a bit dim, and stuff.. but it looks presentable. 

Main Lobby of the Hotel

The one and only Ballroom

Oriental Theme

VIP table decor

Second theme

Main Stage decor for the second theme.

Panoramic view of the ballroom 

Dessert

Croissant 

Tarts

Sandwiches

Smoked Salmon

Open face sandwiches

Wedding Favours

Wedding Favours

My photo doesn't do it justice.

Official photo taken from Concorde's Website

Also taken from Concorde's Website

I came to Concorde in mid-2013 for the SIA walk-in interview (where I flunked the height test section despite being 1.59m.. I blame my short arms), and to be honest, the ballroom didn't make much of an impression to me. Maybe it was because I was coming for an interview and I was more focused on other things as compared to checking out my surrounds at that time.

So when I entered the ballroom, I was awestruck. The ambiance reminded me of the Roaring Twenties ala The Great Gatsby. Ceiling height seemed just right, not too high, not too low. I like how there is only ONE ballroom. This means that guests will not be confused which ballroom is our wedding and lesser competition for parking lots. I also can't help but notice that the reception outside have their very own bathroom opposite the ballroom. Meaning, we won't have random tourists/people walking past our reception area to go to the bathroom and it's close by so our guests won't have to walk too far to find the toilet. I also like how there's a wheelchair ramp to the reception area, for elderly guests who are unable to walk, this will be easier for them to access the place without much hassle.

Food wise, I can't comment much as they served mainly appetizers for us potential newlyweds. But they do have a dessert buffet for people who are holding their wedding dinner there (I'm holding a lunch banquet), so I'm assuming that some of the food served during the openhouse will be served for the dessert buffet. 

 The wedding favours were quite interesting too. Passport holder, luggage tag, portable nailcare set, cards, we quite like the travel pillow as well.

The invitation cards were pretty standard, so we didn't take photos of it. We spoke to one of the staff who informed us that for the solemnisation/tea ceremony room that is held next to the banquet hall, we do not have to worry about decors as they will take two of the aisle decorations (based on your chosen theme) and place it at each ends of the solemnisation table. After everyone is ushered out to the reception area, the staff will discreetly bring the aisle decors back to the banquet hall before the guests are ushered in to be seated.

We quite like that idea. 

The staff also told us that the hotel is able to display our wedding photo on their information screen. Which is fantastic, as they have the screen displayed at the entrance of the shopping mall, the lift lobby and outside the reception area. It means I don't have to allocate brothers and/or sisters to direct my guests to the venue. 

We were taken to the bridal suite. Out of the wedding venues I have visited (openhouses or relatives' weddings), this is by far one of the most spacious bridal suites (of course, to be fair, can't compare with York Hotel, that place's bridal suite takes the cake so far).  

 I particularly like the spacious bathroom with its full length mirrors as this means there is sufficient space for my make up artist, sisters and whoever to move around without bumping into each other. Also the big full length mirror meant that my bridesmaid and I can check our appearances without waiting for each other's turn (that happened to us for my friend's wedding).

My fiance, from someone who was not at all impressed with the exterior of the hotel, he was quite sold after talking to the staff. The staff was quite commendable, whatever he promised us he wrote it down (so, according to him, he can remember what he promised when we call him to confirm), was willing to lend a listening ear and he was quite witty. He also explained to my fiance, when my fiance complained that the exterior was very dodgy that the hotel management do not own the shopping center, they unfortunately, only own the hotel itself, hence they can only renovate the interior. 

That really explains a lot of things. 

One of the strongest selling point he told us was "And also, because there is only one ballroom, it means our staff are completely dedicated to serving only you." 

