Your corporate seminar is several weeks away, and now that you have completed the seminar’s agenda, it’s time to plan the catering. But there’s so many food options, leaving you scratching your head as to which foods could please everyone!

There’s already so many factors to consider when it comes to deciding on the right catering. There’s the number and profile of your participants, where the seminar is taking place, and even the atmosphere you want to create.

It’s also important for you to remember that catering is more than just food. It is all about the entire experience! So, if you’re considering corporate catering in Singapore for a seminar, here are five delicious menu ideas that we recommend to make your event memorable:

1. Signature Ayam Buah Keluak

If there’s one thing that most seminars have in common is that they tend to last the entire day. And if you want the participants to attend the seminar with a feel-good feeling, you have to make sure that they are well-fed.

We recommend serving Signature Ayam Buah Keluak as part of your seminar’s corporate catering. Some participants will feel intrigued by this unique dish as the gravy is made from a blend of spices, cooked together with lemongrass and keluak nuts, giving it a savoury taste.

2. Thai Pineapple Rice with Chicken Floss

Most attendees will be looking forward to the lunch menu during a corporate seminar especially after enduring the morning session. And as Asians, rice is part of our staple food, so it’s only fitting to include this menu in your corporate catering.

We recommend Thai Pineapple Rice with Chicken Floss as the dish is bursting with flavours to wake and energize those attending the seminar. The tangy sweet pineapple works well with various seafood such as prawns and chicken. The chicken floss binds the flavours together, making the participants crave more.

3. Signature Kampong Fried Mee Siam

The good thing about corporate catering in Singapore is that you get to supply a variety of menus to satiate the different palates. So even if rice isn’t something the participants are keen on having, you have an array of food alternatives for the participants. Which is why the Signature Kampong Fried Mee Siam shouldn’t be missed!

Typically garnished with a shredded omelette, scallions, and lime wedges, this stir-fried rice vermicelli is a delight to savour on its own. It is lighter and tastier, making it the ideal dish for the attendees who prefer something simple for lunch.

4. Pulut Hitam with Coconut Milk

You can never go wrong with serving Peranakan dessert at your seminar like Pulut Hitam with Coconut Milk. Some participants may appreciate the thought as you invite them into a world of unique dishes. It’s also one of the most popular Peranakan desserts in the region.

Made of black glutinous rice and coconut milk, this dessert is the equivalent of a rice porridge, making it ideal for your seminar’s tea break. Participants can choose whether to mix the coconut milk into the rice for a creamier texture or enjoy the dessert as it is.

5. Nonya Chap Chye with Mushroom

If your seminar is taking place over a full day, don’t forget that your participants need their fair share of vege from dishes like Nonya Chap Chye with Mushroom. It’s a simple stir-fried vegetable using taucheo and prawn stock.

It features sweet cabbage, cloud fungus, woodsy lily bud, tofu skin, and vermicelli, which absorb the rich flavours of the sauce to give participants a satisfying and flavour-filled dish.

Why Should You get Corporate Catering?

There are many reasons to have corporate catering for your seminars. Ultimately, you want to ensure the well-being of those who attend your seminar, especially for the first time. Corporate catering saves you plenty of time organising the meals and at the very least, the best catering is one that can create a memorable experience for the participants!

 To make planning your corporate catering easier, you can find, these recommended menu items in our Seminar Packages.  

About Chilli Manis

Chilli Manis, which means “sweet chilli” in the Indonesian language, is a halal buffet catering service in Singapore that seeks to showcase the best of Peranakan cuisine – dishes that have amalgamated signature flavours across Chinese, Malay, and Indonesian fares. It is also a subsidiary of Neo Group.

Ordering from Us

Over the years, Chilli Manis has become one of Singapore’s popular corporate buffet caterer, serving a wide array of regular buffet, mini buffet, bento sets and more that combines nostalgic Peranakan taste with a touch of modern influence.

Depending on what you order, you can enjoy as many as over ten types of dishes in one seating for your social gatherings or corporate events. You can explore our buffet menus on Chilli Manis’ website.

