8th Food tasting: Passion Cooks

To start off, Here's a trivia: Passion Cooks is the first supplier I contacted when I started planning our wedding (yes, before Church & Venue). Passion Cooks is my first love caterer and it is also hard for me to let them go.. When I am searching for possible venues here in Manila I am saying that PC (Passion Cooks) is my caterer. So why I didn't choose PC? comparing their package with KbyCunanan it seems that KbyCunanan's package has more inclusions so we let PC go..

Why did we had food tasting? I wanted to make sure that we made the right choice of choosing KbyCunanan if not, I am willing to go back to PC.

Let's start, we went to Maja's Home Cafe in BF Homes (thanks to Ren & Melo for the ride) for the group food tasting.

They first served the salad

Oriental Salad with Mango And Tomato Salsa

Verdict: I finished my salad, It was really good. The combination of sweet mango and salty catfish plus the fresh lettuce yummy! I super love this one.

Then, they served us 2 kinds of soup (one after the other)

Butternut Squash and Fresh Apples

Potato and Leek

Verdict: 

Butternut Squash and Fresh Apples - at first, I did not eat the apples I just tasted the squash soup and it was okay. Then I tried it with apples it was better. The crunchiness of the apple added an extra kick to the soup

Potato and Leek - I love this more than the first one. It has bacon bits (I guess that's why) the breadstick is also yummy! 

Appetizers were served next

Wild Mushroom Vol-au-vent

Bacon and Banana Rolls

Verdict: 

Wild Mushroom Vol-au-vent - Only one from the group liked this, but since I love mushrooms I also liked this one.. not that super yummy! but still okay

Bacon and Banana Rolls - this is as simple as bacon wrapped banana dipped in honey but the banana, bacon & honey complimented each other making this yummy! 

Next, Main courses were served (I am excited)

Chicken and Ham Crepe

Grilled Peppered Fish Fillet

Grilled Pork Ribs w/ Herbed Cream Cheese

Grilled Beef Kebabs

Baked Prawns Thermidor

Basilico E Pomodoro

Verdict: 

Chicken and Ham Crepe -this one is Love! cripy on the outside and cheesy on the inside. Yummy! the only concern I have this that they should put more gravy sauce.

Grilled Peppered Fish Fillet - Good specially with the mango sauce (not in the picture sorry!) 

Grilled Pork Ribs w/ Herbed Cream Cheese - The pork is tender and I love the cream cheese sauce. the mascuvado apples also adds additional kick to this dish. 

Grilled Beef Kebabs - The beef is tender and tasty. maybe I am just not into kebabs that is why I did not enjoy this that much.

Baked Prawns Thermidor - Super LOVE! yes, I am biased because I love prawns but this one is a must have! hands down! need I say more?

Basilico E Pomodoro -this pasta has no meat, sauce is more on the sour side. This is to balance the creaminess of the above dish to avaoid "umay" factor but I think this pasta is not for me.

Then, the dessert part

Chocolate Lazy Cake

Mango Cream Pie

Verdict: 

Chocolate Lazy Cake - Biscuit dipped in chocolate. Not that sweet. Just Okay

Mango Cream Pie - feels like mango panna cotta. Good but nothing special

I love how cozy and homey feel of the Cafe...

Overall:

As I told you, PC is my first love caterer that is why I am familiar with the foods. I am super happy that most item in my menu is served. The food is really yummy and the servings is huge (I knew my guest will be full). I love the food and Maja (the owner) is really nice.

Why didn't we changed our mind?

KbyCunanan's menu has more inclusions than Passion Cooks considering the same price. And Tiffany chairs really matters to us (which is an add-on to PC). And since Maja's Home Cafe is open to the public we can always go there if we missed their food.

You can contact Passion Cooks thru the following

Email: passioncooks@yahoo.com

FB Page: Passion Cooks Catering

7th Food Tasting: Purple Dish (Again!)

I actually forgot about this (sorry!) but while browsing for pictures in my memory card I saw the pictures so here I am blogging about our experience.

We had our second food tasting with Purple Dish during a bridal fair in SM Megamall. We already have caterer then why food taste again? for free lunch (why not!) but more importantly we need to be sure that we made the right decision because Purple Dish is one of our shortlisted caterer.

Lets proceed..

I love the lights and the Twig Tree set-up

A closer look of the twig tree (I super love this)

Per chef, this set-up is already an upgrade (ouch) but cannot tell me how much but promise this set-up is really nice. (^_^)

Cutie Flower Centerpiece

we now go to the food

Appetizers:

Circulo Tofu - same as my previous post I love this! I believe this is a must have to all Purple Dish client. yum! 

Sardine Bruschetta - bread is soft, the sardine is not spicy (I'll like this if this is spicy). This is also good but since I do not eat sardine I can pass on this one

Bacon wrap asparagus? Sorry I cannot remember the name but this is Love! I love bacon (who doesn't?) I am biased on this one because of the bacon thing. 

Mango Salsa Salad

French Onion Soup

Mango Salsa Salad - same as my previous post, I love the salad but I have to set aside the onions and red peppers.

French Onion Soup - Again, this is love. I do not eat onions but this soup doesn't taste like onions at all. All I can taste is the creamyness of the soup.

Now we go to the main courses:

Verdict (Clockwise)

Pork Bourguignon w/ Broccoli, Carrots & Fresh Button Mushroom - Since this is the newest(new menu compared to my previous FT) I tried this first but I did not taste something special in it. I found this on a bland side.

