Food Tasting # 17: Purpledish Catering

As promised, here is my food tasting entry for Purpledish. This was my 17^th food tasting to date. Wow, ako na ang FT Queen. Haha!

The food tasting was held at a function room in Avida Tower Makati West, where Chef Velmor also lives. It was actually a very small event because there were only about 15 couples that attended, but I liked how it was set up like a regular cocktail party, where waiters kept on offering us appetizers and drinks. I even met some W@Wies, like Ali (of Sam) and Kate (of Ryan). Oh diba, instant EB!

Gideon Hermosa used to be the stylist of Purpledish, but I don’t know why their partnership was dissolved. So now, new clients would be under Stylento, Purpledish’s new partner stylist. Some of their sample setups were shown during the food tasting. One table had a travel-themed design, while the other had a green and white motif.

travel-themed setup

 

green and white motif

 

The styling was okay, but honestly, I thought both of Purpledish’s setups were too cluttered with props and other centerpieces. There was barely enough space to put the utensils. I liked Richgold’s sleek and minimalistic styling better. Or maybe that's just me. Haha. Kanya-kanyang taste naman yan eh. I’ll probably ask Nikki of Stylento to tone it down a bit and just use a few simple and elegant centrepieces.

Now on to the food! As I said earlier, waiters kept on bringing us appetizers to munch on while we wait for the dinner proper to start. We first had the Spicy Salmon Bruschetta and the Asparagus Wrapped in Smoky Bacon. 

Spicy Salmon Bruschetta (and Mox's hand)

Asparagus Wrapped in Smoky Bacon. (Sorry for the crappy pic.)

The bruschetta was the clear winner between the two. The salmon was spicy enough to give you a kick of flavor, but not enough to make your eyes water. The bread used was soft and chewy, which was a welcome relief from the hard and crunchy bread that bruschettas usually have.

I didn’t like the asparagus though because I found the smoked bacon too slimy. I also didn’t like how it tasted like smoked ham.I am not a fan of smoked ham, so obviously, I’m already biased against this dish. But Mox not that impressed with both the salmon bruschetta and the asparagus. He just gave me his usual “Pwede na” answer when I asked for his opinion. Pfft.

We both agreed on one thing though: we thought the Eggplant Parmegiana was delicious! The dish was unlike any other eggplant parmegiana that we have tasted before because it was not smothered in sauce. Instead, the cheese and tomato sauce was proportional to the serving of the eggplant. It had the right amount of saltiness to it, minus the umay factor. It tasted just like a mini pizza, only it had eggplant instead of meat. One of my favorites for the night. :)

Eggplant Parmegiana

We were then served two soups: the Potato Pumpkin Soup and the Mushroom Trio Soup. These soups are called soup shots because they are served in tiny teacups instead of the regular bowls. These soup shots will be served as soon as our guests arrive, so they are part of five appetizers that we would have to choose for the cocktail hour.

Mushroom Trio Soup

Potato Pumpkin Soup

Both soup shots were delicious, but I liked the potato pumpkin better. The potato flavor was very prominent, and the soup was rich, creamy and very filling, so guests wouldn't feel to hungry while waiting for the bride and groom. Pair it with some bread, and you're good to go. Hehe. Meanwhile, the mushroom trio was very light in the stomach, but it also packed some major flavor in it. I couldn't exactly describe how it tasted. All I could say was it had a slightly spicy flavor to it, but overall, it was delicious. :)

We were also served some Caesar Salad in a cocktail glass. Again, the salad will also be served during cocktail hour, hence the glass. It was the usual Caesar salad, but I think Chef put in more parmesan cheese than usual, because I could practically taste cheese in every bite. Well, I'm not complaining. I love cheese! :)

Caesar Salad

Now in Purpledish's package, pasta is included as one of the main dishes, along with beef, chicken, pork, and fish/seafood. Since we had to choose only four out of the five, we had to think long and hard which entree we should eliminate. This will be difficult for us to do, especially if all of these dishes are delicious.

For our pasta entree, I had the Beef and Veggie Lasagna while Mox got the Duo Penne with Marina and Peste Aglio Olio. The duo penne is actually just penne noodles with two kinds of sauces. Yes, you heard it right. There was no meat, veggies, or any kind of sahog to the pasta. But still, the sauces were enough to give the noodles a burst of flavor. I also liked the lasagna, especially since the sauce was able to mask the vegetables' taste. Sorry, di talaga ako mahilig sa gulay eh.

