wedding preps: food, food, food!

Food! Our favorite part in the preparations. :)

As early as now, we are scouting for the perfect caterer (who will fit in our budget, hehehe).
--> Hey, I thought I was already doing preps early, turns out, other couples who are getting married a month after us, booked and paid major suppliers already!

Ohwell, just the same, can't book anyway 'cos I don't have a date yet.

Going back to the food, errr, side story first. :D

Gegs and I attended our first wedding/bridal expo/fair last 13 Feb at the Megatrade hall.
Wow! It's like, the Mecca of suppliers. hehe It was our first time in such an event, and we were overwhelmed with the amount of brochures, flyers, quotes, menus, we took home!

Gegs was amusing to watch, his head swinging from left to right, taking in the names, the services, trying to nod or refuse or smile--I'm not really sure--at the people handing out the flyers and calling us to their booths. He was like walking in a trance, getting whatever is handed on to him, without stopping. Just going with the flow... *wink*

We normally refuse the flyers/brochures being handed-out at the malls or streets, but that night, we had a bag full of 'em flyers. :) And the next day I was bugging my mom for a clearbook. It's a must! Together with the notebook cum diary :)

Sooooo. The food.

That day, we experienced our first food tasting with Kusina ni Kambal. They had a set-up at the conference hall near megatrade hall. Free food! How can we refuse.

Gegs liked the lengua and the cream puffs, but the rest are just so-so. In fairness, we were there late (dinner time), and I guess they ran out of food already (or haven't replenished the buffet yet) 'cos we didn't get to taste some of the dishes.
The dishes we did get to taste were okay, not bland, but not spectacular either. Nothing unforgettable.

But the owner was a nice lady who chatted with us for a few minutes. :) This is always a plus for us, friendly and approachable suppliers :)

Then, also from the wedding expo, we scheduled to attend another food tasting the following Monday. This time with Robert Camba caterers. The guy at the booth said they have a venue in New Manila which we can get for free if we get them as caterer. Hmm, why not?

So we went.

It wasn't disappointing, the food were okay... I guess.. They had standard packages, and I'd put them in the mid-range in terms of price/package rates. We actually liked some of the dishes, like their Korean Beef stew.

For the set-up... (Side story: Since gegs is in the production design biz, he knows more than a thing or two about setting up events and weddings... So this is a big deal for us--the over-all look. But having a tight budget and all, we agreed that we will not spend as much on the decor, and rely on the standard amenities included in the caterer's package. But still... We'd want the set-up to be tasteful. Simple, elegant, classy, but not formal. And NO, gegs will not design the set-up, 'cos that will be like a doctor operating on himself *wink*)

Back to Robert Camba's set-up--it was okay. With a little guidance, it will pass gegma's standards. I think.
Their AE (Account Executive), was also friendly and accommodating.

But over-all, we were not that happy with our first two food tasting adventures.
But since I was a busy-bee, I was calling suppliers left and right :)
This weekend we have 3 food tastings scheduled :D

Earlier, we had lunch at Eloquente. I must admit, we liked what we saw in their brochure and website. The set-up was tasteful, food looked scrumptious. And we also found good reviews. So we were excited to go to their place in Cubao.

We weren't disappointed with the food. :) We loved almost everything. And though the place wasn't set up as a wedding reception should (it was like a small kitchen with dining and buffet table, unlike Camba's who had a real wedding set-up), we could see they had taste, and that their style wasn't bad.
We especially liked their baby back ribs and grilled salmon. Yum! And their beef dishes were all savory! All tender.

But alas, when we were handed their packages, all the dished we liked were in the most expensive package :(

Good thing they were also flexible. Their AE, Lyn, offered a discounted package for us (for 100 pax, even though their minimum supposedly was 150) to fit our budget :) Yey! They are easy to talk to.

But we're not booking them yet. We do not have a date, and we havte more food tastings to attend :)

But they're definitely short-listed.

Tomorrow, Angelica's Catering for brunch, then off to Auffrance. They sound so posh. I hope they're as easy to talk to as Eloquente. :D

We have one caterer short-listed. I'll be happy with three. :)