Chicken Stuffed Ragu - This is also new but because I am biased on white sauce I Loved this dish. I will choose this to be my Chicken dish if ever I get PD as caterer

Baked Norwegian Salmon in Lemon Butter Sauce - Need to say more? This is LOVE (as in all caps) Juicy and yummy! make sure to add this on your list PD brides.

Beef & Veggie Lasagna - Again, on the heavy side. I have to set aside the veggie again but this is also good. *yummy*

10 Hour Slow-Roast US Beef Belly with Cheesy Garlic Potato Marble - This is Love (^_^) beef is tender and juicy! You can choose between Caldereta Sauvignon Sauce and Mushroom Wine Sauce but I decided to try both (half/half) but I love the Mushroom wine sauce better,

As for the Desserts, sorry I am unable to take picture (super excited to eat) but the choices is basically the same as my previous post. We had the following

1. Bluer Than Blueberry Cheesecake - Love

2. Matcha Green Tea Cheesecake - Love

3. Vienne Canoli - Good

4. Bananarama - Like

5. Chocolate Truffles? - Good 

6. Strawberry Mousse Cheesecake - Like

7. Devil’s Food Cake - Good

8. Pistachio Sansrival - Love

Love = As you can see I am biased on cheesecakes, I admit PD's cheesecake is really Love specially the Bluer than Blueberry Cheesecake and the Sansrival is also Love.

Like = More than Okay but these are the items below the "Love" category.

Good = These are those desserts are just "Okay" 

These are just my personal verdict, Everyone has different taste and opinions.

Btw, Purple Dish now has a mobile bar. We were able to sample 2 of their drinks and it was good also (^_^)

2nd Change of Heart: Church

This is just some random post (I just wanted to document all things that happened).

I am really decided to have a church wedding in Tagaytay. The first 8 months of planning, I am really decided which church I wanted to get married. And yes, you guess it right, Caleruega Church.

(picture grabbed from net)

I think most (if not everyone) really wanted to be married in this church, Beautiful Exterior and Interior plus the church is not that big. I really cried when I have to let this go.. Tagaytay wedding will mean additional expenses for us so we have to change our plans.

When we decided to do a Manila wedding, only one church came to my mind that is

Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao. The church I had my first communion and the church that is really close to my heart because I studied in this school during my grade school days..

Church Interior - wedding setup

Church Exterior - Side (picture bu Ivy Pe)

I did not realize how pretty the church is until we personally visit the church. So much has changed, before the church was so simple but now it's grand. This is love at first sight for me. This made me change my mind and stick to Manila wedding. (though I still wanted to get married in Caleruega). 

Eventually, I became happy with our 2nd loved church. with blue carpet and pretty ceiling I know this is our "this is it" church. (^_^)

10th Booked Supplier: Wedding Shoes

I am a certified shoe addict. I super love shoes so imagine the excitement I experienced choosing the perfect shoe on my wedding day. I do have a lot of pegs (taken from the net) and I really had a hard time deciding.

This is my First Peg

but mine will have pink ribbon

After the cake tasting me together with my w@wie friends went to Marikina to meet up our bridal shoe supplier. we went to Roweliza Shoes (sorry I do not have picture). The office is small but the factory (where they make the shoes) is big. Ms. Rowie is easy to talk to she got all our measurement. She quoted me 2k for this peg. We are all happy when we leave the shop.

After few days, I saw another shoe (thanks to Google) and I fell in love with it and yes, I emailed ms.rowie and changed my peg.

Here is my new peg (so much cuteness)

no more pinks, I'll have it as is same color as the lace of my gown

I patiently waited for my shoes, because of the "Sapatos Festival" our shoes was late and when I saw it the materials used was not as expected (I mean not the swatch that I chose) so I still have to wait again. I was not able to contact ms.rowie for some time (work issues) but will contact her soon.

You can contact Ms. Rowie thru the following:

Email: Rowie Landicho <roweliza.shoesbags@gmail.com>;

Facebook Page: FashionPurveyor

Cake Tasting with Chef Kiko (Again!)

As promised, we had another cake tasting with Chef Kiko but this time I am with my w@wie friends. Nana is doing the laundry so he was not able to join us.

Our group picture 

As usual, we are late lol! Good thing that someone had dessert tasting that morning and did not take home the excess so there are desserts left for us yey!

Let's get started.. Chef served the following (our cake tasting was turned into dessert tasting) yey!

set-up is nice, this is making me droll

 Banana Walnut, Vanilla & Red Velvet

Dark Chocolate

Panna Cotta: Kitkat, Mango & Strawberry and Maltesers

Fruit Tart & Chocolate Truffles

mini banana walnut

sorry I forgot the name of the outer one but middle is Lemon cupcake

Verdict:

Like my previous post, I still love the cupcakes (^_^) moist, not airy type and not that sweet. I was able to try Red velvet with cream cheese and it was heavenly! Dark chocolate is really good too.. Lemon cupcake is good but I think it lacks the lemon flavor. 

Panna Cotta is rich and the consistency is perfect. taste? I love it! not that sweet the Kitkat balances the flavor.

I was not able to try the fruit tart but based on my friends it is also good

What I loved the most is the Chocolate Truffles as in Heaven! If only I was allowed to take home some I would love to get the truffles (I was just shy to ask for take home). I would love to add truffles to my desserts.. (just the memories of truffles makes me droll). If ever I'll get the dessert bar I would put this on top of my list.

Thank you Chef for the time he gaved us.. We love you.. (^_^)