Wedding Tasting Menu Review – Juan Carlo, K by Cunanan, Bizu, Chef Jessie

As I plan for my wedding, the biggest and most crucial supplier is clearly the caterer. If there’s one thing guests unanimously agree is important, it would be the food. So, I really do want to make sure we serve excellent food. In line with that, we are now on a quest to find the best caterer. We have 3 choices currently: Juan Carlo, K by Cunanan, and Bizu. As I do taste tests with each, I’ll record them here to help remind me of my thoughts and considerations

 

Juan Carlo American Plated

Appetizers

Presentation-wise, ALL of Juan Carlo’s appetizers were just beautifully presented. If I serve these to my guests, no issues for sure. I’m listing out the appetizers in order of preference:

• Wrap ala Portofino (4.5/5): Beautiful presentation. Looks like a taco, balanced flavor, delicious.
• Tuna Avocado Tartare Comets in Sesame Ginger Sauce (4/5): YUM! Fresh tuna taste. Beautiful.
• Palabok Spring Rolls with Dried Smoked Fish and Salted Egg (3.5/5): Super interesting take. Would have liked this crunchier, but it really captures that palabok-ness
• Pork Belly with Chili Caramel Sauce (2/5): Found the pork belly rather tough.

 

Soup

Again, beautiful glassware here. Loved the presentation, loved the pour-over service (only for VIPs). In order of preference, but tbh, both were excellent:

• Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Truffle Oil, Biscotti Bread, Pistachio Nuts: Light and refreshing. I particularly liked the biscotti bread addition, because it added that sweetness to my soup
• Andalusian de Tomato with Tomato Salsa and Focaccia Bread: Not a veggies fan, but this was tart with good mix of veggies. Herbs used were fresh too. Overall, my fiancé really liked this

 

Salad

Again, lovely presentation. I like the use of glasses, instead of haphazardly placing it on a plate. Here, the Panzanella Salad was clearly better, although I’m not really a salads person

• Panzanella Salad with Tomato Infuse Dressing and Balsamic Glaze (3/5): Great sauce, lots of veggies
• Crab Tumbler with Mango Ginger Cilantro Dressing with Granny Smith Apple Jello, garnished with apple crisps (1/5): The first big dud of the day. Way too much happening here.

 

Main Entree

We absolutely loved EVERYTHING that came before this, but the mains were just… not great at all. First, the presentation was very off-putting – they call this American plated, but honestly, looking at it kind of killed my appetite. Second, taste-wise, not great. The only dish we unanimously liked was the Pot Roast Beef – super tender, we initially thought we were eating lengua!

The other dishes were tried were ranging from 1/5 to 3/5 – from blech to so-so. Not really what we’re aiming for in our reception:

• Pork Tenderloin Geneva Style: so-so
• Chicken Kebabs with Garlic Yoghurt Sauce: so-so
• Fettucine in Wild Mushroom Sauce: so-so
• Fresh Lumpiang Ubod with Toasted Peanuts in Brown Sauce: Ubod was good, but lacked peanuts
• Blue Marlin in Lemon Butter Sauce: too much better
• Cobbler Fillet with Tomato and Vegetable Salsa: Fish rather low quality
• Penne Pasta Longganisa Royale con Arugula: Sweet sauce, but salty longganisa. Not a great combo
• Hickory Barbecued Pork Ribs: super tough pork ribs! Too much bbq sauce
• Beef Calderetang Batangas in Potato Boat with Grated Cheese and Spring Onions: beef not tender enough
• Chicken Hongkong Style with Mushrooms, Carrots Red Capsicum: Chicken wasn’t juicy
• Grilled Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots and French Beans with Thyme: blah taste
• Paella Negra: dry
• Paella de Madrid: dry

 

Dessert

I have a sweet tooth, so I was looking forward to this. Overall, both were just alright

• Coffee Magnifico
• Peach, Kiwi and Blueberry Tart

 

Drinks

• Fresco Citron: Super refreshing! Loved this
• Pink Lychee Lemonade with Lychee Meats: Refreshing, but lychee flavor too overpowering

 

Overall Verdict

We LOVED the appetizers and soup, but the main entree really left us dissatisfied. We’ll be trying their plated taste testing again, to see if their mains would be better there. Still, I thought it was distinctly weird that despite tasting SO MANY mains, only one really passed the bar for us.