Duo Penne (Top), Beef and Veggie Lasagna (Bottom)

For our beef dish, Mox had the Lengua Alla Cucina while I had the Slow Roast US Beef Belly with a choice of Caldereta Sauvignon Sauce and Mushroom Wine Sauce. Actually, the beef belly was supposed to have mashed potatoes, carrots and green peas, as well as an additional choice of tomato wine sauce, but I don't know why these items weren't available during the food tasting.

Slow Roast US Beef

The beef was soooo yummy! The meat was tender and so easy to cut, and the sauces were so flavorful. Chef said that both sauces have red wine in it, but I couldn't taste a drop of alcohol in it. But that's okay. I really don't like any alcohol near my food. Hehe. As for the lengua alla cucina, I couldn't really comment on it since I wasn't able to taste it, but I guess Mox didn't have any objections about it because he ate it all. Haha.

For our pork entree, we had the Honey Glazed BBQ Pork Spareribs. Again, this dish was supposed to have some mashed potato and corn on the cob, but there was no sight of them during the food tasting. It doesn't matter though because the spareribs alone were very satisfying. The sweetness of the honey glaze bbq sauce was just right, not too sickeningly sweet. I kept on licking my fork because I couldn't get enough of it. Ang sarap lang kasi!

Lengua Alla Cucina (Top), Honey Glazed BBQ Pork Spareribs (Bottom)

Next was our chicken dish. We had the Pollo Diavola, which is roasted chicken with herbed and spicy olive oil. The chicken was so soft and tender that it falls right off the bone! But while I love that the meat was very juicy, I was not that impressed with its flavor. Don't get me wrong, it tasted just fine, but I guess I'm just not a fan of chicken roasted in olive oil. I found it too bland for my taste kasi.

Pollo Diavola

Lastly, we had our fish entree, which was the Baked Norwegian Salmon. The salmon can also be grilled or pan-seared; it's your choice. Personally, I liked it baked. The salmon is again very soft and juicy, and has a tangy flavor brought by the the lemon butter sauce. What I love about this dish is that the sauce was not that sour. I think Chef has a gift of balancing all the flavors; the dishes were either not too sweet, not too sour, or not too salty. Everything was just perfect.

And now let's go to the desserts! Purpledish boasts of the most dessert offerings in their standard package. Imagine, you would get eight desserts! You heard me right, EIGHT! Most of the Purpledish brides have been raving about Chef's desserts so I was really looking forward to tasting them.

First, we had the Mango Creme Brulee. At first bite, I was literally speechless. As in wala akong masabi sa sarap! Oh-em-gee! This is probably my most favorite dessert out of all the desserts I have tasted during my 17 food tastings. You may think that I am exaggerating, but you just have to taste this to understand what I'm talking about. The caramelized sugar was burned to perfection, and the custard was so creamy it practically melted instantly in my mouth. The mango also added some sweetness to the dessert. Definitely a must-try!

Mango Creme Brulee

Then we had some of the cakes from Cheeco: Bluer than Blueberry Cheesecake, Manila Cheesecake and a Chocolate Cake that Chef invented just for that day. Ang galing noh! I thought all the cakes were moist and delicious! The blueberry cheesecake was not too sour; the Manila cheesecake had the right amount of cheese to it; and the chocolate cake was simply divine! All cakes have a graham cracker base, which balances their sweetness. Thus, you can enjoy all these cakes without feeling too umay. Hehe. Sorry, lumalabas ang pagka-conyo ko. Haha.

Bluer than Blueberry Cheesecake

Manila Cheesecake

Chocolate Cake

Lastly, we had some pastries like the Night & Day Eclair, the Custard Cream Puff, and the Walnut Brownies. Honestly, I couldn't remember how each one tasted like, but since I loved all of Chef's desserts so far, then it's safe to assume that these babies were delicious as well. Hehe.

Custard Cream Puffs

Night and Day Eclairs

Walnut Brownies

VERDICT: I loved Purpledish's food so much that I decided to let go of my P5,000 downpayment to my previous caterer just to book them. 'Nuf said.

PURPLEDISH CATERING

887-0104

info@purpledishcatering.com