We tried this in 2008, and since then, the options are much much more; the playing field in food delivery (in Singapore) now becoming more competitive than before. Guess there is money in it to be made. Other than tingkat meal delivery, there are now also vendors specialising in restaurant and food outlet delivery.
In Tingkat delivery, the food is delivered to the doorstep in tall metal containers of various tiers (tiffin carriers, called tingkats in Malay, meaning "level / floor / rank"). There is an option to have it delivered in microwave-safe plastic containers, at an extra charge.
During the various trials offered by the caterers (trials are for 5-day to 10-day food delivery), most of the caterers deliver the food in microwave-safe plastic containers instead of in tingkat (tiffins).
User review of Tingkat delivery food (3 Dishes+1 Soup / or 4 Dishes /for 2 persons):
2008: Jessie Catering
Friendly, good service.
However, once a week, we get what we called "dud" meals, where the food is not up to expectations.
2008: Select Catering
Food is not as nice as when they catered for it in town.
We also get "dud" meals once too often.
The chicken was one tough goner.
2012: Kim's Kitchen
Portion was small because their trial run for 5 days is the cheapest @ S$40 for 2 persons.
Hopefully, portion improves in size during actual runs.
Taste is full of flavour, so for those who like food this way, it is good.
2012: Neo Gardens
Portion during trial was the largest, but they charged S$116.60 for 10 days.
Taste is pleasant, some may find it plain but for daily meals, some like it light in flavour.
This is the one we picked for the actual run (S$288.90 for 20 days).
However, disappointed to find the portion seems to have shrunk in the actual run.
Food still taste pleasant.
In the trial run, our tingkat was delivered to the wrong address.
It ended up being delivered by a neighbour after 8 p.m., hours after it was hung on the door at 3.30 p.m. The food was cold, not as fresh.
The manager promised an add-on dish as compensation.
But didn't get that extra dish?!
Now in the actual run, our tingkat was again delivered to the wrong address. This despite alerting during order. We did received a tingkat this time, but the label address shows it belongs to someone else. Unfortunately, we didn't know that and had already opened all the tiers.
Not very good, this wrong delivery, as other folks may likewise have opened it up to "view".
The other surprise was that while they allow customers to choose "no seafood / no spice / etc.", we cannot request for "no pork" as it is a "meat dish", according to the CS. A disappointment as there are folks who do not consume pork due to religious or health reasons, and wish for it to be replaced with another non-pork dish, vegetables or otherwise.
A bit of flexibility would have been appreciated.
2012: Hilltop KB
This was highly recommended by someone in one of the Singapore forum boards.
So we enrolled for the trial, S$110 for 10 days of 4 dishes (no soup this time as all the soup dish in the trial runs are laden with MSG).
Oh, yucks, we knew we were done for during the 1st day itself.
That first dish tasted like something a volunteer cook at a temple used to whip up - and I think that tasted better. There was just something in the oil used - one smell and we were done for.
They wouldn't allow a refund, but did accord us a smaller mercy of reducing the 10-day agony to 5-days. In one of the tiers in the first day, was a fish dish which was the kind of "dory" fish which we hate (the melted kind, that is a poor cousin of the real dory fish). For the real stuff, head for Fish & Co. We were shocked to find this agony extended during the next 5-days, when we received the same "melted" fish not once but twice more. Most caterers make it a point not to repeat the dish in the same week. When we called in to prevent the same fish popping up during the last and the fifth day, we were told it was our mistake not to request for a "no-fish" tingkat. But how? We love fish! Just didn't expected fish to ever turn out this way. We were also convinced that the fish was prepared different way, and that our eyes, our tongues, our hearts was deceiving us into thinking it was prepared the same way. Oh mercy, we must be more pathetic creatures than the fish.
2012: Four Seasons (name seems to have changed to Gourmet City)
Food is okay.
Chicken was old chicken, tough.
We prefer Neo Gardens / Kim's Kitchen more.
2012: Mom's Cooking
Their price is double that of other tingkat caterers.
We keep hearing their food tastes better. However, we skip the trial run as it appears from the menu that they have a lot of pork dishes.
If you love pork, it may be worth a try.
One man's meat is another man's poison.
YMMV (your mileage may vary).
Enjoy Life!
No comments:
Post a Comment