As for the service, waiters were attentive, and were able to explain clearly the dishes we were trying.

 

K by Cunanan

We had super high hopes for K, and we SUPER loved the people here – our manager (Tin), stylist (Ina), marketing head (Bea) were all just so lovely. We would book them if just for the people alone. Having said that, the ultimate test is of course, the taste test. For this, we went to their Greenmeadows venue.

 

Starters

Presentation was literally them placing it all on one plate. Not very wow, but OK. Again, in order of preference:

• Blinis with smoked salmon – Yum! Our favorite. Good balance of flavors, with the smoky salmon taste and the pancake to counterbalance
• Cheese and chorizo porquetas, pimiento aioli: Yummy! Not like WOW, but comforting food
• Seared tuna on crisp tortilla, arugula, caramelized onions: Not bad! But I worry the tortilla could become stale, especially if I’m serving this outdoors during cocktails
• Hoisin crackling pork wrap: Pork a bit tough, If you’re doing this dish, I recommend serving chicken instead
• Salmon aburi: Good taste. But presentation wasn’t great, and the sauce was weird
• Tuna aburo: Not defrosted well, and it isn’t bite-sized which I find a bit weird

 

Soup

Oh gosh, it went downhill from here. Their soup bowls are just, not nice at all. And the consistency of the soup was plain weird!

• May consider: Truffle Mushroom
• A definite no: Potato and Leek, Puree of Pea and Bacon

 

Salad

Salads definitely a letdown as well. Presentation-wise, it felt like a buffet spread dumped on my plate. Definitely not the impression I’m going for with my guests

• Spicy tuyo and orzo salad, arugula, basil, dried cranberries, capers, feta: weird. we didnt like the orzo. Overall, found the blend of flavors weird, although I liked the dried cranberries
• Insalata caprese, orange, walnuts, strawberry vinaigrette: er… k lang. My first thought when I saw this was, is this a hamburger without a bun? The flavors just didn’t go well together?

Seafood/Fish Entree

• Seared salmon and risotto, white truffle aioli: Delicious!!! We definitely liked this. Risotto cooked perfectly, loved the white truffle aioli, seared salmon cooked nicely (I like mine a bit more raw, but this was ayt)
• Seared sesame crusted tuna, wasabi mashed potatoes, balsamic syrup – Overcooked in the parts where seared. Wasabi mashed potato rather dry

Sorbet

Going to rank this in order of preference, although none would have passed the bar

• Dalandan basil: Too tart. Overpowering dalandan flavor, better if they mixed more ice in
• Watermelon: Too sweet. But refreshing, but yeah definitely too sweet for a palate cleanser
• Mojito: Number one, since this contains alcohol, it was melting already when it was served! Number two, it tastes like toothpaste

Main Entree

K by Cunana’s main entree were excellent. ‘Nuff said. The only thing is, I didn’t like any of their sides…

• Slow cooked angus short plate, ponzu, truffle butter, onion rings: Short plate was delicious, very tender, good cuts, Hard to go wrong with this one. Nice plating too! Onion ring barely had onion though, and potato cake rather blah
• Pepper-crusted tenderloin, cranberry jus, boursin potato puree, balsamic onion confit – Delicious tenderloin – cooked just right. Although we’re a bit worried if they can maintain the same consistency for 350 guests. The boursin potato puree was kind of weird, but also kind of grows on your after awhile. The balsamic onion confit was decent
• Grilled angus ribeye, au jus, grilled root vegetables, truffle mashed potatoes: Not bad this ribeye – cooked medium well. BUT presentation-wise not so appealing. Root vegetables would have better if baked…
• Lamb shank version of the Osso bucco, risotto Milanese, gremolata: The lamb was EXCELLENT. But osso bucco sauce was too tart. Tomato flavor was overpowering. We had to scrape off the sauce to appreciate the meat
• Osso bucco, risotto Milanese, gremolata: Good, but definitely pales in comparison to the lamb

