The place is well-decorated, which either mean that the hotel was very generous, or our department was willing to spend lots of money. You figure out which case it is.
We were provided with the menu for the event, which I think every “law-abiding” hotel should. I think it’s actually a good idea because it allows the guests to pace their gluttony accordingly.
It was an 8-course menu, which was the following:
1. Cititel Two Hot & Two Cold Dishes Combination
2. Shark’s Fin Soup With Crabmeat & Shredded Turkey Ham
3. Crispy Roasted Chicken With Szechuan Sauce
4. Wok-Fried King Prawns With Butter & Spiced Oatmeal
5. Braised Assorted Mushrooms With Broccoli And Dried Scallops
6. Steamed Silver Pomfret With Sweet & Sour Sauce
7. Fried Rice In Lotus Leaf
8. Chinese Pancake With Peanut Cream
The Cititel Two Hot & Two Cold Dishes Combination is basically the “Four Seasons” dish in any Chinese course dinner. The only difference is the actual items, which in turn depends how much we are willing to pay. In this case, the items were of reasonable degree of quality, though there is nothing really to shout about.
The Shark’s Fin Soup With Crabmeat & Shredded Turkey Ham is quite nice. The broth is thick and tastes smooth. The serving per table was large enough for some guests (but unfortunately not all) to have second helpings.
As for the Crispy Roasted Chicken With Szechuan Sauce, I liked the tenderness of the meat and crispiness of the skin. However, I think the portion is insufficient for 10 hungry guests.
The Wok-Fried King Prawns With Butter & Spiced Oatmeal was good too. In fact, it’s the only type of prawn cooking which I truly enjoy. Cititel took it a step further by using large prawns and being liberal on the oatmeal servings.
Some Chinese restaurants cut corners by serving crappy vegetable dishes, but Cititel is not among them. The Braised Assorted Mushrooms With Broccoli And Dried Scallops dish contains 3 ingredients that I enjoy: mushrooms, broccoli and scallops.
The Steamed Silver Pomfret With Sweet & Sour Sauce was truly a treat. The meat was tender and smooth. It was a pity that the fish is rather small for a table for 10.
By the time we were served with the Fried Rice In Lotus Leaf, some guests have slowed down their eating pace. So it wasn’t a big disappointment that the portion is quite small. On the plus side, this resulted in no leftovers, something which I frown upon.
And as for the finale, we were treated to Chinese Pancake With Peanut Cream. The former was too sweet for my liking, while the latter was more reasonable.
Overall, the dishes were pretty satisfying and I truly enjoyed the meal which I did not personally pay for.