I was choosing dishes for my daughter's birthday and slowly losing my mind. 'Girl, don't order deep-fried dishes, they always end up soggy,' said my mom. 'Don't listen to your mom, I love the deep-fried Vietnamese Spring Rolls. They'll be ok lah. Just order,' argued my dad. What I really wanted was the Egg Rolls which neither of them approved of.

I'll admit, there's no way to please every person on your guestlist. But here's my pick of 8 dishes that will score high on taste and looks on your catering buffet line.

1.

Thai Herb Blue Fried Rice
Kao Phad Samunprai

Looking for a party conversation starter? Here is it. That brilliant blue comes from steaming premium Thai jasmine rice with Butterfly Pea flowers, 100% natural. It also tastes wonderful, infused with the flavours of fried garlic, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.

2.

Korean Soy Garlic Chicken Wings
Dakgangjeong

Everyone thinks that deep-fried items get soggy in buffet warmers, but not theses babies. They're kept under a heat lamp so that they stay crunchy. I've also found that the Soy Garlic flavour is a major crowd pleaser, young and old alike.

3.

Vietnamese Vegetarian Steamed Rice Crèpe Rolls

If you're still dead set on avoiding deep-fried items, this is a great option. These rolls are lovingly hand-rolled, one by one in the kitchen, then cut down to party-sized bites. Besides being the perfect party finger food, they're also presented in a traditional Vietnamese wicker basket on the buffet line.

4.

Penang Salmon Otah

My mom always thinks that otah looks cheap, so if you have a roomful of guests like her, choose this dish. The Penang Catering kitchen uses legitimate chunks of salmon that you can visually see in each piece. The chefs make the paste from scratch and steam them in large trays, then serve them in bite-sized squares on the buffet line.

5.

Hainanese Chicken Quinoa

This is how you get away with catering chicken rice while still leaving guests impressed. Big on taste and low on fats, this is probably the most wholesome chicken rice you'll ever treat your guests to!

6.

Thai Coconut Ice Cream
I-Thim Nara

Have you ever been to Bangkok's Chatuchak Market and had coconut ice cream out of a coconut husk bowl? The I-thim Nara is the same concept, just that your guests get to add their own toppings. Imagine, sticky rice, red ruby and atap seeds, as much as they like! My nieces and nephews didn't want to go home when we had this at the party.

7.

Kueh Pie Tee

Another thing kids love at a party is putting together their own food. Kueh Pie Ti comes as a DIY station, where you get to fill the little crunchy cups with the radish stew and top them with a little shrimp. Great for parents who want to be left to eat in peace!

8.

Thai Softshell Crab with Yellow Curry
Phunim Phad Pong Karee

We all know that crabs are messy and don't make good catering dishes. But with the Thai Softshell Crab with Yellow Curry, you can pretty much pop the whole chunk in your mouth! My favourite part is really the yellow curry. It's thick, buttery and very sinful, but well worth the calories. If you want a fuss free crab dish that's easy to eat, this is it. At the end of the day, it's still your party really. It's probably most important that you're pleased with your selection! And with that, I'll probably just order the egg rolls. Incidentally, they're great for the buffet line too.