Shin Mi Catering

Their food is pretty good, but the portion is not enough. I ordered for 30 people, but the food could only feed around 20. I have to order food from other places in last minute.

My god! Their food is sooo delicious, and Caroline is so kind and responsive to all our inquiries.
We have ordered off their «Pick-​Up Menu» three times now; once, where we picked up the food, and twice they had delivered to our work office (with a delivery charge).
Their food is sooo plentiful; I ordered for 10 people, but I was able to feed close to 19 people at our office! (We got some big eaters too.) Everything was cooked to perfection, and even our picky coworkers were able to enjoy it! We even had one of our pickiest girls try their kim chi, and she loved it!
For their Pick Up Menu, everything came in separate trays, so it was a large layout of food. each small items paired up onto one tray, and the larger items (galbi jim, rice, jap chae) were in their own tray.
Everything was exceptional, with a few outstanding items that stood apart from the rest:
+ Galbi Jim: delicious, fall-​off-​the-​bones tender. Only downside is that it’s pretty oily (it forms a thick layer at the top when it’s cold), but I expect that from any braised beef dish.
+ Jap Chae: omg. my favorite! plentiful with their veggies.
+ Kim chi/​cucumber kim chi: sooo good! I like their kimchi more than the cucumber (as other people has praised the cucumber kimchi here on Unilocal), but they’re both delicious
+ CA rolls: wow. first they mastered Korean dishes, and now they mastered the california roll! so soft, not hard at all, even after being refrigerated for a day.
I usually skip the Korean rice drink, but that’s something that has to kind of grow on you.
I love the food at Shin Mi Catering, and our doctors at our office love it too!

They are just amazing.
Caroline and her team think of everything in a very thoughtful way. We thought planning the wedding would be unmanageable but Shin Mi Catering helped us make sure everything was planned for and came prepared on the day. Caroline and her staff visited the venue several months in advance to make sure they will be as prepared as possible and there will not be any last minute emergencies. Shin Mi Catering provides their own tablecloth, table settings, transportation, and staff. Their set-​up is very efficient and professional.
Shin Mi was also very flexible and worked with our format and style. They were very thoughtful and generous in customizing their menu to find a way to match the mixed cultural backgrounds of our guests, the format of our wedding, our budget, and the predicted weather (we had our dinner reception outdoors on one of the hottest days of summer).

I don’t know how this place got 5 star reviews. Based on Unilocaler’s review, I decided to try this place for my dad’s Bday party. First this place is in a small strip mall. A very unassuming hole in the wall place but the managers attitude was nothing but unassuming. She was arrogant and unfriendly. She didn’t even bother to say simple greetings like hello or thank you when I walked into her «office «to pay. Overall the food was average. Their best dish was kimchi and braised short rib. I gave 3 stars for being average but having good kimchi. I would not order from this place again.

