Food Tasting: Ma Del's Cuisine Catering & Food Services
So... Not many people outside of our family already know this. Without an official announcement on social media, the then-boyfriend-now-fiance and I have been keeping it hush-hush at the moment. But yes, we're getting hitched! I'm not sure when we'll finally be announcing it to friends and other relatives. But for now, we're just quietly securing our suppliers. And I'm enjoying every bit of it!
As a foodie, of course food is one of the most important things for our big day. So while I'll still be posting the usual restaurant reviews, I'll be injecting my experience and review of the caterers we've had food tastings with. I hope this can also be helpful to other bride-to-be's out there who are eyeing the same suppliers.
First among the caterers we got in touch with was Ma Del's Cuisine Catering & Food Services. This was a GirlTalker find, and many of the graduated brides who availed of their service were happy with the food, styling and price. Getting to their home office in Pasig City was fairly easy. But the traffic and street-side parking threw off the fiance a little bit.
We arrived at Ma Del's Cuisine's home office an hour later than our scheduled time, but the owner Ms. Anj was very friendly and accommodating. She left us first so we could properly eat. We were then served with the dishes that came in one after the other. We thought the spread above was already everything we'll be trying sans the dessert. But turns out, we got to try more.
As much as I love eggs, I sadly wasn't a fan of their deviled eggs. The egg yolk mixture was creamy, but it didn't taste like anything. I could only taste the flavor of the red bell pepper which was supposed to only be a garnish. The fiance also didn't care much for this dish.
At first glance, we could already tell this soup will be creamy. And it's only that, creamy. There were bits of egg whites and mushroom for texture. But taste-wise, the mushroom flavor is just too faint to notice.
I'm not sure about the chili bean sauce, but the sauce which I guess has coconut cream in it, is really tasty! It didn't seem spicy too, just savory with shrimp and coconut-y goodness. The shrimp itself was cooked nicely -- not tough, just the right doneness. If we get Ma Del's, I would love to have this on our menu. However, I'm not sure if our guests wouldn't mind peeling off shrimps.
At first, we thought this was a pork dish. But as it turns out, it's actually chicken! As the name suggests, I'd guess the skin was flambéed to get to a thin crisp. The chicken meat itself was very moist and tender, with pieces of ham and cheese tucked in. I didn't care that much for the cream sauce. But as much as I love the chicken itself, I'm not sure if I really like the ham and cheese filling. The fiance seemed to find the dish yummy though.
Ma Del's and other caterers usually serve just one item per type of dish (example: one chicken dish, one vegetable dish, and so on) for initial food tastings. However, we were lucky that we're scheduled on a day with someone having a final food tasting, hence the additional number of main dishes we could try.
Sadly, I didn't care much for this second chicken dish, since the other main dishes were better. For a chicken ala king, this was done well. However, it didn't have anything special going on for it. The fiance couldn't remember how this tasted as well.
This was the fiance's favorite dish out of everything we got to taste that day. The beef was cooked to a perfect tender. Every bite was meaty and flavorful. The sauce albeit quite oily, was very savory and with mild spiciness. We opted not to have rice when we had our food tasting, but this definitely calls for a cup or two of steamed rice!
For pork, we had this stir-fried Korean pork dish. The pork itself was quite tasty, with mostly of garlic, sesame and possibly a soy sauce-based marinade. The meat is a little on the overdone side, especially when eaten on its own. However, if you eat the pork with the vegetables, this becomes an addicting dish. At least for me. I'm not too big on bell peppers, but I was addicted to the stir-fried side veggies! The fiance gave me a confused look like, "What's so special about this dish?" But I still remain firm. If I can rate just the pork, I'd give it a 3.5/5, then a perfect 5/5 for the veggies.
I've always been the red sauce type of girl when it comes to pasta, and I'm glad they served one during our food tasting. I've heard this is one of Ma Del's bestsellers, and I can understand why. The sauce was meaty, not too sweet, and with just a bit of tang. Then there's a lot of melted cheese on top. The pasta itself is a little bit on the soft side for me (I like my pasta with more bite). But as a whole, the dish tasted good. I just wish it was presented better.
If there's one vegetable dish I don't eat at home, it's the chopsuey! However, Ma Del's got me eating and liking their version. The veggies got a little crisp to them, and the taste is just far from the chopsuey flavor I don't like. The quail eggs were a nice touch too, since I love quail eggs.
I'm not sure why these spring rolls are under the vegetable category on Ma Del's menu. I swear I thought there was ground meat in these rolls! But anyhow, these spring rolls were okay. They weren't oily, the outside was crispy, and the filling seasoned well. However, I just thought they were a bit lackluster.