Overall verdict, exterior is dodgy yes, but they did make it up by renovating the interiors. In fact, two people I know who are very, very fussy and always complain about services, held functions (one a wedding, another a birthday party) at Concorde, both swore that the service there is fantastic. That, my fiance and I can't help but agree based on the fact that the coordinator we met at the openhouse was very, very good. So good that my friend and her husband advised us to work with him as they told us "A wedding venue can be beautiful, have good food, but if the service sucks, you won't get to enjoy any of it. Take our advice, work with someone who can work if not your wedding day will be very stressful." 

Even my fiance reluctantly agreed that out of all the venues we have visited, he actually felt most at ease with this coordinator. 

After deliberating for a few days, we decided to settle for Concorde Hotel as we decided a good coordinator is the most important for our big day. Thus, effectively ending our wedding venue hunt. 

Nutella Crepe Cake... IT ACTUALLY EXISTS!?

Went to meet my boyfriend, his brother and his god sister for a late lunch. Decided to go to Everything With Fries (EWF) at Orchard Central. I was so hungry that I actually forgot to take a photo of The Slider meal ($11.90) I had at EWF. I had the burger with sour cream and onion fries. To be honest, I am quite disappointed with the Slider. It is basically minced... like really MINCED beef with cheese, mushroom and puny bits of bacon. That is it. It wasn't even a proper beef patty. It's a pity I forgot to take a photo of it so you guys can see just how sad it is.. it really can't be considered a burger if it is not in meat patty form.. it's like a sandwich. The sour cream and onion fries are basically shoe string fries drenched in sour cream and onion powder ala McDonald's Shaker Fries style. Overall, the set meal I had was nothing to shout about.... until we topped up $5 for the legend.............................wait for it......................dary Nutella Crepe Cake!

YES. IT ACTUALLY EXISTS! (EWF also serves Nutella Tart but seriously the crepe cake looks way more epic.)

JUST LOOK AT IT. Lay upon layer of crepe with hazelnut cream and nutella drizzled all over it. I tell you, it's a culinary work of art. If I know I will not be hailed off to IMH for evaluation over my mental health, I will definitely go on my knees to worship this dessert. It tastes as good as it looks. Imagine slicing the cake, layer upon layer of hazelnut cream (I reckon from the taste) oozing along with the fork and when it's in your mouth, the cream, crepe layer and the nutella (inside and outside the cake) melts together in an unholy matrimony of sweetness. If this is a prize for winning the Hunger Games, I will definitely volunteer as tribute.    

Nutella Mille Crepe

 After that, I went window shopping around Orchard Road to purge my body of the sin of eating the Nutella Crepe cake. I like to tell myself that to make myself feel better after having such an orgasmic dessert. About 6pm, my dad called and asked me if I'm around town and whether I wanna join him for lunch. Being the glutton that I am... I agreed.

I met him at Gyoza no Ohsho (5 Koek Road #01-10, Cuppage Plaza S228796).

It's a little ramen place that looks like one of those zhi-char stores.. except.. it serves ramen. Not zhi-char. Ok that came off as pretty OBVIOUS... but moving on.

The prices as you can see on the menu is pretty much the same as any ramen franchise in Singapore. The only difference is the environment. The waitress does not give a shit about something called personal space. This is understandable because it IS a small store. Basically, she will march up to you, ask how many people and cram you guys into whatever space she can find to maximize the use of the space the store has to offer.

It's weird if you are not used to it. But being Singapore where we are targeting to hit 6.9 million human beings, you jolly well get used to it.... and since I can't help but pack myself into the MRT every morning at 8 am to get my ass to work so I can have income to continue my gluttony ways... I am fine with the way she seats people. Just pointing this out to people who cannot stand eating at crowded places.
 

