caterer checked!

Among the thing that you have to consider early, is the caterer. The caterer creates history. be it bad or good. Hopefully its a good one. Kalau event gempak tapi food sucks people will talk about it. Same goes vice versa.

I hired Manisa Catering for my engagement day. It was a small do with 120pax catered. I remember close to 120 good reviews about the food. Its very satisfying to see the guests enjoy the food at your event. "Food sedap giler" is among good reviews i received from the guest..

So why not hire the same caterer this time?

I went to see the owner for the first time. We only spoke on the phone previously as it was only small event back then, but this time mom and i went to see the owner in person and hopefully i will be able to ask for a good quotation. She's an experience lady and easy to deal with. She entertained every big deal questions i ask. The price she's offering is not bad at all.. not cheap but not that expensive. It still falls within mom's budget if we exclude the pelamin. Another dilemma, nak amik pelamin terus dgn dia or nak carik different decorator for pelamin? If i take different pelamin designer wouldn't it be expensive too? Nevermind, i still have time to include/exclude the items.. Yang penting place booking dulu sbb Syawal is gonna be one busy month for caterers!!

Why i should hire Manisa Catering :

1) Their quality of the food is their reputation. Trust me, Sedap!
2) According to the owner they use "Spencer Royal" dishware.. instead of pinggan melamine (that means she puts every small details into account)
3) They use fresh flowers for arches and pelamins (if i take one)
4) Diorang buat kerja ikhlas and bukan nak pikir untung aje.. They will advice you to take adequate amount of pax and not to waste the food by over catering number of pax.
5) They standby food JUST IN CASE food tak cukup and they will acknowledge the client with the additional charges later..
6) They are based in subang so its a brownie point for me!
7) They have been in this field for years and dia tak pressure i untuk hire them.

I couldn't find any reason not to settle with this caterer unless ada org nak sponsor me with anything better than this. But i guess the word better comes with a bigger price.. so i placed the deposit today.

Caterer checked!

oh by the way, if anyone know any pelamin designer yang affordable but creative pls lemme know. Don't recommend arma because i just heart them but couldn't afford it. I remember asking them and the pelamin i love starts from 4k!

Food Testing and Caterers! - Part 1

Went to pameran pengantin with mom weeks back at SACC Mall. This is the second time I went. The first time was with Mr Fiance' but rasa macam tak relevant je bawak dia.. well, bila tanya.. yang ni cantik tak? answers sumer mcm default. Ok, I need brutal truth opinions.. So i brougt mom this time.. besides her energy level, mom was quite helpful with her ideas.. cuma dia tak larat nak tawaf sampai habis..

I did not set much expectations for other vendors but I have targeted myself to search for a caterer this time. Hence, there's food testing. The first lesson learnt since the first expo that i went was i did not bring any folders to keep all the brochures.. so kertas2, pamphlet berselerak.. and by the time i got home sume dah jadi belacan busuk. So, this time i brought a bag to keep all the brochures, pamphlet nicely for future reference.

But.. i made another mistake.. we had our tummy filled before the expo knowing that we are gonna use a lot of energy walking.. it wasn't the best idea because.. macamana nak appreciate food testing kalau perut kenyang?? after 4 caterers we were already burping and refuse to try anymore..

Talking about caterers, they offer a lot of different packages.. but actually pusing sana pusing sini, kira balik.. the price are about the same thing. There is also cheap ones.. even RM6++ per head. I know i'm a cheapskate, tapi kena kira overall costs jugak. And I do enjoy good food and very fussy about food. Mom always claims, her lidah is a good benchmarker. Kalau "mama rasa sedap means memang sedapla makanan tu". Mr fiance' basically have no taste (except for when it comes to searching a life partner! you've got good taste dah-ling! hahaha.. ok tak kelakar.) i mean.. apa yang dia makan sumernye sedap even though oatmeal letak air sejuk. Am not joking. He's done that so many times ok! So, his jurisdiction does not count. Back to caterer..

So, cheap does not mean tak sedap.. but that does not include canopy service. If you are looking for a complete one with canopy, waiters and decos.. price around RM15++ for 1000pax. But the problem is.. we are planning to keep the invitation up to 800pax max only. And the price for one pax will definitely go up to RM20++. The one I like offered RM25/pax for 600++ pax. The package involves canopy, waitress, underayers, red carpets, fresh flower arch, fresh flower pelamin, cake, meja beradab for 12pax, 4 VIP domes and a standard nasi minyak menu. he vendor is Manisa Catering. Ngam ngam our budget. Expensive? or reasonable.. ?

Nurul Izzah offers good package too. I've tried the food at neighbor's wedding before.. not bad. the rendang itam was good. And the canopy was sooo clean..And they throw a Bali Honeymoon package in their package.. good strategy.. i nearly enticed by it. but kinda love manisa catering better because we had this caterer before and everyone simply love the food! sedap!

Kalau boleh nak carik yg lagi murah with this facility all included.. or try to push manisa for discounts.. hmm.. whata cheapskate!