 

Dessert

• White chocolate cake: Surprisingly good. Very light and delicate flavored. I finished this
• Quezo de bola cheesecake: Interesting, although slightly weird texture. I found it nakakaumay after awhile, but I’m not really a cheesecake person
• Malagos dark chocolate, olive oil, sea salt: Weird. I think depends on the person, I’m not super fond of dark chocolate
• Panna cotta with mango, kiwi or strawberry: too sweet

 

Drinks

• Iced Tea: Normal

 

Overall Verdict

For the people alone, we would choose K. But food-wise, the mains were excellent, plus the salmon. Everything else (also the presentation) were a dud. And while their waiters were nice, they didn’t seem well-versed in what exactly were being served to us.

 

Bizu

Everyone tells me Bizu is great (my coordinator foremost of them all). But I really actually don’t like Bizu because I feel they have a very diva attitude. Case-in-point, I messaged them on Instagram, Facebook, Email – and they never bothered to respond! I visited them at a bridal fair and they were quite dismissive. Essentially just gave me a calling card and told me to message directly for my concerns. I don’t know. It feels like they don’t think they need to provide good service to get customers…. Anyway, my fiance kept telling me the food quality is the most important, and at the end of the day, our coordinator will be the one to work with them directly, so let’s just try. So ok fine, let’s do it. We signed up for their food tasting (which they said was good for 4 pax).

Let me preface this by saying, by the time the tasting started, I was already feeling extra irritated because the menu we chose wasn’t the menu being served to us! Apparently, our Bizu manager didn’t read our message carefully. So on-the-day, best effort, they gave us what was readily available in the kitchen, then we just had to follow the rest of their existing menu for the rest. Definitely NOT a good start. Cherry on top, the manager handling us wasn’t present also, because she had a cough. Totally valid reason, but that meant we weren’t getting immediate feedback on our concerns…

 

Canape

Now, despite my many complaints, I was willing to let the food speak on its own. The canape were ranging from great to good. I’ve listed them down below in order of preference.

• Caramelized apples, walnut and goat cheese: Delicious! Super light, with a hint of sweetness and saltiness, and that crunch from the walnut. Loved this
• Shrimp and Melon Prosciutto Toast: Super yummy! Love the toast, and the shrimp and melon on top were just refreshingly light
• Snapper with Rosemary and Bacon in Skewers: Tbh you barely taste the snapper, but who doesn’t like bacon right?
• Spicy Vegetable Samosa with Apple Mango Chutney: Yummy! That savory treat you didn’t know you needed. Found it a tad oily though
• Smoked Salmon with Dill and Caviar on Croute: Great. But too common. Smoked salmon is smoked salmon. You don’t need a premium catering service to provide this
• Enoki wrapped with beef tenderloin in Wasabi Hollandaise: Flavors were wonky, wasabi too overpowering. Beef tenderloin was good though
• Truffle and Porcini Duxelle in Vol- Au-Vent: The vol-au-vent pastry was disappointing. But the truffle itself was good

Soup

Hmmm, their soups were not impressive. And while presentation was better than K by Cunanan, Juan Carlo is still better here.

• Zucchini and Pistou: Tasted like pesto in soup form. Not necessarily something I need or want?
• Pumpkin and Pecan: Surprisingly disappointing. Lacked flavor. Would have benefited from more salt and pepper. Also too thick in texture

 

Salad

Again, disappointing. I’m not exactly sure what they’yre trying to do here. Neither one impressed

• Fresh Plum and Prosciutto Salad Prosciutto, Plums, Candied Walnuts, Parmesan, Aniseed Citron Vinaigrette: Way too much going on here. Also, despite being called a fresh plum and prosciutto salad, there was a grand total of 2 peach slices, and 2 mini prosciuttos. Disappointing
• Mediterranean salad mesclun with watermelon, white cheese, candied walnuts, parmesan, and honey balsamic: The honey balsamic sauce overpowered everything. I don’t remember anything beyond that

Despite being advertised as a taste testing for 4 people, they served us a grand total of 1 salad serving for each salad type. This meant, 4 people had to share each serving. Didn’t make for a good experience… This was the case for ALL succeeding courses from the soup onwards. I felt like I was at a cheap restaurant.