Caroline responded right away to my initial email and invited me and my now-​hubby for a tasting lunch at their K-​town location. The cook turned out to be Caroline’s mother, who laid out dish after dish before us and gently inquired to her daughter (in Korean) about whether the cucumber kimchi was too spicy for my Pete. (It wasn’t.) Caroline’s sweet mom still makes the incredible kimchi, along with most everything, including their specialty Korean braised short ribs, and the two of us positively stuffed ourselves on that sunny Sunday afternoon as Caroline provided gentle guidance about the menu choices and other wedding planning considerations. Satisfied on many levels, we happily signed with Shin Mi for our wedding of a hundred guests.
Over the next six months, whatever inquiries I had for Caroline were addressed promptly and professionally. She’s cordial and smart, and I felt full confidence in her, which was a true relief for us, i.e., we had other, less-​than-​completely-​reliable vendors to stress out about. About two weeks before our wedding, I asked Caroline to add a simple cake to our wedding, and she sent a revised contract straight away and gave us one less worry for the biggest event of our lives.
On the morning of our wedding, my husband was at the venue early to meet the rental furniture deliverers, who disappointed with their ill-​mannered attempt to get more money for having to walk up a few steps and subsequent refusal to actually set up the eleven large round tables we paid their company to use as open tables instead of as cumbersome wood slabs leaning against the wall. Fortunately, Caroline sent her people to us early – they arrived at noon for our 4pm wedding – and the two young catering guys turned out to be, as my husband put it, «a couple of super nice Korean boys» who totally helped him set up tables. Then our two catering heroes set about dressing the tables with linens, drinking glasses, et al., and by the time I walked down the aisle at around 4:20, everything looked perfect to me.
The caterers had arranged bride and groom plates for us at one of our family tables, which we so appreciated, given how much running around we did spreading the love (and Jameson shots) to our guests. Friends and family, Korean or mostly not, raved about Shin Mi’s food, which included Korean specialties such as the great kimchi, japche, and the melt-​in-​your-​meat-​loving-​mouth galbi chim (braised short ribs) and a bevy of universally tasty dishes such as baked mussels, butterfly shrimp, baked salmon, pork-​stuffed green peppers, chicken skewers, sushi rolls, and I have to stop listing all the delicious items or I’ll never be able to finish this review. (But check out their beautiful website for the full info.)
Sometime between 8 and 9, I realized that tables had been cleared, and after we cut the cake and smeared some on our faces, and after my mom and sisters packed away all the leftovers (which we enjoyed for days afterwards), while guests were still milling about, our wonderful catering guys politely bowed to us before making their leave. Tip for the servers is written into the contract, but if I’d had my wallet around, I would have given them some extra dough for being beyond excellent. Maybe we’ll see them again the next time we need a catering service, which will, of course, be Shin Mi.

Can’t tell you how much I loooove this place, best catering ever. We have been using them for years and they have been consistently excellent. There is always plenty of portions, quality and most delicious food can’t be happier with this place! Thank you Shin Mi catering! If you’re American, they will cater to your tastes just ask them. And yes you will get tons more food than you ask for, there is always plenty of delicious leftovers. It really is the best kimchi you will ever taste and they are all super nice on the phone and open to any changes in plans. Well deserved ratings, wishing this place much success! Yes the best catered food I have tasted as well!

They have the best catered food I have tasted to date. They primarily focus on Korean food but also do some Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese dishes as well, and are very flexible with their customers including some of their own dishes that they wish to bring for their events. The highlights of their food would be their infamous galbi jjim and their cucumber kimchi, though their sushi boat display is impressive as well. They use quality fish for their sushi too, and have a wide assortment of nigiri and rolls to choose from. Everything I tasted was superb, and we have heard nothing but praises for ShinMi.
Their service is also impeccable and everyone was extremely professional, from Caroline herself to all her servers and bartenders. The manager of the venue we were at even remarked how ShinMi went above and beyond anything that they would have expected. They certainly impressed everyone.
I would highly highly recommend them for all events/​parties.

Price: reasonable/​flexible work on your budget
Service: excellent
We had our wedding on ⁸⁄₁₅. We checked many vendors and venues. On a tight budget, catering is the best option. We checked other caterers and compared prices, but finally chose shinmi catering after shopping around for over 3 months.
Our guests were satisfied with the food and I guess that what matters. We had a small wedding, with a total of 50 guests but I noticed we got more food than what we paid for. I would recommend this caterer to anyone who are planning their wedding. We decided to sign up for this caterer after we tasted their food.

Everyone that works here is amazing and extremely friendly!
I had booked the lowest package for my wedding since I was trying to be a budget bride, but everything on the menu was delicious! I did make one change where I took the vegetable pancakes out and asked for fried rice instead since I had a lot of Caucasian friends. They were very accommodating and my guests still rave about all the food. I will definitely be using Shin Mi for all my catering needs. Thank you!

