Food Tasting # 11: Center Table Catering

Last Sunday morning, my family and I went to the Pergola in Pasay for Center Table Catering's grand food tasting. I have been hearing good feedbacks about this caterer, and when I saw their packages, I thought that while their rates are a bit over our budget, they are still relatively affordable.

We liked Center Table's setup in the venue because it was simple yet classy. Candelabras partnered with flowers were the centerpieces of each table, but all these will come with a fee because they are all upgrades. The standard centerpieces are the usual flowers on low vases, but I still find them cute. The drapes were a nice touch of elegance too. Minimalist brides would likely fall in love with this kind of styling.

Now on to the food tasting! I apologize for the crappy pictures though, especially for the main viands. I have to make use of my phone's camera because I forgot my digicam. Plus, I am a sucky photographer; the nicer pics were taken by my younger brother. Boo him for having the photography skills. Haha!

For starters, we had the Heart of Artichoke Dip with Bread Sticks & Crackers and the Nachos with Tomato Salsa, Beef & Cheese Sauce. Jocco and I loved the heart of artichoke dip because it has the right creaminess, right saltiness, right everything! Heck, we even loved the bread sticks even without the dip. Who would have thought that a simple appetizer like this can taste so sinfully delicious? We thought the nachos were quite okay, but my mother still thought her nachos were better. Sige na nga, pagbigyan na. Haha!

Heart of Artichoke Dip with Breadsticks & Crackers

Nachos with Tomato Salsa, Beef & Cheese Sauce

For refreshments, I got the Raspberry Iced Tea, Jocco got the Green Tea Apple Iced Tea, while my parents got the Lemon Iced Tea. I couldn't comment on the lemon iced tea because I wasn't able to taste it, but I could say that I liked the green iced tea better than the raspberry iced tea. Surprisingly, the green tea apple iced tea (wow, so many "teas" in that name) had no bitter taste commonly associated with green tea drinks. It was not too sickeningly sweet either; it was quite a refreshing treat. The raspberry iced tea, on the other hand, was a pale comparison to K by Cunanan's version, which may possibly be THE BEST RASPBERRY ICED TEA EVAAAH! Yes, that phrase deserves an all-caps moment.

Lemon Iced Tea

Green Tea Apple Iced Tea

Raspberry Iced Tea

We then went to the soup station to get our soups: Sopa de Pamplina and Zuppa Toscana. Zuppa toscana was italian sausage, potatoes, onion and spinach all together in a creamy chicken broth. It looked liked sinigang without the sourness. Unfortunately, it lacked all other flavors as well; it was just so bland. I liked the sopa de pamplina better because it was creamy and filled with vegetables, beef and chicken. I guess I just have a bias for thick and creamy soups.

For their salad selections, we had the Chicken Sicilian Salad and Tuna Macaroni Salad. The chicken salad has the usual leafy greens, chicken strips, mangoes and grapes, but I love their Sicilian dressing. It tasted just like a sweeter version of the Thousand Island dressing, which is my favorite dressing for green salads. The tuna salad was also sweet, but the saltiness of the tuna was able to balance the flavor of the dish so there was no umay factor.

Chicken Sicilian Salad

Tuna Macaroni Salad

For their pasta dishes, we had the Spaghetti Carbonara and the Cappellinni alla Puttanesca. Since I’m a fan of creamy white sauce on pasta, I thought that I'd love their carbonara but I was sorely disappointed. It was very bland and not as creamy as I'd like it to be. In fact, the little flavor that the noodles had would disappear as soon as you'd put a spoonful of it in your mouth. Surprisingly, I liked the puttanesca better because of its salty and spicy taste.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Cappellinni alla Puttanesca

For the veggies, we were served the Baked Creamy Sour Cream Potatoes and Blanched Fresh Asparagus with Melted Cheese and Mushroom Sauce. I don’t usually eat mashed potatoes, but I thought Center Table’s sour cream potatoes were delicious. Whoever thought of adding sour cream to the mashed potatoes was a genius! Others might find this dish too creamy to the point of being nakakaumay, but I find that eating the potatoes with rice can offset the creaminess a bit. I hated the blanched fresh asparagus though because the melted cheese and mushroom sauce couldn’t disguise the bland, veggie taste of the asparagus. Yuck!

