Food Taste Date # 1: Purpledish Catering

Rye and I finally had our first try of food tasting and I must say we had fun! Sorry for the lengthy post and crappy photos (taken by Rye using his camera phone). I hope I do justice to our first food taste date.

Fee: P500 per couple
I was a bit hesistant when I learned we had to pay for the event. I thought all food tastings were free, silly me. But after being handed the menu for the afternoon, I thought the fee was actually very minimal. All in all, we were to taste 32 dishes! Whoa! I was already strategizing how to fit everything into my tummy.

Appetizer:

Clockwise from Top: Veggie Roll, Asparagus in Bacon,
Spicy Salmon Bruschetta, Eggplant Parmigiana

Salad

Asian Chicken Salad

Mango Salsa Salad

Honestly, the salad were nothing too remarkable. They looked and tasted like your usual salad with just minor tweaking. The vinaigrette maybe? I couldn’t exactly tell. The greens were fresh though. We didn’t finish our portions. Better save some room stomach for the main course.

Soup 

Mushroom Trio Soup

French Onion and Cheese Soup

I liked both soups. French onion cheese soup had a stronger flavor but not assaulting to the palate. It tasted of onions balanced by the cheese. I thought it was good, especially while hot. However, it was the mushroom trio soup that won our hearts (and tastebuds). 

Pasta
We forgot to take photos of our pasta because we were chatting with our AE when these were served. Rye was served Beef Lasagna (tomato-based) while I had the Creamy Veggie Fusili (cream-based). We took forkfuls from each other’s plates though. We exchanged plates afterwards since I was more inclined to the bold flavor of the lasagna while Rye preferred the laid-back taste of the fusili.

Main Course

For the main course, we both had a serving each of honey-glazed pork and their famous 10-hour slow cooked roast beef. Mine came with chicken ragu and fish margherita while Rye had the pollo diavolo and baked salmon.

The chicken ragu tasted like chicken relleno topped with cream cheese. The fish margherita was actually cream dory which I’m not really a fan of. The sauce seemed like a combination of tomatoes and basil, with a few kernel corn thrown in for more color. Personally, I don’t like basil. The fish was coated appropriately and the fish meat was tender but the sauce was too much for my taste buds. I thought it tasted strongly of cumin.

Clockwise from top left: Honey-glazed BBQ Pork Spareribs,
Chicken Ragu, Fish Margherita, Roast Beef

Moving on to Rye’s plate, the teeny weeny slice of baked salmon came with a quarter slice of lemon. He loves salmon and it tasted fine to him. Originally, I was the salmon-lover but ever since I got pregnant, it just became too fishy for my liking. Hence, I only forked a bite and let Rye finish what’s left.

Clockwise from top left: Baked Salmon, Roast Beef,
Honey-glazed BBQ Pork Spareribs, Pollo Diavola, 

We were both served with the beef and pork but decided to eat just Rye’s portion and take mine home. (Yep, they do allow you to take home your leftovers. I’m glad they do. Sayang lahat yung tira kung itatapon lang.) The honey-glazed pork was tender, flavorful, and comforting. It paired well with the rice. I would say pasok sa panlasa ng Pinoy. A bit sweet, salty, and saucy.

The basil rice was just steamed white rice topped with chopped basil. We were feeling full by this time but the rice offered a refreshing break to our taste buds. We managed to eat half a cup.   

And now, the beef! Rye and I were both looking forward to this dish and we were careful not to overeat because we wanted to enjoy this. The verdict? We were not disappointed. Our sighs were both of relief and utter satisfaction. It came with two kinds of sauce: caldereta sauvignoun and mushroom wine, but we forked a bit of the meat without any sauce first to savor its taste. And that first bite was simply heaven. Melts in your mouth, savory without being overbearing. Then, we tried it with sauce. The mushroom sauce was yummy. It tasted earthy and just complimentary to the beef unlike the caldereta sauce which we felt masked and overpowered the taste of the meat. For us though, the beef tasted perfect even without any sauce. I don’t think I would have minded even if it were the only item served as main course for the food tasting. It was that good.

Desserts

Just when we thought we couldn’t eat a bite more came the desserts. Can I spell that with a lot of ‘s’ in the end? Because really, what we were served were platefuls of sweet endings. 15 to be exact! And the serving slices were more than enough to please any dessert-lover like me. But even when I’m such a cake-eater, I had to raise the flag and surrender. Best take the goodies home. 

Devil's Food cake, Pistachio Sansrival, Dark Forest 

Blueberry Cheesecake, Toffee Coffee Cheesecake, Strawberry Mousse Cheesecake,
Super Moist Choco Cake, Belgian Choco Cheesecake

Day & Night Eclair, Belgian Creme Brulee, Caramel Custard Creme Puff,
Fruit Tart, Mango Creme Brulee, Belgian Truffle, Brownies (not in photo)

Since there were a lot of these sweet things, I will just tell you what we liked best: super moist chocolate cake. We were told it was a new creation of Chef Velmor, the owner, and it has no official name yet. So, it might already be called differently by the time you do your own food tasting. It’s super moist, not too sweet, not bitter, just comforting chocolatey goodness. The other items failed in comparison. Rye enjoyed the blueberry cheesecake though and the fruit tart which I didn’t get to sample. The rest were just okay I guess. Nothing too unforgettable. 

Also to be noted is that their house-blend iced tea didn’t taste like the usual powdered iced tea served by other caterers. During the reception, drinks will be free-flowing. Plus, they serve 50 cups of brewed coffee and 20 cups of tea. Additional charges apply if you want to serve more.

Packages
I guess that’s enough for the food. I know I already wrote too much. For the packages, here’s what was on the quotation:

50 pax - P69,000

100 pax - P109,000

150 pax - P149,000

200 pax - P189,000

250 pax - P229,000

300 pax - P269,000

Plus 10% Service Charge and out-of-town fees, if applicable

These rates include standard amenities, basic event styling by their partner Stylento, and 10 free buffet meals for suppliers. And yes, they use tiffany chairs. No additional fees for that. They customize and offer discounts and freebies depending on your needs, mode of payment, and, of course, negotiation skills. I tried asking if there were any way to lower the rates since we wouldn’t be needing tables and chairs. The venue comes with furniture so I was hoping we could get discounts or savings from this. Sadly, the rates remain the same. They will just offer you other items, service, or upgrades to compensate for the things you don’t need or want in their packages.

For a complete quotation, best to visit their site here. I heard they will be adjusting prices this October so a price increase may just be around the corner, unless you book or reserve now to lock-in their current rates. 

Rye's Thoughts
For our 150 guests and factoring in the service charge and out-of-town fees, we would have to pay around P1,200 per head or a whopping P180,000. That’s just for food and styling. And to Rye, it just wasn’t logical.

My Thoughts

I’m the kuripot one here, so if Rye thought it was too pricey, I’m sure you can already guess what my thoughts are. Seriously, I’m glad we pushed through with the food tasting. It was a different experience for Rye and I and we felt bonded discovering what Purpledish had to offer and discussing what we liked and didn’t. And we love our take home goodies!

Overall, we enjoyed the food and we like the idea of our VIP guests being really attended to. However, getting Purpledish will take up more than 75% of our budget. That just doesn’t sit well with us. I guess what hooks most bride is the inclusion of a dessert buffet in their package which consists of 1 fruit, 4 cakes and 3 pastries of your choice. But even when I’m such a big fan of cakes and pastries, the dessert buffet isn’t enough to make me overlook our budget.

Verdict:
Basically due to the rates, it's a no for us.