Chinese Wedding Banquet Menus & Costs?

26 May 2008

by jan

The dinner banquet is the most important part of a Chinese wedding. I was told that people don’t remember what your ceremony was like 5 years from now but they will definitely remember the food you served. In addition, having a big, fancy banquet also shows off your family’s financial/social status. Thus, it is a taboo to cheap out on the banquet.

Wedding Banquet – Restaurant Criteria

This certainly have some truth to it as when Al and I were planning our wedding, the banquet was probably the part with the most parental involvement. Here are some of their main concerns for the restaurant:

» must have good reputation
» exterior and interior must look good
» excellent service and food for a decent/reasonable price

My main concern regarding the banquet location is that it must have ample of parking space. I’ve heard way too many complaints about how hard it is to find parking or the lack of free parking. I also want a restaurant with a decent sized entrance/lobby area so when the guests arrives they won’t bottle neck at the doorway.

Another thing you might want to consider when looking for a Chinese restaurant is to ask about the location of the “dragon & phoenix” decor. Some restaurants have it hanging out all the time, some would only take it out when it is hosting a wedding. Since the head table are usually in front of the dragon & phoenix decor, knowing its location will help you visualize your banquet sitting plan better. Also ask about the bride’s room to see if they have one. A bride’s room is a room where the bride can keep her belongings and changes to different gowns during the course of the banquet.

Finally, always check their washrooms! Some restaurants might have very nice decor but their washroom is like a dump. I’m sure our guests will appreciate a clean washroom as much as you do.

The Typical Chinese Wedding Banquet Menu

*menu taken from Kirin Restaurant – priced at $590 / table of 10 people* (May 2008)

Kirin Special Platter with Roasted Suckling Pig (麒麟乳豬大拼盤)
Deep Fried Crab Claw Wrapped with Minced Prawn (百花競爭)
Sautéed Baby Sea Cucumber, Scallop and Chicken with Organic Mushroom (珍藏貴妃帶子)
Shark Fin with Crab Meat and Fish Maw Soup (肚蟹肉金勾翅)
Live Lobster in Consommé with Light Ginger and Green Onion (上湯焗大龍蝦)
Sliced Fresh Abalone Braised with Chinese Mushroom and Selected Vegetable (鮮鮑甫花菇扒翡翠)
Crispy Skin Chicken (當紅脆皮一品雞)
Steamed Live Rock Cod (清蒸深海游水斑)
Kirin Special Fried Rice (麒麟炒飯)
Stewed E-Fu Noodle in Abalone Sauce (鮑汁乾燒伊麵)
Two Kinds of Dim Sum Dessert (鴛鴦美點)
Red Bean Sweetened Soup (百年好合)

How much does a Chinese wedding banquet cost?

Cost for a wedding banquet held at a Chinese restaurant is calculated differently that at other restaurants, golf courses or catering service. Although many restaurants offers set menus for weddings, the menus for Chinese restaurants are based per tables of 10 guests, while other restaurants and catering menus are based on price per person. I’d say on average the price per table for a decent Chinese wedding banquet is about $500-600.

The pricing varies a lot depending on the class of the restaurant and the dishes. I have seen prices range from $400 to $1,000 per table. For example, luxury food such as the grade of the shark fin, lobsters, sea cucumbers, abalones, fish maws, squabs, and whole roasted pig will increase the cost of the banquet. Keep in mind that the cost for the set menu is only for the food and does not include beverages, alcohol, equipment rentals, additional decorations, gratuity and taxes.

21 Comments

xiaobee May 26, 2008 at 6:10 pm Reply

I heard that chinese restaurants jack up the price for weddings. What's normally $600/table will cost about $800 for a wedding. Did you have that experience?
Jan May 28, 2008 at 1:01 pm Reply

I personally haven't experienced it but I did hear from a few friends that they found some restaurants (sometimes the more high profile ones) do jack up the price on wedding banquets. I think the restaurants increase the prices so that when you negotiate with them, they can bring it down without cutting too much into the profit. So it is always a good idea to sit down with them to go over the menu and pricing after checking out several other restaurants. This way you can do a price comparison as well as use the information for bartering.
firefly July 23, 2008 at 10:22 am Reply

I'm having a hard time finding a restaurant that is available on the dates my venue and photographer are. Do you have an recommendations for other Chinese restaurants that are of the same quality as Kirin? I've heard not so good things about Shiang Garden and Sun Sui Wah seems a bit old already. I would appreciate any help! Thanks!
Jan July 25, 2008 at 9:17 am Reply

Hi firefly, thanks for dropping by. Do you know how many people you are expecting and when is your wedding date? I like Gingeri at Landsdown Mall. They can have up to 17 tables (~170 people) in their main dinning room. There is also a VIP room that can hold an extra 50 people but it's a separate room so it's not very useful for weddings (guests will be isolated pretty much). I have a friend that is having his wedding at Shun Feng Seafood Restaurant at Parker Place (http://www.shunfengrestaurant.com/). He said the food was very good when he went for the menu tasting. It can hold up to 300 people. As for myself, I'll be having mine at the Victoria Chinese Restaurant in downtown (under the Hyatt Hotel). They had just recently renovated and all the chairs have chair covers which look pretty fancy. I was told they can have up to 300 people also. I've been there for dinner parties on several occasions and found that their food and service were excellent. I hope this helps. I know all the restaurants I listed above are in a mall complex. The good thing is that aside from the quality of the food, there are plenty of parking spots. The down side is that there are almost no windows which means no natural lighting.
Domi November 27, 2008 at 11:46 pm Reply

