Nini’s Kitchen

Food: 4.5 stars
Communication: 5 stars
On time: 5 stars
Organization during event: 3 stars
Helper: 3 stars
I was one of Harini’s first catering assignments. She was upfront about that and her inexperience showed a little. I am sure the next time I have her cater another party of mine, the kinks will be worked out. Yes, I would like to hire her again.
I wanted to plan a surprise birthday party for my wife. It was sort of last minute for a Sunday dinner party. I was bored of the Asian deli buffet, which most Chinese parties have. The party was at my house, so we did have to do a buffet. The various caterers, which I found online with menus, just didn’t appeal to me. Mexican food, or a Roach Coach parked in front of my house, wouldn’t do for my wife. Italian food delivered wouldn’t be al dente enough for my wife. Then I food Nini’s on Craigslist. My friends were afraid that we all were going to be robbed. LOL. Once you speak to Harini, you will know that she is serious about her cooking.
Harini is willing to work within your budget. She has a few menus that she had done in the past, but she created a Fusion menu for my party. I wanted to try a couple other dishes she does, but we already had 5 dishes, not including rice, roast pig and fruits. Yes, we had too much food, especially when 10 people who RSVP didn’t show, but I wanted to err on too much food versus too little.
The food was overall great. The sensitive items were cooked, reheated or sliced onsite to preserve the texture and quality.
Ginger Chicken: I was disappointed with the chicken because it was overcooked for my taste. Yes, I know it is a buffet, but I got some when it hit the table.
Panko Salmon: I am not a fish person, but I ordered the salmon because my wife likes it. I would definitely eat Harini’s salmon again. A highly rated restauranteur guest liked the salmon as well and got seconds on most everything else. My foodie snob, luxury hotel friend, who couldn’t make it, so his wife brought the salmon home, like it too. This is after we went to Kome Buffet for lunch. Some of her recipes seem to be Food Network’s, but she made her own adjustments to them.
Edaname Hummus: Everyone loved the Edaname Hummus (who ever heard of that). At least 4 of my guests asked for the recipe.
Garlic noodles: I am a garlic fan, but have been disappointed with garlic noodles else where. In Harini’s noodles, you can actually taste the garlic. If I wasn’t so full from lunch and all the other items, I would have ate a lot more of this.
Thai Beef Noodle Salad: A recipe that my wife wanted to try from Real Simple magazine. Not a good buffet item. Not Hariini’s fault. But the flank steak was cooked perfectly for my guests and I enjoyed the leftovers for days.
Everything in the kitchen was clean after Harini left, so much so, my picky wife didn’t mention a thing.
The Cons or Deltas:
The helper was a friend of Harini’s and inexperienced. The decorations were hung with fishing line, for transparency, but tape didn’t stick well to it, so decorations were falling before, during and after the party. She didn’t know that chafing dishes, especially those cheap aluminum ones, need water in them before lighting the solid fuel.
The food was piled too much for the cheap aluminum trays, which go into the chafing trays, so a couple of trays collapsed into the water. I didn’t clear off the kitchen counters prior to Harini coming, so she used the floor for a staging area for the food. The food never touched the ground, but still.
Again, I would hire her again. I would just be proactive about the deltas.

Just came from an excellent breakfast catered by Nini. The food was fresh, everything was on time and the service was friendly. I would recommend it to my friends and family. I especially enjoyed the custom made pancakes, fresh from the griddle