If we could give more than 5 stars, we totally would! My husband and I got married a year ago (this review is a bit late!), we couldn’t have hired a more professional and accommodating catering company.
Caroline (the manager) of Shin Mi Catering was super nice, accommodating, and incredibly professional. She was easy to talk to, gave us great a bargain, was very responsive to emails, and gave us helpful suggestions using her expertise and experience in the field. She made sure to be there during the reception to make sure everything was flowing smoothly.
And the food was AWESOME. Our guests raved about the food, and Shin Mi definitely stands out from the typical Korean food catering company. They pay attention to detail and quality and when we went to food tastings to compare companies, my mom and I could immediately see the difference in quality and taste. Caroline was also very accommodating in changing around items in the menu to accommodate our guests dietary restrictions and they provided linens in our wedding colors and even threw in extra goodies, including some premium linens which Caroline surprised me with the day of the wedding, which I was really touched by.
We also utilized the Pae Baek Ceremony props they included which turned out great. They provided all the set up and beautiful traditional Korean outfits. Caroline even helped me and husband in getting into the outfits (for we had no idea what we were doing!).
Shin Mi’s staff made sure to clean up after the reception was over, leaving the venue immaculate, to ensure we could get our deposit back from the venue, which we were very grateful for.
Caroline and her staff really went above and beyond and I was incredibly touched with the care and attention to detail they provided. We would definitely recommend Shin Mi to friends and family and will without hesitation hire them again for future events.

Just wanted to start off by saying that our wedding was perfect thanks to our friends, family, and all of our vendors, especially Shin Mi Catering. I would give them 10 stars if I could.
When looking for a caterer, my husband and I knew we wanted to get Korean food. We had a few references, but after looking up Unilocal reviews, I knew that Shin Mi was going to be the one. We scheduled an appointment and went in with our mothers. All four of us were impressed by their place settings, prices, and most importantly, the food! All of it was delicious! I particularly enjoyed the cucumber kimchi. None of it was too salty. I couldn’t believe that all of it was homemade, but it sure did taste so good!
On our wedding day, we had so many compliments from our guests. Most of our guests were not Korean, but all of them thoroughly enjoyed themselves to seconds and more. Even the older Korean guests were pleased; they were actually lining up at the end of the reception to take home leftovers! The servers were prompt and professional. They set up the tables, made them look absolutely stunning, and they even went as far as helping serve wine!
Working with Caroline was a pleasure. She was professional, accommodating, and easy to work with. We would communicate by email and phone; she responded to our questions quickly. Their prices can’t be beat for what they offer: great food, great service, and beautiful table décor. This family-​owned business definitely is a blessing from God.
I would recommend them to anyone and everyone!

Thank you, Shin Mi for the amazing food on our wedding day. They put their heart and soul into the food, as Caroline and her mother ensure the best quality and taste that they send out. Book with Shin Mi for all of your catering needs!

Finding a cater for the wedding was harder than finding a venue! I have went to many places and not one place really got to me until I came across ShinMi! As soon as I went to go for a tasting Caroline and her mother greeted me with comfort and was super nice!
Wedding day comes around and everything came out perfect! People were complimenting on how the food was so delicious and Koreans especially older Koreans are very very picky, but the elders loved the food and kept complimenting on how good the food was! Even my husbands military friends who never tried korean food or kimchi loved it! I was very happy to hear only good things!
I truly thank ShinMi for there hard work and great outcome! Even their employees were super nice!
I can’t explain how THANKFUL I am!!!
I will definitely refer them to anyone who needs a caterer, you will not regret it! I sure didn’t, I will be using them for my future baby’s birthday party!

I didn’t really get to eat all the food because I was pretty busy with the wedding, but everyone told me how great the food was. It was a total hit and so cheap. We ordered for about 300 people and fed 350 people, plus leftovers. I will be using them again for future events such as baby’s bday!

