PETALING JAYA: Chinese banquet restaurants have seen a surge in wedding reservations ahead of the Year of the Dragon, surpassing the already record-breaking sales recorded the previous lunar year.
Grand Imperial Group, with 11 outlets nationwide, reported a 50% increase in business compared with the previous record-breaking Year of the Rabbit.
Similarly, Chuai Heng Banquet Hall in Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur, has seen an uptick in wedding bookings, averaging four to five every weekend since last year.
Such numbers might come as a surprise, given the rising cost of living. But a feng shui master believes they could be tied to Chinese couples wanting to have babies in the Year of the Dragon.
Feng shui expert Jessie Lee anticipates a 20% to 30% surge in births this year, saying couples hope to bear children with positive traits linked to the dragon in Chinese culture.
These include independence, charisma, courage, intelligence, and generosity.
“Dragons have always been associated with magic, supreme power and leadership,” she told FMT.
Lee added that couples would even maximise their chances of conception through measures like in-vitro fertility or IVF treatments, or the consumption of alkaline-rich foods to increase fertility.
Capitalising on this surge, Grand Imperial CEO Tony Wong said the company’s chain of restaurants had seen “phenomenal business” of late, with dates up till later this year already blocked out.
“A lot of young Chinese people want to get married and have a baby born in the Year of the Dragon, so there’s a lot of demand for wedding bookings.”
Wong advised couples interested in hosting their wedding banquet at any Grand Imperial outlet to make reservations about a year in advance.
He added that those who want to hold their weddings on auspicious dates, such as the eighth and eleventh of a month or sometime in October and November, should plan their big day several years in advance to lock down those dates.
“Give yourself plenty of time like two to three years if you want the best dates. They are very popular and they go very fast.”
Kathy Chaw, supervisor at Chuai Heng Banquet Hall, said the restaurant is also packed with wedding dinner bookings until later this year.
“The Year of the Dragon is a popular year. Many people want to give birth during the Year of the Dragon,” she said.
She added that the restaurant, a usual venue in Kuala Lumpur for Chinese wedding banquets, saw increased business between September and December last year as these dates are deemed more auspicious.
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