I'm not generally too fond of maja blanca, but OMG! My eyes totally sparkled when I got a taste of this maja con mais! You may think I'm overreacting, even giving it a totally OA rating, but that's what I truly feel about this coconut custard dessert. The maja itself was really soft, almost a bouncy gelatin texture, and the taste was just a beautifully subtle coconut-y goodness with just the right amount of sweetness. Whether we book Ma Del's or not, I can already see myself ordering a big batch of this!
Another dessert we got to try was this buko pandan jello shots which is another bestseller from Ma Del's past clients. As much as the fiance and I liked it though, we didn't like it as much as we would've wanted. The jello itself was nice and bouncy with strings of coconut in it. I don't think it was sweetened that much, if at all, as the cream on top is what gives this dessert its right amount of sweetness. We liked this dessert, but we found there wasn't enough pandan flavor in the shot glass. If we go for another tasting session though, I'd want to try their buko pandan salad. Maybe that one would be a better candidate to satisfy our love for buko pandan.
Ma Del's offers a choice of blue or pink or plain lemonade, Hawaiian punch, or red or plain iced tea. For our food tasting, we were served with red iced tea. Sadly, I found this drink a bit too sweet for my liking. The fiance agrees too. There was also a little bit of a cough medicine-ish aftertaste.
Among all the caterers I've inquired with, Ma Del's Cuisine has the most affordable rates and one of the most competitive packages. They have done a lot of really nice styling too, and they even showed me samples of their recent work which totally convinced me that they can pull off the theme I want. They can even put up a trellis on the VIP tables as part of the package!
THE VERDICT
Ma Del's Cuisine serves up tasty and hearty home-style Filipino food. And even when we've only tasted a small portion from their whole menu, we know they can do it well. From reading tons and tons of reviews online, brides and grooms who got them as their caterer seemed to be happy and satisfied of their decision. However, we're not sure if this is the route for us.
The type of cuisine aside, Ma Del's has us ticking all the right boxes. Ms. Anj was very accommodating and prompt to respond during the first time I inquired with them. And at our first food tasting and meeting, we got to discuss a lot of aspects about the decor, package inclusions and freebies, which enabled us to really picture ourselves working with Ma Del's.
Will we book this supplier? At the moment, we still don't know. We're still keeping our options open, but Ma Del's is pretty high on our shortlist.
As a foodie, of course food is one of the most important things for our big day. So while I'll still be posting the usual restaurant reviews, I'll be injecting my experience and review of the caterers we've had food tastings with. I hope this can also be helpful to other bride-to-be's out there who are eyeing the same suppliers.
First among the caterers we got in touch with was Ma Del's Cuisine Catering & Food Services. This was a GirlTalker find, and many of the graduated brides who availed of their service were happy with the food, styling and price. Getting to their home office in Pasig City was fairly easy. But the traffic and street-side parking threw off the fiance a little bit.
We arrived at Ma Del's Cuisine's home office an hour later than our scheduled time, but the owner Ms. Anj was very friendly and accommodating. She left us first so we could properly eat. We were then served with the dishes that came in one after the other. We thought the spread above was already everything we'll be trying sans the dessert. But turns out, we got to try more.
Appetizer
| Deviled Eggs (2/5) |
As much as I love eggs, I sadly wasn't a fan of their deviled eggs. The egg yolk mixture was creamy, but it didn't taste like anything. I could only taste the flavor of the red bell pepper which was supposed to only be a garnish. The fiance also didn't care much for this dish.
Soup
| Mushroom Soup (2/5) |
At first glance, we could already tell this soup will be creamy. And it's only that, creamy. There were bits of egg whites and mushroom for texture. But taste-wise, the mushroom flavor is just too faint to notice.
Seafood
| Shrimp with Chili Bean Sauce (4/5) |
I'm not sure about the chili bean sauce, but the sauce which I guess has coconut cream in it, is really tasty! It didn't seem spicy too, just savory with shrimp and coconut-y goodness. The shrimp itself was cooked nicely -- not tough, just the right doneness. If we get Ma Del's, I would love to have this on our menu. However, I'm not sure if our guests wouldn't mind peeling off shrimps.
Chicken
| Chicken Flambe (4/5) |
At first, we thought this was a pork dish. But as it turns out, it's actually chicken! As the name suggests, I'd guess the skin was flambéed to get to a thin crisp. The chicken meat itself was very moist and tender, with pieces of ham and cheese tucked in. I didn't care that much for the cream sauce. But as much as I love the chicken itself, I'm not sure if I really like the ham and cheese filling. The fiance seemed to find the dish yummy though.
| Chicken ala King (3.5/5) |
Ma Del's and other caterers usually serve just one item per type of dish (example: one chicken dish, one vegetable dish, and so on) for initial food tastings. However, we were lucky that we're scheduled on a day with someone having a final food tasting, hence the additional number of main dishes we could try.
Sadly, I didn't care much for this second chicken dish, since the other main dishes were better. For a chicken ala king, this was done well. However, it didn't have anything special going on for it. The fiance couldn't remember how this tasted as well.