Hi Jan, I found your website very helpful, thank you for sharing! I just got engaged and I've been trying to call up some restaurants, but a lot of them are already fully booked. Finally, i found a place where they can accommodate us; however, there will be 2 other weddings going on concurrently also. Do you have any experience with a few weddings happening on the same day at the same location? Eventhough there will be compartitions in between, I am still afraid that it will be very noisy and my guests will feel like attending other people's wedding. Cheers, Domi
Brenda December 6, 2008 at 10:57 am Reply

Oh my Oh my.... Originally I've planned my wedding to be held at the UBC Boathouse... ceremony at 4pm then dinner and dance to follow... it's a beautiful setting with huge ceiling to floor windows overlooking the Fraser River... BUT... sudden change in plan. Future in-laws decided they really really want a chinese style dinner... plated style.. which is impossible at the boathouse since the kitchen is so small, and there's no available "good" chinese restaurants that cater. So... we have to push the cermony to the morning (since we already paid the deposit few months ago and it's non-refundable)... and have another dinner thing at a Chinese place. Really need some help!!! We still want nice romantic decorations and dance floor... but we need Chinese style plated service... the only place that I can think of is the Radisson Hotel in Richmond since they work closely with Red Star Restaurant next door. However, it's minimum 250 people... and we're only anticipating about 150... HELP HELP... any suggestions?
Jan December 9, 2008 at 9:49 am Reply

Hi Domi, I've never been to a restaurant when they have two weddings happening at the same time but I can imagine it'd be pretty noisy. I did went to dinner at a restaurant when someone was hosting their banquet and even with partitions, it was still very loud.
Jan December 9, 2008 at 9:52 am Reply

Hi Brenda, By Chinese style plated service, do you mean that they'll just plate the food for you but still have the 12 course meal? Most banquet I went to the servers usually ask the table if they would like their food split up for them (ie. instead of putting the big plate on the table, they'll divide the food up in to individual portions and serve them to the guests). If this is what you meant then I believe most restaurants can do it, which will give you a wider range of restaurant choices.
Brenda December 9, 2008 at 12:59 pm Reply

Plated style... my future in-laws want people to serve them... like waiters... so they don't like buffet style. Any suggestions for a venue that doesn't look too old-school... can have a dance floor.. and can be decorated or modified into a more romantic atmosphere? headache.. headache...
Mom January 19, 2009 at 12:20 am Reply

Can step-parents sit at the head table at a chinese wedding reception? I've searched & searched and can't find anything to say that they can or can't -- thanks for your answer!!
Jan January 26, 2009 at 12:30 pm Reply

Hi Mom (ok that sounded a bit strange), I've tried looking it up online and asked my parents about this but no one seems to have the "right" answer. Some had suggested to that to avoid this situation, have all the parents sit in a different table instead of sitting at the head table. In my opinion it's really up to the bride and groom to discuss this with their parents. If no one objects, I don't see why step-parents can't sit at the head table.
Netsu February 6, 2009 at 7:54 pm Reply

Hi Jan, Your site is very helpful~ I am planning to have my wedding around Oct 2009, and I am having a hard time to find a good chinese restaurant for around 8 tables..any suggestions? (have my own little private section?) Thanks
Jan February 19, 2009 at 9:52 am Reply

Hi Netsu, Most restaurants have partitions that can let you have a private section. I didn't do an extensive research on Chinese restaurants since I already had a few in mind when I was planning the banquet. Maybe you can pick a location first then look at the restaurants in the area?
Tanika Anguiano September 9, 2010 at 4:20 am Reply

Are you saying that due to the high wedding cost in the West we should all go and get married in China, not a bad idea actually!!!
Vincent September 27, 2010 at 8:56 am Reply

I preferred Shiang Gardens in Richmond a lot more than the Kirin near Richmond Centre! The food was amazing (like Kirin), but it didn't drag on like it did at Kirin and the food came out promptly and consistently!
Jan September 30, 2010 at 11:55 am Reply

Thanks for your input Vincent.
Pingback: Chinese Wedding Banquet – Miscellaneous Facts | Shorty & Me
Kat May 7, 2015 at 11:39 pm Reply

Hi Jan, your site is super help but I was wondering if you have any new suggestions on chinese restaurants for reception. I will be having a small wedding about 60 people and wanted a good chinese restaurant that serves good food and not so old looking. Please help!!
jan May 11, 2015 at 11:11 am Reply

Hi Kat, I think Shiang Gardens and Kirin Restaurants might be good choices. Another one you might want to take a look into is Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant. They relocated in 2012 so the restaurant is quite new looking. Hope this helps. Cheers, Jan
Ana August 23, 2015 at 9:01 am Reply

Hi Jan! Helpful website! I was wondering if a chinese restaurant wedding reception would cost cheaper than having it in other venues like golf courses/hotels? Thanks!
- jan August 27, 2015 at 8:24 pm Reply
  
  Hi Ana, I think on average it'd be cheaper as they usually don't have a minimum spend like most hotels/golf courses do (except maybe some of the larger Chinese restaurants, they might want you to pay more if you want to book out the whole place). Chinese banquet dinner menu are priced per table and depending on which Chinese restaurant, the price usually ranges from $600 - $1000+ for a table of 10. This equals to about $60 per person before tax and tips, with no minimum spend and no room rental fee. Most of the nicer restaurants have AV already setup so you also save rental cost there.

Chinese Wedding Banquet Menus & Costs?

Leave a Reply to Mom Cancel reply

F.A.B. Wedding Video

My Pinterest Wedding Board

About me

Copy Right

My YouTube Channels