 

Pasta Course

Again, 1 pasta serving to be shared by four people. Ridiculous. For example, for the fagottini we essentially got one piece each.

• Pear and Ricotta Fagottini with Brown Butter, Herb Aglio Olio: I actually really liked this one. Unique, sweet with that saltiness. Alas, everyone else thought it was a bit too much. Nakaka-umay
• Truffle cream conchiglie with truffle jus, wild mushrooms, Vaudois sausage, cream, and parmesan: Typical truffle. Good but not great

 

Sorbet

I put my foot down here when they served us 1 serving for ALL FOUR OF US to share again. Did they want us to quadruple dip for each sorbet?! Ridiculous. They ended up bringing us a 2nd serving for each. They shouldn’t have bothered. They were quite bad. The sorbet was frozen, you have to munch through it. The mango passionfruit was the best out of these four, and the only one worth serving

• Mango Passionfruit: Good. Clean tangy combo
• Raspberry Merlot: Merlot overpowering, not necessarily what I would consider a good cleanser. Would make for a yum dessert though
• Rose Lychee: Mmmm not my type. Although if you like rose and lychee, you might like it?
• Dalandan and Mint: Tastes like toothpaste. Definitely blech

Main Course

Same issue again, 1 serving for all four. Zzzzz

• 10 Hour US Roast Beef Belly in Wild Mushroom Demiglace with Potato Gratin, Grilled Vegetable Melange, Caramelized Onions and Horseradish Cream: The Roast Beef Belly was good – good mix of fat and meat and cooked well. Overpowering flavor though, best eaten WITH the potato gratin together. But if you eat these two separately, one is too overpowering, the other too bland. Vegetables were lacking.
• Beef Tenderloin Paupiette with Wild Mushroom Ragout in Red Wine Demiglace with Potato Dauphin, Grilled Vegetable Melange, Caramelized Onions and Horseradish Cream: Yum, this was beef wellington with wild mushroom apparently. Good. Would serve to guests. Potato Dauphin was good too. Their sides need work however, why is it the same for all?
• Seared Halibut with Dill Beurre Blanc and Vermouth Emulsion Parmesan Walnut and Pea Risotto, Roasted Asparagus and Lemon: Too much cream sauce everywhere. I thought the halibut was overcooked as well, although my fiance said it was cooked well

 

Dessert

Honestly, they served so many that (1) None of them stood out, and (2) it became so cloying. I was left distinctly unimpressed. It’s like as a dessert company, they just threw everything at you without even bothering to highlight their best dishes

• MDP: Not sure which was this.
• Vanilla Crème brûlée in Egg Shell: This was good. Unique
• Tiramisu: Sakto lang
• Samba
• Roca
• Pavlova with Fruits
• Mango Soleil
• Jolie
• Jivara Palet Lactee: WEIRD. Do not get.
• Amour
• Yoga
• Strawberry Shortcake: Strawberry wasn’t sweet
• Macarons: I liked the Early Gray flavor

As you can see, all the chocolate ones I couldn’t remember anymore LOL. Because they all kind of ended up tasting the same

 

Drinks

Both were too sweet, but of the two, I prefer the blackcurrant.

• Peach Juice with Peach Halves, for cocktails
• Blackcurrant with lemon and mint + edible flower garnish

 

Overall Verdict

The food is alright. Nothing WOW. But paired with the bad service, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. We shall see.

 

Juan Carlo Signature Plated

And here I am, back with Juan Carlo. After mulling it over, my fiance and I decided to give Juan Carlo another try – this time focusing on their Signature Plated dishes, which is really what we plan to serve to our guests anyway. Eliz, our manager is really super helpful. I love her.

