My Experiment with Food Delivery

Eclairs - The Pavilion, ITC Maurya, New Delhi

The mere fact that I'm writing about this should tell you how passionate I am about my food. I order in a lot. Like a lot. And I've been doing that for the last 11 years. So my relationship with food delivery is a long standing one and of course, I have a type when it comes to food delivery places. Now, what I look for in my meals and subsequently in my food delivery experience may differ from occasion to occasion , from day to day, depending on the following things - how hungry I am, what I'm craving for and what time of the month it is.

You see, I'm a big guy, like literally, I am around 6' 2" tall and I weigh nearly 100 kilograms. So naturally, I have a really healthy appetite. So quantity is a big factor for me. Most of my disappointments with food delivery joints arises from the fact that they have a pathetic portion size. I don't mind paying more than average if the serving size and the quality of food justifies it. On that front, the New Gurgaon / Manesar area has been a big let down. Places here either don't have great taste and when they do, their portion sizes don't justify their prices. And at times, when they get these things right, they don't deliver to your doorstep.

While I love almost all cuisines, I crave for certain cuisines more than others. For example, I order Oriental dishes very frequently if I find a place I like. But it has to be done right. Uncooked noodles are a big no-no, the soy-based dishes have to have the right condiments and using curry leaves in any Chinese dish should be a punishable crime.

Drums of Heaven. Now that's a dish which was so good at the first place I tried it in that the successors never could satisfy my taste buds. Chopsticks on Dhole Patil road in Pune served the spiciest, tangiest and the most satiating Drums of Heaven I've ever tasted. They were so sinful and so hot that I'd upset my stomach every time I had them, so I used to order three plates in the evening before my day off, so that I could stay in bed the next guy with an upset stomach, that's how good they were. Ah, those were the days.

While pizza is good for evening snacks, but very few places do it right. Also, it usually dries out during delivery. And I usually eat alone, so pizza disappoints most of the time. Dominos Pizza used to be my favorite when I lived in Goa, because it was really close by and I loved their chicken wings and choco lava cake. New York Slice does really good pizza but you have to have them fresh, so I suggest going to the restaurant. Lets talk about other Italian food. For some reason, pasta dishes don't do well as home deliveries. They are meant to be eaten hot and I'd suggest you make them yourself rather than ordering in. 

Indian food is good for intense hunger, but I tend to get too choosy. Somehow very few places manage to get chicken right. In my opinion chicken in Indian cooking has to be cooked properly. I've never been a big fan of tandoori for some reason. And what's with restaurants and vegetarian dishes? Have you noticed the portion sizes or the jacked up prices? Since when is it okay to price a plate of dal tadka just 40 INR lesser than a half plate of chicken curry? And don't even get me started about mutton! The only decent mutton I've had at a restaurant was at Bijoli Grills at Dilli Haat near INA Market, New Delhi.

I have also noticed that many places which are great at giving you a dine-in experience suck at delivering food. So of course, packaging matters. Basis packaging in foil and air tight pouches works for gravies and noodles. If you're doing boxes, please make sure you're packing them well. Food delivery with spilled gravy is fun for no one. Some places go crazy with the packaging and then charge a boat load of money for the food where the food itself isn't even great. Please avoid doing that.

Sometimes I crave for sweet dishes. And I have been disappointed every time. For some strange reason, sweet dishes (except for the occasional chocolate lava cakes) don't work well in food deliveries. The last time I ordered a sundae from a nearby confectionery, it was a dripping mess even with the great packaging. And when it comes to cake, the places who deliver it well don't usually make it very well, for example Ferns & Petals.

Now lets talk money. Gurgaon has very expensive food delivery. But Pune & Hyderabad were real winners on that front. Swagath at Hyderabad & Chopsticks at Pune kept me alive. Now every one's a little light in the pocket at the end of the month and a reasonably priced delivery joint could be a life saver in such moments. I hate making compromises with my food. It's a misconception that good food can't be cheap. Most street vendors in Indore serve really nice food. If only someone organised a delivery run for these places. 

My earliest experience of getting food delivered was in college. There was this place whose name I can't recall who used to delivered to our hostel. Everyone used to order triple fried rice as it had a good quantity and gravy along with it. While others shared it and the bill, I used to have it alone and I could finish it at one go, which was good as we didn't have a refrigerator at the hostel. So that was a good food delivery experience for me. I order dishes here at Gurgaon, especially chicken dishes and I can't finish them at one go. And I hate one day old chicken, so I end up throwing it away. That's no fun.

Let's look at some significant places and my feedback about them:

Chopsticks, Pune - Great dining, decent food delivery, terrific pries.

Saagar, Pune - Decent vegetarian food, not so exciting food delivery.

Ritz, Panjim - Good for an afternoon dine-in. Didn't do delivery.

Aunty Maria's, Fidalgo, Panjim - Best apple pie & mango cheesecakes in India.

Swagath, Hyderabad - Great Biryani, never went beyond it.

Sigri, Begumpet, Hyderabad - Great dine-in experience and decent food delivery, but pricey.

Daddy's Kitchen, Gurgaon - Good food but sucks at delivery.

Nukkadwala, Gurgaon - Good taste but very small portion sizes.

Fatplates, Gurgaon - Hit & a Miss.

Redhouse Orient - Terrific Indonesian food, great delivery performance but closed down, don't know why.

So my ideal food delivery place would be some joint which can pull over a terrific spread of well cooked Indian or Chinese food which is served in good quantity for a not-so-extravagant price, and has a delivery boy that can get the food to me intact in easy to open packaging and while the food is still hot. And if they accept online payment, that's a plus. What more does a man need?