The first dish we had was the pan-fried gyoza. For crying out loud, the place is called Gyoza no Ohsho. So if we don't order Gyoza, which is their trademark dish.. I might as well just go elsewhere to eat. Anyway, the gyoza was served pipping hot, they do not serve the traditional dark vinegar and ginger that we Chinese are used to dipping our dumpling (chinese version of Gyoza) in. What they have is white vinegar. So there was this moment of awkwardness where we poured the bottle with the dark sauce which turned out to be soy sauce not vinegar, then pour another bottle which looked like red vinegar but it turned out to be chili oil only to succeed when we poured the bottle with the transparent liquid which turned out to be white vinegar. We finally got down to tasting the gyoza. First thing I noticed.. it's oily. The positive thing about this was the skin of the gyoza, springy and crispy. The fillings were pretty disappointing.

Pan-fried Gyoza

 The salad came next. I'm very anal about the way ramen stores serve their eggs. If the egg is completely hardboiled, I'll say they fail at making the perfect ramen egg. The egg on this salad passed. Hard on the outside but soft yet not too runny on the inside. Great job. The salad is fresh, but the sauce overpowered the vegetables. The potato salad was ok. They didn't put in mayonnaise or anything funky into it. Salad overall is ok.

Salad

 Next came the Kanitamago, crab meat with eggs. I expected it to be like the oyakodon style of cooking but it ended up in omelette form. I was quite disappointed. The crab meat was actually shredded crab sticks.. lots and lots of it. Which is fine considering the price of this dish. The only complaint I have of this is that the sauce is wayyyy too sweet. Overpowering the omelette completely.

Kanitama

 My dad had the Tamago Ramen. He always comes here for their ramen so I guess it's pretty good? I'll make a mental note to try it the next time.

Tamago Ramen

 The only dish I really liked was the tori karaage. Can't go wrong with this dish. We also ordered a bottle of green tea each.

Tori Karaage

Total damage for my dad and I was SGD$43. I guess this place is pretty ok to come by if you want something quick and fuss-free. The service is brisk and people come and go fairly quickly. Quality of food wise, I guess it's ok? Just keep your expectations to a minimum because what you pay for is what you will get. Personally for me, I will only pop by here if I have a craving for their Tori Karaage.   

Burger Joint: Bear Bites.... no seriously that is the name of the place.

I love food. So when I'm free, I'll google for places to go and places to eat? This place popped up on some of the famous food blogs around Singapore. I dragged my boyfriend down with me to try out this place as it looks super kawaii (cute in Japanese) and innovative. 

See? I told you that's the name of the place. Bear Bites. It's located in between Scape and Cineleisure. It's not that hard to spot because it looks like some kind of hut.

For the reallllyyyy lazy bums who do not want to experience the thrill in searching for a new place, here's a photo of the store front. I'm a little disappointed that there's no mascot bear at the cashier, that will make this place epic.

Unlike other burger joints, Bear Bites served two types of meat. Chicken karaage (or Fried Chicken fillet) and Oishii Fish (or delicious Fish). That's it. No black pepper spicy chicken, grilled chicken.. nope, none of that marketing bull. In that case, it makes you wonder, so what is the selling point of this place? Definitely not the cheese fries (just add $1.00 to the burger combo meal). 

 It's the BURGER BUN! PAWS! Hold up! What do you mean by that? (See what I did there? Hehe.)
IT'S THE BURGER BUN! It's in the shape of a bear paw. Super cute. It's the size of my hand and it comes in different colors! From the squid ink infused black bun to the seasonal strawberry pink bun. Pick your bun, your meat, your sauce and whether you want it in a combo meal deal or not. Simple as that.

 I had the oatmeal bun... talk about trying to ease my diet plan guilt trip by ordering that with fried chicken fillet. Well, to be fair, at least the burger bun is STEAMED. So it's less fattening right? The burger was drenched in cheese sauce, the oily fillet was absorbed by the vegetables and the steam bun.. Quite nice and to be completely biased.. I LOVE THE PRESENTATION! So I'll give this joint 3.5/5.. mainly because of the unique burger bun concepts. If only they offer more variety of meat....

In total, I paid $8.80 for the meal. Definitely a good place for the budget conscious and for those who wants to try something out of the ordinary.