Shin Mi catered our wedding at James Irvine Japanese Garden last September. Personally, I do did not want to do catering because I can’t stand the catering food. A lot of Korean weddings have catered food from other well known companies, and I learned to hate it. For our wedding, since our wedding venue does not offer food, we had to find a cater.
Shin Mi had the best rating in Unilocal for Korean food, so decided to give them a shot. Caroline (owner…hopefully I got the name right) is the person you will meet for tasting in her store front. Met her mother there as well who apparently makes one of the best cucumber kimchi… OMG, it’s so good. Food was really good. There were number of customers who were picking up their orders that day, and I could see why. Food was clean and tasty… not too salty or full of MSG.
I got to give kudos for Shin Mi for their professionalism. Just like any other venues, our wedding venue place had number of rules that caters had to follow. I called my contact for wedding venue and to my surprise, because Shin Mi was such a professional and wonderful to work with before, our venue decided to give us 15% off on contract.
Rather than trying to sell us the most expensive plan, Caroline worked with us to tailor food choices to our needs and budget. She suggested using couple of dinner menu to be served in-​between wedding ceremony and dinner, rather than adding another set of food to the dinner menu.
We had to make changes in our wedding guest number, which caused changes in what kind of tables will be used. Since Shin Mi was taking care of plates, table/​chair covers, and etc, they had to make changes few days prior to the wedding. No issues raised what so ever. Caroline simply said, «we got the details from the wedding venue contact and will take care of it. Your and fiancé’s least worry should be us.» She proved her point on our wedding. Everything was taken care of.
Shin me also takes care of the cake. They get it from a bakery… OMG, it is good. Just let Catherine take care of the cake as well.
Since there is a service charge included with the contract, she says that tipping her staff is not necessary. Her staff was phenomenon on our wedding. All of our guests were very complimentary of their services. I would have felt really horrible if I did not prepared tip for her staff.
Bottom line, price is excellent (you get more than what you pay for in terms of quality and taste), entire staff is professional, and good is excellent. We were really happy with Shin Me and definitely would use them for our future catering needs.

why cook when you can cater? you can try cooking everything at home, but really, the cost justifies this! so much easier to pick up some delicious food.
i ordered enough for about 10 people and it came out to $ 218
what i got:
— wild rice
— CA roll
— galbi jjihm (braised short rib)
— various juhn: mini bin deh dduk, fish juhn, stuffed perilla leaves
— jellyfish salad
— kimchi — cabbage and cucumber: SOOOOO GOOOOD. nearly the entire pan was empty by the end of the night
— baked mussels
— stuffed chilis
— boiled pork
— shrimp tempura
— namool — stir fried veggies — fern and spinach
— jap chae
— chicken wings
— chicken teriyaki on sticks
pros:
— for catered food, this is probably one of the best. we’ve all had korean catered food, and we all know how it can be boring and on the bland side, but this place is great.
cons:
— located in ktown, so it’s a bit of a drive for food, BUT so worth not having to slave away in the kitchen all day long
*TIP* we ordered for about 10 – 12 people, but it fed nearly 18 – 20. we used to order enough for 20 people before but we’d have so many leftovers!
would i use them again? yes! every time we have a party at our house

Shin Mi catered our wedding or approximately 270 people and they did a fantastic job. Everyone complimented us on our food, and now a friend of ours that is getting married soon is asking us if they can get information on the caterer, even though they are not even Korean! Also, another couple told us that at first he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to eat any of the food, he ended up loving it and getting 2^nd’s!!!
Thanks Shin Mi for making our wedding spectacular! Not to mention they took care of the linens, chair covers, bows, plates, utensils, you name it. It was beautiful and the best!

We used shinmi for our son’s dol (1^st Birthday) and everything we ordered was superb!
Kalbi jjim (braised short ribs): it was so good that there was NOTHING left in the tray but the juice!
Assorted jun (fish and meat dipped in egg then pan fried): seasoned to perfection!
Cucumber kimchee: THE BEST ever! A must try!!!
Not cheap but worth every penny for the quality and professionalism of her staff!
Thank you Shinmi!

I cannot thank Shin Mi Catering enough for all they did for my cousin’s wedding. I am an event planner. Caroline and her mother, along with the rest of their staff, were amazing! The food was phenomenal and the service was just a great! With only three months to plan this wedding, on one of the most popular wedding dates of the year, Shin Mi made it possible and even easy to create a very successful day. They provided for all of our needs, and more.
I would highly recommend this caterer to anyone and everyone.

We just recently placed an order for a casual Sunday lunch with about 17 people and Shin Mi Catering really came through. Total cost was under $ 300 which is really not bad for the variety and amount of food we got. We received 15 different trays and all of the food was delicious. They really hooked it up with the portions, so everybody was satisfied and had their fill, and we had extra food left over.
If you’re going to pick up the food yourself and pay in person, just make sure to bring cash with exact change or a check, as they don’t take credit cards.