Baked Creamy Sour Cream Potatoes

Blanched Fresh Asparagus with Melted Cheese and Mushroom Sauce

Our beef selections for the day were Roast Beef with Pan Gravy & Buttered Vegetables and Lengua con Champignon. Out of the two, I liked the lengua better because the meat is so soft and tender! And I mean melt-in-your-mouth tender! Heck, I didn’t even have to chew the meat for it to go down my throat. The mushroom butter sauce was also savory and delectable. However, the roast beef didn’t quite meet my expectations because I found the meat bland and too tough to chew. The sauce was the only thing giving flavor to the dish, but I thought it was too salty.

Roast Beef with Pan Gravy & Buttered Vegetables

Lengua con Champignon

For our chicken entrees, we were served the Garlic Infused Roasted Chicken and the Boneless Chicken Barbecue. I had the chicken barbecue and I thought that it was really quite ordinary, not like something you would serve in a wedding. The meat was dry and the some parts of the chicken skin were even burned. My mom could cook even better chicken barbecue than this. I couldn’t really comment on the garlic chicken since I only took one bite, but Jocco said it was delicious.

Boneless Chicken Barbecue

Garlic Infused Roasted Chicken

For our seafood dishes, we had Eastern Shrimp Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce and River Cobbler Fillet with Tartar Sauce, which were cooked on the spot during the food tasting. I loved the river cobbler fillet because the fish was sweet and tender. Center Table was also very generous with its portions because each fillet was thick and juicy. I can still taste the fish with every bite, even with the coating of bread crumbs.

However, I could not say the same with the shrimp rolls. Looks can definitely be deceiving because while the whole roll looked so thick and full, you can barely taste the shrimp in it. Imagine eating lumpiang shanghai without its fillings, just the shell. That’s how it felt eating the shrimp rolls. And to think that I love shrimps. It was just so disappointing. 

River Cobbler Fillet with Tartar Sauce

Eastern Shrimp Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce

What I liked best about Center Table's food tasting was its dessert bar! I literally couldn't wait to get my hands (and teeth) on the desserts. With more than 10 sweets around me, I was floating in desserts heaven. Hehe. We had Creme Puff, Chocolate Eclair, Tiramisu, Buko Pandan Salad, Blueberry Cheesecake, Creme Brulee, Chocolate Mousse, Mango Bar, Mango Mousse, Fresh Fruit Pannacotta and Mango Crepe.

Out of all these desserts, the clear winner for me is the crème brulee. The custard was delectable—creamy and not too sickeningly sweet. My family also kept raving about this dish; my dad even got two cups of crème brulee! Although I think they must have burned the sugar a bit too much because the hard caramel on top was slightly bitter. But other than that, the crème brulee was one of our favorites for the day. The chocolate mousse and the chocolate éclair were also delicious, but others might think they are too sweet. I’ve always thought that tiramisus have a hard biscuit layer in it. Center Table’s tiramisu was literally a cake because it was so soft and fluffy albeit still yummy.

For the desserts with fruits though, we were quite disappointed with Center Table’s offerings. Jocco didn’t finish his blueberry cheesecake because he found the cheese too overpowering. He said it was as if he was literally eating a block of cheese. Nakakaumay daw. I did thought their buko pandan salad was okay, but I still liked Ma Del’s buko pandan jello better. Wala na atang tatalo dun eh. The rest of the desserts—mango bar, mango mousse, fresh fruit pannacotta and mango crepe—also received a thumbs down from us because most of the fruits used were sour and probably out of season, which affected the overall taste of the desserts. Maybe if the fruits were sweeter, then our rating would probably change.

Chocolate Eclair and Creme Puff

Tiramisu

Mango Bar

Blueberry Cheesecake

Buko Pandan Salad

Creme Brulee

Fresh Fruit Pannacotta (strawberry, mango and kiwi)

Chocolate Mousse

Mango Mousse

Mango Crepe

VERDICT:  I had mixed feelings about our experience with Center Table. While I liked their styling, I wasn’t that satisfied with their food. There were more misses than hits during their food tasting. Plus, their quotation was over our budget because our AE told us they couldn’t slash off the whole 12% VAT for legal reasons. The most that they could give is a 6% discount. Sayang, taking off the 12% VAT can be a huge help for budgeted brides like me.

CENTER TABLE CATERING
60 Madrid Street corner Amsterdam, Merville Park, Parañaque City 
824-5179 / 821-3797 
info@centertablecatering.com