Ritz Carlton Revisited

7 months after prom, I was at the Ritz Carlton Grand Ballroom again yesterday, this time for a wedding banquet. Much unlike prom, the grand ballroom looked dull, devoid of the palpable exhilaration and endless teenage chatter. And there were only about 50 tables. Guys and gals in their glamorous suits and gowns celebrating their graduation were replaced by ladies and gentlemen dressed in relatively plain dresses and shirts gathered to witness the matrimony of a young couple. Ah, how time flies.

I didn't know the bride and groom, but it appears that the young lady, an only daughter, hails from a rich family (and tellingly, they call her "our princess") while the groom, the eldest son, is a relative "commoner". There's little wonder where most of the money for the banquet came from. Not that it matters. But to be able to hold a wedding banquet at the most expensive, and only 6-star hotel is Singapore is no mean feat for young couples who've barely saved enough for their first HDB flat - the bride and groom were no older than 25. Which proves my point, that it's great to marry a rich woman (or a woman with rich parents), preferably an only child no less.

The food was obviously much better than what we had for prom. There were a deluxe cold plate, shark's fin (with real pieces of fin and not just a few pathetic strands drowning in starch), a fresh red garoupa, Pipa duck, abalone, scallops, big juicy prawns, and an utterly sinful but heavenly dessert. By the time I left the ballroom, I was heavier by a few kg but very satisfied. ;)