Beef
| Spanish Beef Caldereta (4/5) |
This was the fiance's favorite dish out of everything we got to taste that day. The beef was cooked to a perfect tender. Every bite was meaty and flavorful. The sauce albeit quite oily, was very savory and with mild spiciness. We opted not to have rice when we had our food tasting, but this definitely calls for a cup or two of steamed rice!
Pork
| Korean Pork (4/5) |
For pork, we had this stir-fried Korean pork dish. The pork itself was quite tasty, with mostly of garlic, sesame and possibly a soy sauce-based marinade. The meat is a little on the overdone side, especially when eaten on its own. However, if you eat the pork with the vegetables, this becomes an addicting dish. At least for me. I'm not too big on bell peppers, but I was addicted to the stir-fried side veggies! The fiance gave me a confused look like, "What's so special about this dish?" But I still remain firm. If I can rate just the pork, I'd give it a 3.5/5, then a perfect 5/5 for the veggies.
Pasta
| Fettuccine Italiana (3.5/5) |
I've always been the red sauce type of girl when it comes to pasta, and I'm glad they served one during our food tasting. I've heard this is one of Ma Del's bestsellers, and I can understand why. The sauce was meaty, not too sweet, and with just a bit of tang. Then there's a lot of melted cheese on top. The pasta itself is a little bit on the soft side for me (I like my pasta with more bite). But as a whole, the dish tasted good. I just wish it was presented better.
Vegetables
| Chopsuey with Quail Eggs (4/5) |
If there's one vegetable dish I don't eat at home, it's the chopsuey! However, Ma Del's got me eating and liking their version. The veggies got a little crisp to them, and the taste is just far from the chopsuey flavor I don't like. The quail eggs were a nice touch too, since I love quail eggs.
| Spring Rolls (3.5/5) |
I'm not sure why these spring rolls are under the vegetable category on Ma Del's menu. I swear I thought there was ground meat in these rolls! But anyhow, these spring rolls were okay. They weren't oily, the outside was crispy, and the filling seasoned well. However, I just thought they were a bit lackluster.
Desserts
| Maja con Mais (10/5) |
I'm not generally too fond of maja blanca, but OMG! My eyes totally sparkled when I got a taste of this maja con mais! You may think I'm overreacting, even giving it a totally OA rating, but that's what I truly feel about this coconut custard dessert. The maja itself was really soft, almost a bouncy gelatin texture, and the taste was just a beautifully subtle coconut-y goodness with just the right amount of sweetness. Whether we book Ma Del's or not, I can already see myself ordering a big batch of this!
| Buco Pandan Jello (4/5) |
Another dessert we got to try was this buko pandan jello shots which is another bestseller from Ma Del's past clients. As much as the fiance and I liked it though, we didn't like it as much as we would've wanted. The jello itself was nice and bouncy with strings of coconut in it. I don't think it was sweetened that much, if at all, as the cream on top is what gives this dessert its right amount of sweetness. We liked this dessert, but we found there wasn't enough pandan flavor in the shot glass. If we go for another tasting session though, I'd want to try their buko pandan salad. Maybe that one would be a better candidate to satisfy our love for buko pandan.
Beverage
| Red Iced Tea (2/5) |
Ma Del's offers a choice of blue or pink or plain lemonade, Hawaiian punch, or red or plain iced tea. For our food tasting, we were served with red iced tea. Sadly, I found this drink a bit too sweet for my liking. The fiance agrees too. There was also a little bit of a cough medicine-ish aftertaste.
The Package
Among all the caterers I've inquired with, Ma Del's Cuisine has the most affordable rates and one of the most competitive packages. They have done a lot of really nice styling too, and they even showed me samples of their recent work which totally convinced me that they can pull off the theme I want. They can even put up a trellis on the VIP tables as part of the package!
Click this for Ma Del's Cuisine's 2017 Rates
THE VERDICT
Ma Del's Cuisine serves up tasty and hearty home-style Filipino food. And even when we've only tasted a small portion from their whole menu, we know they can do it well. From reading tons and tons of reviews online, brides and grooms who got them as their caterer seemed to be happy and satisfied of their decision. However, we're not sure if this is the route for us.
The type of cuisine aside, Ma Del's has us ticking all the right boxes. Ms. Anj was very accommodating and prompt to respond during the first time I inquired with them. And at our first food tasting and meeting, we got to discuss a lot of aspects about the decor, package inclusions and freebies, which enabled us to really picture ourselves working with Ma Del's.
Will we book this supplier? At the moment, we still don't know. We're still keeping our options open, but Ma Del's is pretty high on our shortlist.
Thanks for this! Was looking for their rates everywhere since I didn't want to inquire yet. 2019 bride here.
ReplyDeleteNo prob! If your wedding is early 2019, you might want to inquire by late 2017 already. You might get good rates locked in for your wedding date. :)
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