Cocktail Hours

Beautiful presentation as always! We tried seven different cocktails, and I’ve ranked them here according to preference:

• Money Bag with Pork, Shrimp, and Leeks: Yum! Unexpectedly delicious. It’s like fried wonton skin with this puree pork, shrimp, leeks combo.  Very good. Tops my list
• Wrap ala Portofino: Their wrap shows up yet again. Love the presentation – very cute. And the fresh vegetables really is so refreshing
• Five Spice Chicken Wings: Really good blend. Crunchy chicken. Delicious when warm, but am worried it will cool quite quickly when served in the windy garden. Also a bit hassle to eat when not seated
• Shrimp Tapas with Mango Shooters: Just ayt. Mango was yum though
• Chicken Kebabs with Garlic Yoghurt Sauce: Hmmm chicken lacked flavor. Great presentation though
• Mini Jacket Potatoes with Jamon Serrano: No no no. Super bland and blah. Pass

Cocktail drink: Green Cucumber Lemonade – super refreshing. Two thumbs up from me.

 

Appetizers

O.M.G. SO BEAUTIFUL. That dry ice-induced smoke effect? Beautiful. Words fail me. I want a waiter’s parade now.

• Baked Scallop with Pastis Prado Wine: Beautiful! Taste-wise, the baked scallop was a tad too cheesy, but when paired with the paprika cream sauce – it was delish!
• Mollusk Trilogy (ceviche oyster, Rockefeller mussels, baked scallop): Again, beautiful presentation. The ceviche oyster was hands-down my fave, super fresh and tart. A bit worried because some people might not eat raw food though. The mussels were a tad too much, got lost in all the cheese and other fillers. The baked scallop a tad too cheesy

Appetizer drink: Juan Carlo Signature Rose (10% alcohol content) with Picole Strawberry Popsicle. MYGOSH. So good. Gimme that rose wine. Also the strawberry popsicle is so yum. Legit!

 

Soup

• Fresh Ocean Clam in Ginger Garlic Broth in Buco Shell: The soup is a tad salty, the ocean clam shells get in the way of me eating my soup in peace, but love the buco shell presentation and the buco they use is young so the meat is super tender and sweet
• Potage Florentine Et Creme A La Crecy (Spinach, Milk Foam, Pumpkin): Spinach too salty – it overpowered the pumpkin. Milk foam texture rather weird. Pumpkin still a winner. My favorite remains to be Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Truffle Oil, Biscotti Bread, Pistachio Nuts

 

Salad

Not a big fan of salads, but these were definitely the best out of all the ones I’ve tasted so far.

• Fresh Baby Leaf Salad, Chianti Poached Pear with Cambozola Cheese, Caramelized Peach, Candied Walnuts: Hands down my fave!!!! Ok presentation-wise so pretty, but taste-wise so good too. Love the poached pear and cambozola cheese combo. The caramelized peach was a nice touch too. And the beet sauce, delicious paired with the baby leaf salad. Hay happy camper here
• Mesclun Salad with Smoked Norwegian Pink Salmon with Agave Nectar Dressing: This was good also, but the salmon was a tad overpowering

 

1st Plate

• Pacific Ocean Char-Grilled Blue Marlin Fillet with Sesame Soba Noodles, Ginger Garlic Essence Kailan Leaves: The sesame soba noodles were the BOMB. Ang sarap sarap. The blue marlin fillet, as expected, was a tad dry though
• Pan Grilled Chilean Seabass, Confit Cherry Tomato, Champagned Duo Caviar with Crushed Jersey Potato: The seabass was so good. It was cooked perfectly – silky smooth. The crushed jersey potato was a bit too much, seasoned well but just too much in quantity. Champagned duo caviar was pretty and added a nice touch.

 

Sorbet

• Tropical Coco Lychee Sorbet: OMG. Such beautiful presentation, I cannot. Alas, I am not fond of lychee.
• Lime Verdant Sorbet: Delish. Great palate cleanser

 

2nd Plate

• Oven Roasted US Certified Prime Angus Rib Eye Peanut Potato Cake, Marinated Capsiculum, Cilantro Jalapeno Sauce: This was weird hahahaha! The Rib Eye was great – cooked medium rare. But everything else was a mess. Peanut Potato was WEIRD – as in legit tasted one bite then didn’t bother to go for more. The jalapeno sauce was spicy and I dunno, this was just a weird mishmash of flavors
• US Certified Prime Angus Rib Eye and Grilled Marinated Black Tiger Prawn with Herb Jus Potato, Herb Garlic Vegetables, Tricolore Pepper Cream Sauce, Jus Balsamic and Hollandaise Sauce: The Rib Eye still had connective tissue! Huge no-no for me. The prawn was great – very fresh, but it kind of overpowered the beef. I had no more room in my tummy to eat the veggies LOL