There’s no doubt that returning to the office after long periods of home isolation feels liberating. Although there are several downsides to working in the office during these challenging times, we are social beings that thrive on connections.

And one way for us to do that is by organising office gatherings to make up for the lost time and social connections due to COVID-19.

However, planning for your next office gathering in Singapore can be tedious. This is where we come in – to provide you with five corporate catering tips to ensure the success and longevity of your corporate world.

Tip 1: Get an estimate of the headcount

One of the first few things you need to make sure of when planning an office gathering is to get an estimate of the headcount. This is because it involves the amount of food that a halal corporate catering service has to prepare.

For a corporate buffet catering, you will need to quote at least 30 pax. Avoid underestimating the headcount because your caterer might not prepare enough food for last-minute attendees. Instead, it is better to overestimate the headcount to avoid unpleasant or awkward situations.

Tip 2: Analyse your corporate budget

There’s a reason your corporate budget matters when planning an office gathering. For instance, if you have a high budget, you can choose a corporate catering service that serves fine and unique dishes.

However, if your company has a tight budget, it is best to discuss with your management and caterer to find out the estimated cost and other related expenses. This can minimise the disparity in what your guests want to eat and what your caterer can prepare.

Tip 3: Decide on the theme for your office gathering

Like most social events with varying themes, corporate events also have various types like company milestones or team-building that dictate the theme and focus. If you plan for a team-building session, you can opt for a halal bento catering style, where the food is composed of a main and side dishes, along with a delicacy, packed in a lunch box. All of which fit for a single portion.  

However, formal corporate events like the company’s anniversary or a milestone achievement will require a different type of planning. This includes opting for halal corporate catering like Chilli Manis’ corporate buffet where more food can be served to a lot more people. This ensure that everyone invited to the event enjoys the food without any worry.

Tip 4: Self-serve buffet or waiters?

Choosing between a self-serve buffet and waiters can be difficult when planning a corporate event. However, it is one of the most important questions to ask your corporate caterer.

One way to ease your planning is to assess how busy the event will be so that you can decide between a self-serve buffet and waiters. If the event is solely open to your company, you might want to opt for a self-serve buffet, which will get people to interact with each other.

Tip 5: Consider the menu options

We Singaporeans are generally foodies at heart. The choice of food served during an event often dictates our presence. More so for corporate gatherings.

Here are some of the menu options that we can suggest for your next office gathering:

• Bento catering – Ideal for office lunches or casual corporate events. Examples of menu that you can find at Chilli Manis are the Premium, Luxe, and Ultimate Bento.
• Mini buffet – Ideal for small corporate events like team achievement. Examples of menu that you can find at Chilli Manis are the Peranakan, Classic and International Mini Buffet.
• Corporate buffet – Ideal for formal gatherings like office events and large-scale company celebrations. Some of the menus you can opt for are the Peranakan and Classic Buffet.

If you are still considering hiring a corporate catering service in Singapore for your office gathering,be sure to read the Benefits of Availing Food Catering Services in Singapore. This will give you some insight into the world of halal corporate catering.

About Chilli Manis

Chilli Manis, which means “sweet chilli” in the Indonesian language, is a halal buffet catering service in Singapore that seeks to showcase the best of Peranakan cuisine – dishes that have amalgamated signature flavours across Chinese, Malay, and Indonesian fares. It is also a subsidiary of Neo Group.

Over the years, Chilli Manis has become one of Singapore’s popular Peranakan Buffet Caterer, serving a wide array of regular buffet, mini buffet, bento sets and more that combines nostalgic Peranakan taste with a touch of modern influence.

Depending on what you order, you can enjoy as many as over ten types of dishes in one seating for your social gatherings or corporate events. You can explore our buffet menus on Chilli Manis’ website.

Are you planning to host an event for your family or friends? Do you know what it takes to hold both formal and informal events such as a company dinner or birthday celebrations?

If you do, you will know that there are many aspects to consider for your event to be a success. This includes finding a venue, getting the suitable deco, extending the invitations, hiring a buffet caterer – all of which requires proper planning and execution.

Among the tasks mentioned, food preparation is the most important aspect of any event because everyone appreciates good food. However, it is also the most tedious part because you will need to hire the right buffet caterer to help out with the preparation and serving.

