Furiwa Seafood Restaurant

Grade: B

Our wedding was catered by Furiwa at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Anaheim, CA.

Our main contact was Stacie Tran, who was always very professional and knowledgable. She was always on the ball, and you can tell that she has been working in the wedding industry for years. She responded quickly to e-mails and questions. She also answered everything very freely - vendor recommendations, suggestions, etc.

We selected the following menu:

Seven Star Cold Platter
Shark's Fin Crabmeat Soup
Candied Walnut Shrimp & Shrimp Balls
Seafood Braised Duck
House Special Lobster
Hot & Sour Fish Fillet
Lotus Leaf Fried Rice
Sliced Oranges

Our guests raved about the food. Catering for 38+ tables is not an easy task. But we received great feedback from both young and older guests. Some of the standouts: Seafood Braised Duck and Hot and Sour Fish Fillet. My sister's favorite is the walnut shrimp. The lobster is also very tasty. Some people even loved the appetizer platter. We've been to lots of weddings catered by Furiwa and feel they are a hit or miss. Sometimes, the food is fresh and tasty. Other times, the food is sub-par. However, we felt very lucky that our food on the wedding day was excellent. Big plus for them!

For the most part, the planning/catering process was smooth. We only had one hiccup with Stacie, which had to do with our menu selection tasting. We had a tasting early on in the process when we were choosing between two caterers and several local hotels. Both restaurants offered us tastings while we were still deciding (4 items each), and we ended up going with Furiwa because of our hotel choice (some hotels work exclusively with Furiwa).

When it came time to decide on our menu, I asked Stacie whether I could bring my parents. After getting the family together and arriving at the restaurant, Stacie then told us that we had already had our tasting. I was confused at how a tasting BEFORE we booked could be considered a tasting for our MENU SELECTION. In the end, however, Stacie did give us a complimentary tasting (3 items). But it definitely put a blemish in our experience with them. However, it wasn't a deal breaker. I think it was mostly a misunderstanding.

Furiwa offers a day-of coordinator to help during the wedding day. I didn't feel our day-of-coordinator knew our program very well. The rehearsal was disorganized, and the kids were confused because our coordinator lined them up incorrectly. We also didn't feel the coordinator kept us updated on the timing/flow on the day of the wedding. For our ceremony, the coordinator also did not ask the hotel to turn down the "elevator" music, so after watching our video, I finally understood the annoying music that our guests had mentioned to me. Apparently, she thought it was part of our music and when she figured it out it was coming from the hotel, it was too late. We were also confused where she left our food for the night. We thought the food/cake was back at our suite, but it was left in the changing room, so we were super hungry after our wedding. The hotel or coordinator also lost our cake platter. Stacie was quick to fix both problems, however. She gave us a gift certificate to return for lunch or dinner and she reimbursed us for the cost of the platter. Very professional.

The only big minus I give them had to do with one of their staff at the end of the night. Since some of our family didn't get cake, I wanted to take some cake home for them. The staff person was very rushed, unfriendly and unwilling to help. He said they were "too busy," so he showed me where the cake was and didn't even give me plates. I had to search the kitchen myself in my ao dai (Vietnamese wedding dress). Stacie apologized for this, and she did mention that they weren't happy with our hotel in general as well.

Furiwa pricing is on the higher end when it comes to Chinese seafood banquet food pricing. They also do not serve as many entrees and slightly smaller portions. 7 entrees plus oranges. For the pricing, I think they should either serve one additional dish or serve better dessert (oranges?!). But they are among the most experienced as far as Asian cuisine catering, so we probably would have still chosen them for this reason alone. We were lucky that the food was among the best we've had with Furiwa. There was a discrepancy with chocolate fountain pricing, however. I asked the hotel directly and they mentioned it is usually about $700-1000 but that I would need to contact Furiwa; however, Furiwa quoted $10/person. Huge difference!

For the most part, I was happy with Furiwa's service, especially Stacie's part in the process. Totally wish she was our day-of coordinator! Other than the small hiccups and day-of-coordinator issues, I recommend Furiwa should you desire Asian cuisine for your wedding or party.

My husband and I were having a small wedding and booking a cornered off section of a busy restaurant was out of the question. So we opted to book with Furiwa. Besides the great food, we booked Furiwa because they have packages with local hotels. Our reception was at the Hyatt in Garden Grove. The package also included a coordinator. We worked with Cindy. Cindy was a great coordinator. Working with one coordinator for both the catering and the reception site made things simpler. I had enough vendors to work with, having one less made a huge difference.

Their packages are very comprehensive and included a night stay at the hotel.

Everyone commented that the food was delicious. In the end, it is was the guest remember the most.

It is true their dessert only consists of orange slices, but being Asian, I am used to that. Besides the real dessert is the cake.