 

Dessert

• Duo of Sesame Panacotta: Hmmm this was OK. The panacotta is tasteless, but the beet and sesame sauce was delish! I suppose, this would be a good way to end the night as you’re now kind of resting your tastebuds
• Galaxies Delight: Bah. Weird again. Dulce de Leche, Ube Cream, Strawberry Cream, edible soil, vanilla ice cream. Again, way too much going on. Also the creams were not great

 

Drinks

• Wild Forest Berries: Beautiful but the taste is a tad strong.
• Fresco Citron: Super refreshing! Loved this still

 

Overall Verdict

Mygosh, the presentation is KILLING ME. Taste-wise was pretty good too – I would say, at par with Bizu. But cost-wise, definitely the most expensive of the bunch! Gotta powwow with the fiance!

 

Chef Jessie Plated

Ok! Let’s do this. As we were not so impressed with the ones we’ve tasted so far (or the price point huhu), we decided to branch out a bit to check out other non-accredited caterers. Chef Jessie topped the list because she’s an #institution.

Bread

• Chef Jessie’s Ciabatta bread, Rolls, Butter & Special Dip

Delicious! Chef Jessie started out as a pastry person apparently. And her dinner rolls are DELICIOUS. As in so pillowy soft, so tasteful. So yum! The special dip was interesting too, although nothing beats classic butter

 

Salad

• Smoked Salmon, Grilled Prawn & Sauteed Mushroom Salad in creamy balsamic dressing: Salmon slice kinda small although delicious (but common). Grilled prawn very well done, delicious. The sauteed mushroom yummy!
• Pan Fried Goose Liver, Seared Scallops, & Grilled Shiitake Mushroom Salad in creamy balsamic dressing: Ugh, cannot go wrong with foie, scallops and shiitake mushroom. Although, we preferred sauteed mushroom to grilled.

 

Soup

• Clear Essence of Asparagus Soup: A tad too salty for me, but VERY clean tasting akin to Japanese soup. But loved the asparagus itself.
• Cream of Carrot and Pumpkin Soup: Classic, but still a goodie! Delicious.

 

Sorbet

• Dalandan Sobret: Weird consistency. Rather chunky icy. Flavor not as much as I wanted
• Passionfruit Sorbet: Delicious creamy texture. Found it a tad sour, but Josh really liked it
• Strawberry Sorbet: This was ayt.
• Mixed Berries Sorbet: Weird in an interesting way. You can taste strawberry, raspberry, hmm. What else??
• Raspberry Sorbet: Whoa, too much flavor packed into this

 

Mains

• Grilled Tranche of Norwegian Salmon in Berlinoise Sauce: Delicious sauce. Salmon cooked well too, although I like mine a bit undercooked hehe. Mashed potatoes were OK, kinda bland and looks like poop haha
• Grilled US Black Angus Rib-eye in wild mushroom sauce, served with a timbale of wild rice vegetable risotto and steamed asparagus spears: The rib-eye was delicious! Very well done. The wild rice vegetable risotto even more so. This was SO good
• Baked Rack of Lamb with Provence crust in rosemary jus, served with herbed couscous and grilled vegetables: The lamb was a tad undercooked, and I could’ve done without the Provence crust. I don’t like couscous also. Meh.

 

Dessert

• French Chocolate Kiss with french fruit coulis: Hmmm a rather dense dark chocolate mousse topping atop a thin moist chocolate cake later. This was alright. Liked the cake, disliked the dark chocolate mousse
• Princess Carmen with raspberry and mango coulis: Sansrival done right.

 

Overall Verdict

Chef Jessie cooks well. Nothing fancy with the presentation or the food itself, but everything was delicious, seemed quite consistent and overall good.