In this article, we will share how you can find the right buffet caterer for your event along with the advantages and drawbacks of hiring a buffet caterer. On top of that, we will discuss buffet style catering service at Chilli Manis.

How to Find the Right Buffet Caterer?

Pulling off a successful buffet involves a lot of decision-making and communication between you (as the host) and your caterer. The following are some tips on how you can find the right buffet caterer in Singapore.

1. Decide on a theme – Once you have decided on a theme for your event, it will be a whole lot easier to plan your buffet catering around it. Buffet caterers like Chilli Manis offer two types of buffet menu options such as Mini Buffet and Full Buffet.

2. Choose the dishes – When your caterer offers a diverse range of dishes, it can be hard to narrow them down. What you can do is select a buffet menu style that complements your theme and choose the dishes under each category.

3. Consider special dietary requirements – Every guest you invite will have a unique dietary requirement, so you should consider hiring a Halal-certified caterer. This is to ensure that all your guests have a good time at your event, even if they’re vegan.

4. Estimate the headcount – This will not be easy but having an estimation of the headcount will come in handy to ensure that every guest has something to eat. Besides, they can go for seconds if there’s extra food.

What are the Pros and Cons of Having a Buffet Caterer?

For most events, 50% of the budget usually goes to the food! This is how important it is to have the right caterer for your event. If you have a hard time deciding whether you should hire a buffet caterer, here are the pros and cons of having one.

Advantage 1: Buffet style catering helps to save cost
Buffets are typically the cheaper option if you compare them to plated, family-style, and station meal options for your event. This is because some caterers tend to include the time taken to plate the food and serve them individually. Ask your caterer to be sure.

Advantage 2: Your guests can have seconds
Unlike plated, family-style, and station meal options, buffet-style catering allows your guests to have seconds. In a way, you get to ensure that your guests had a fulfilling meal and an eventful experience.

Advantage 3: Your guests get to be picky
Everyone tends to be picky about their food. In this case, buffet-style catering allows your guests to be picky and choose what they want to eat. Besides, your guests will be glad to know that they are given the freedom to choose what they eat.

Drawback 1: Food wastage
If you attended a buffet-style event before, you will know that there tend to be leftovers. You can discuss with your caterer ahead of time what you both can do if there are leftovers. They can box up any remaining food and distribute it to whoever wants them.

Drawback 2: Cold food
Good food is best eaten off the stove or fresh out of the oven. But, with buffet-style catering, this idea is quite far-fetched if you have a large number of guests waiting for their turn to get the food. The best-case scenario you can hope for is that the food still tastes as good once it is cold.

Drawback 3: Hectic serving style
If too many people go up to get their food at once, it can sometimes be hectic. What you can do is to get your guests to get up according to their tables or set up an extra serving station to keep the lines at a minimum.

What are the Buffet-style Catering Services Available at Chilli Manis?

There are various buffet catering ideas on the internet – each of which differs depending on your caterer. At Chilli Manis, we offer two types of buffet catering services – mini and full buffets.

Mini Buffet
Our mini buffet is great for a party of 10 to 15 pax, making it perfect for a small family or friends gathering. You also have three menu options namely the Peranakan Mini Buffet, Classic Mini Buffet, and International Mini Buffet.

Full Buffet
The full buffet is great for all celebrations as it can cater to up to 50 pax. Similar to our Mini Buffet, you also have three menu options namely the Regular Buffet, Peranakan Buffet, and International Buffet.

Looking for the right mini buffet catering service for your gathering or event in Singapore?

Selecting mini buffet catering services for your event will not be as easy as it looks. Every gathering or event is different so you want to make sure that your caterer can meet your needs and requirements.

The best caterer can balance the quality as well as the presentation of the food while delivering the best value for your money. When you choose a catering service from Chilli Manis, you’ll have a variety of dishes and side menu items to choose from.

As a halal-certified caterer, we seek to present the best mini buffet catering service in Singapore. Keen to try our food catering service? Contact us at 6250 1112 or email sales@chillimanis.com.sg.