20 April 2026

Wedding Inspirations  

Braised sea cucumber soup duet scallop with winter melon
Photo courtesy of The Westin Kuala Lumpur

Traditionally, shark’s fin soup has been a fixture in Chinese wedding banquet menus. Whether rightly or wrongly, many Chinese have often thought of shark’s fin soup as a delicacy. Being relatively expensive also meant that the dish is perceived to be a luxury of sorts, and in a sense portrays the sentiment that wedding guests are being treated to a meal of high quality.

Double boiled chicken soup with ginseng and mushrooms as well as braised broth with sea treasures and crabmeat
Photo courtesy of Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur

In recent times however, we have seen an increasing number of couples opt for an alternative. Environmentally conscious and well traveled, many are leaning towards keeping shark’s fin soup off their banquet menu. At times, it may be necessary to negotiate with tradition-inclined parents, but for the most part, couples often get their way in substituting this particular dish. Hotels, in particular the more progressive ones, are playing their part by offering couples equally classy options. The photos depicted here we hope, will be catalysts for you to think this issue over when discussing banquet menus.

Imperial recipe boiled superior fish maw broth abolone wanton in wild monkey mushroom
Photo courtesy of The Westin Kuala Lumpur

Tip : Give chefs a free hand to make recommendations.