It’s Sunday night. You’re all cozied up on the couch in your pajamas, another episode of How I Met Your Mother playing on the TV. By the time dinner hour rolls around, you’re already far too intertwined in the lives of Ted and Marshall to even consider getting off the couch. But that stomach grumbling is only getting louder….what to do??
I have one word for you: Foodpanda.
Based in Berlin, Germany, Foodpanda is a mobile app you can use to  order takeout from restaurants close by. It serves as a sort of middleman, taking care of the pickup and delivery to make sure food travels seamlessly from the restaurant to your doorstep. It’s a worldwide company, with offices everywhere, from Hong Kong to Pakistan to Russia. And luckily for all of us, Foodpanda has finally made it to Taiwan.
As a connoisseur of all things labor-saving, and also all things food, I decided to give the app a try. First off, I felt the interface was well designed and easy to use, although I wish there was a way to browse the menus first without going into ordering mode. I looked through the restaurants that were available, and settled on Chili’s.
While I didn’t know it at the time, the selection of food and restaurants will vary based on your location. For example, from Tianmu I can get takeout from Chilis, Dairy Queen, Alleycat’s and Haagen Daaz. But if I tried to order from Da’An, I could get Toasteria, Outback Steakhouse, and Mister Donut. It all depends on which restaurants are within reasonable delivery distance to you.
I sent in my order at around 5:20. The app had warned me that the delivery would take a little under an hour, so I just did some homework in the meantime. I suppose if you’re in a rush and not willing to wait, Foodpanda wouldn’t be the most sensible option. My food arrived a little ahead of schedule at 5:55 ish, with everything nicely wrapped and wonderfully warm.
There’s a delivery fee that’s around 100NT, but I personally thought it was a small price to pay for the privilege of enjoying Molten Chocolate Cake in my pajamas. All in all, Foodpanda is a handy app that does its job well. While the delivery can be a bit slow, if you already know you’re staying in for the night then it’s easy to plan ahead and order before you’re hungry. So if you have the body of a couch potato, but the taste buds of gourmet diner, then get on your phone, and head onto the App Store.
Photo Courtesy of PunNode