Bright Courtyard
On a rather sunny day, we attended a radiant wedding at Bright Courtyard. On such a glamorous occasion, I felt that I had to turn up with my big sparkly camera. Hopefully, the food will look more true to life because I am making the effort.
Suckling pig with jelly fish. The pig was crispy and tasty, and the jelly fish was soft and squishy.
Crab claws with minced prawn. The crab was lovely, hidden inside the deep fried minced prawn. What’s not to like? Succulent crab flesh without the work.
Lobster with ginger and spring onion. I actually thought this was crab for one moment but realisation dawned when I spied the head. A bit too small for a crab. A lovely soft, juicy and smooth dish. Although I have to admit that I have become a little bit of a lobster connoisseur as Burger and Lobster now means that this king of seafood is now within the reach of the masses, i.e. me.
Crispy chicken. A staple of many Chinese dinners I have had. In this case, the skin was sadly a little soft, probably because it had been standing under the heating lights in the kitchen for a while as the staff had to serve all 200 guests simultaneously.
Prawns and scallops. The scallops were lovely, cooked just right avoiding the rubberiness of overcooking although the prawns were a touch overdone.
Pigeon. It was unfortunate that this came after the chicken as although it had a different taste, the effort required to sample this delicacy detracted from its enjoyment with other more easily attainable dishes around.
Sea bass. Here was the star of the show. Lightly cooked in soya sauce, the delicate flavour of the fish along with its soft flesh reminded me of why I love this fish when it is cooked well. The sauce in particular was very tasteful, especially when drizzled over white rice.
Abalone and mushrooms. I admit to suffering from a bit of food fatigue at this point and was consequently unable to give a real opinion on this.
Baby spinach. Got to have the vegetables. A nice little light end to the day.
Lotus leaf rice. Although tasting ok, it did not have the wow factor as the rice was a bit too wet for me.
Double happiness. Little lotus and sesame balls. I love deep fried desserts and these were not to prove an exception.
Red bean soup. Not my favourite to be honest as I would have happily finished on a fried note. Although those that prefer a creamier end may be more satisfied with this.
Fresh fruit. What I thought was a nice healthy end to the meal. Just normal fruits here, nothing to shout about.
Wedding cake. Unlike a typical wedding cake. This was lovely and creamy yet airy. No mean feat given what I suspect was the extremely high caloric content.
I was impressed that the restaurant managed to handle such a large simultaneous dinner (200+ people) with very few hiccups. Although there were a couple of points that they could have improved, the overall impression was that they were well able to handle such a difficult task. To provide a review of the more typical dinner, I will need to return on another occasion. However, my experience so far bodes well for such an experiment.
A quiet eating 7/10.
Price unknown.
Bright Courtyard
43-45 Baker Street, Marylebone
London W1U 8EW