WatervieW in Bicentennial Park - Take #1

After a hectic morning in the lead-up to the wedding, I was eager to get to WatervieW in Bicentennial Park and eat something substantial beyond the egg tarts and cream Swiss rolls served prior the wedding at the bride's house.

Starters

Being part of the bridal party, I was allowed into a side-room off the main hall that was stocked with platters and drinks:

Mezza Platter

Antipasto Platter

Given our concern for the potential lack of time to eat during the reception, I happily gorged on the food before our entrances into the main hall. However, upon getting to our seats, I was highly surprised by the sheer volume of starters spread across the bridal tables, which mostly went to waste.

Entrée

Grilled King Prawn Cutlet on Herb Risotto with
Watercress and Lemon Chilli Oil

Tomato & Basil Fettuccine with Roasted Zucchini & Aubergine,
Basil, Feta and Parmesan

The risotto was slightly under-cooked but I guess it's better than being served an overcooked blob. I liked how the herbs were mixed into the risotto and the combination with the chilli oil was good. The fettuccine wasn't spectacular - just a vegetarian pasta - but the serving was rather big for an entrée.

Main

Seared Barramundi Fillet, Crisp Potato, Asparagus and Green Peas,
Lemon and Caper Butter with Chilli Jam on Side

Roasted Half Spring Chicken with Thyme Jus, Creamy Potato Mash,
Snow Peas and Dutch Carrots

The serving of barramundi was rather massive and its presentation could have been improved. I was disappointed to find that the skin wasn't crispy (probably because the fish had been left to cool for too long). I don't remember seeing any snow peas with the spring chicken...

Dessert

Chocolate Fondant with Strawberries and Mint Cream

Passionfruit Crème Brûlée with Wafer Stick

I was served the fondant - it was slightly overcooked but the centre still oozed a little at first before solidifying. My fellow bridesmaid got a crème brûlée that was riddled with passionfruit seeds (perhaps from the end of the batch?) but the top half could be salvaged. It wasn't overly sweet so it was heartily savoured.

There are some amazing wedding photo opportunities at Bicentennial, especially around sunset at the lake. Despite it being mainly overcast during the daytime, the bride and groom were lucky to get some awesome sunset pictures. Just after we left Bicentennial Park, the heavens opened and rained cats and dogs...

Based on this experience, I don't think WatervieW is suited to catering for parties with over 300 people. From behind the scenes, everything was chaotic:

• The blinds to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the hall were initially closed, making the entire hall very dim. However, when they were finally opened, the windows brought in sunlight and gave a wonderful view of the park.
• Table numbering was mixed up so the bride and groom's families weren't seated in front of the bridal table at the front-centre of the hall.
• Hall was overcrowded in order to fit 25 tables.
• Bridal party was meant to be able to select anything from the available menu but we were just served alternate food, as per guests.
• Meals came out behind schedule (e.g. 20+min into the scheduled eating time) and started to cool due to the large volume of food that the kitchen had to churn out.
• They brought out a wishing well for the following reception early and placed it at the front of the hall so guests placed cards inside it throughout the reception. We ended up having to break into the wishing well using a dinner knife (and later a Swiss army knife) in order to retrieve the cards before we were kicked out of the reception hall.

Let's say the bride was not happy over the first two fails.

On the other side of things, the guests thought that everything went well and had a good time - I guess that is most important.

Post for second (reception) experience can be found here.