Grace Catering

I did a lot of research on chinese caterers in OC and LA and didn't find much who were licensed and had good quality food. Our friend used Furiwa for their wedding and they did not recommend Furiwa because they were not friendly to work with and they gave small portions for what they charged and they said their food wasn't good. The other catering company I looked into was Grace Catering (Hotel Banquet). I read some reviews on Yelp and saw some low ratings but since Grace Catering hosted a free tasting around that time, we decided to check it out. The tasting consisted of a 8-9 course traditional chinese dinner- banquet style. Each plate that came out was big and full of food. There were 10 to a table and there were left overs to take home. I asked Andrew if that is the amount they normally serve on the day of the wedding and he said "Of Course". He say that he doesn't do any advertising and his servings and quality advertises itself. The lobster dish consisted of 5 lbs of lobster ( 2.5 lb each X2) and it was delicious. Every dish was flavorful and fresh. Grace Catering does not heat up their food, they cook fresh on the spot and serve right away. We were really impressed with the tasting! Several weeks after the tasting we met with Andrew to get more info on the menu and pricing and details of our venue to see if he was able to cater in the Estate we had picked. He assured us it wasn't a problem and that he was experienced and for us to not worry. I'm not really a laid back person when it comes to planning and I asked a lot of questions to make sure that we are on the same page and Andrew was very patient in answering all of my concerns. I felt that he had been running that catering business for so long and have so much experience I felt confident that he will do a good job because everything he told us made perfect sense. I trusted my instincts because Andrew came across as professional and knowledgable in his profession. Andrew did not let us down.. on the day of the wedding, everything went smoothly and James (catering manager) and the crew were professional and was all smiles the whole time. Andrew dropped by to congratulate us that day too! After the wedding we received so many compliments.. over and over we heard " Your caterer gave a lot of food, it was the most food I've ever seen at a wedding." My aunt asked me if we had paid double for the quantity of food on each plate and I told her NO, our caterer is very generous with portions. Others said " The food didn't seem like it had MSG because I was not thirsty afterwards." I think a lot of people were surprised of how fresh and tasty the food was because they thought that catered food would just be heated up, but in fact Grace Catering cooks all their food fresh on the spot. And that was another reason why we picked Grace Catering...

We researched other catering companies but ultimately went with Hotel Banquet aka Grace Catering (I don't know why they go by diff names!) because of the value. We got quotes from Furiwa and Grace Catering for 20 tables; Andrew from Grace Catering quoted around 12k and Stacie from Furiwa quoted 22k. I'll tell you now that Andrew is not your nice-uber-friendly-so-excited-that-you're-getting- married type of guy. His company is there to cook and serve good food. He's all business, no BS, and definitely knows what he's doing. Stacie from Furiwa is like your BFF who wants to help you with all sorts of wedding stuff and she'll emphasize that you'll get more than just food from her, you'll get a pseudo wedding coordinator. While I was tempted to have the nice girly gal who wanted to help me with decorations and other suggestions, it was not worth the extra $8000 or so. I think Furiwa would be good for someone who needs the extra hand holding and assistance throughout their wedding. When it comes to weddings I didn't really need that from a caterer -- I wanted someone who knows what exactly what their job is and who will do it expediently and professionally. Andrew is fit the bill. We initially had reservations about hosting a Chinese banquet cooked entirely outdoors in propane woks -- how was that going to work? Is the food going to be cold? Will it be prepared on time? Can they handle 18 tables at once? My husband had numerous phone calls and visits to Andrew and assured me that everything would work out fine, and boy did they ever deliver. The menu was exactly as we planned; food was served on-time, hot, and delicious. We served a cold cuts platter, sharks fin soup, beef, lobster, walnut prawns, steamed fish, abalone, and fried rice. Yum! In addition, the waiters were professional and knew what they were doing. They all have been handpicked by Andrew and have worked with him for a long time. I recommend going to Andrew's tastings, you can find the dates on the website. It's $100 per couple, refundable. Just fill out the form and he'll give you directions on sending your deposit. You'll get the check back when you show up. Show up VERY hungry! Our wedding menu ended up being quite similar to the tasting menu. Andrew was very flexible in allowing us some substitutions for our wedding day. Throughout the process, Andrew was very communicative and responded via email or phone call promptly. Another thing to keep in mind with serving Chinese food at American venues- you have to ask the catering company if things like linens, chopsticks, plates, lazy susans, soup spoons/bowls, etc are included. Furiwa wanted to charge us like $1500 extra for them to provide those things, including $1pp for chopsticks. Grace Catering includes everything in their set prices. Also, Furiwa has a ridiculous 3k set up and tear down fee. Grace catering charges a fee too, but it was much less- like 1k? The only caveat is that if you had some vegetarian guests, Andrew won't cook separate veggie meals for them. I solved that problem by finding a Thai restaurant nearby my reception that offered a variety of veggie dishes and that delivered. So besides the food you gotta keep the other extras in mind when picking a caterer. If you're looking for the qualities listed above, then Andrew at Grace Catering/Hotel Banquet is your vendor!

We were looking for a Chinese wedding banquet caterer in the Los Angeles area and ended up going with Grace Catering. Their wedding manager, Andrew, can be slightly difficult at times, but he was still very good at working with us to craft a unique menu while keeping the costs to a reasonable rate. And in the end we were very happy with the food and the service

The food was delicious, however my only complaint was that it came out cold. Other than that, everything was superb.