Feast with ease

By Syed Ebrahim Al-idrus

Entering the gates of school can be like signing up for a new season of Survivor — isolated in the far west of Singapore and left to fend for yourself.

Few want to make the cumbersome journey out of school and back just to satisfy a food craving. In this case, food delivery services emerge as the next best option.

Riding on this lifestyle hack, we’ve scoured some of the top delivery services that could very well be your SOS hotline when you’re sick and tired of school food.

Foodpanda
www.foodpanda.sg
Rating: 4.5/5

Comfort is one of the many reasons food delivery remains a popular option among NTU undergraduates. We’d opt to snuggle under our blankets in the comfort of our beds instead of walking under the hot sun to the nearest canteen.

Pleasing us with its fast and direct-to-door deliveries is foodpanda, which delivers cuisines from over 24 restaurants to NTU.

On the list are crowd favourites such as Pastamania, Woo Ricebox and Carl’s Junior, which are available for delivery from 9.30am to 10.30pm daily.

Its no-frills website is easy to navigate, as the food options are grouped into different categories such as Western, Chinese, and Halal. Alternatively, you can order from the foodpanda mobile application, which allows you to track your order on a live countdown, giving you a rough estimate of when your feast is arriving.

It took 40 minutes for us to get our hands on the Chicken Katsu that we ordered from 4Fingers, but delivery speed and charges differ depending on location. Most of the restaurants also require a minimum order of about $20.

Even though you’re given the choice of paying cash upon delivery, we suggest you pay by credit card, so there isn’t the problem of small change.

Deliveroo
www.deliveroo.com.sg
Rating: 4/5

Thirty-two minutes — that’s the time Deliveroo promises it will take to deliver food to your doorstep. True enough, our beef pad thai order from Thai Express arrived in 30 minutes.

Launched just over seven months ago, Deliveroo is making a big splash here in Singapore, offering food choices from over 1,300 partner restaurants, with over a thousand delivery men.

Currently, Deliveroo only offers nine restaurant options if you’re ordering from school but is looking to expand its services. On top of that, it will also be rolling out a series of Halal-certified cuisine over the next six months.

Navigating the Deliveroo website and mobile application is a straightforward process — just punch in your postal code, select the food of your choice, and your meal is well on its way.

The website is also aesthetically pleasing, plastered with sliders of mouth-watering photographs of all the food options you can choose from.

A fixed delivery charge of $3 is added to the total bill regardless of location. Last orders are at 9.30pm and both cash and online credit card payment are accepted.

What To Eat
www.whattoeat.com.sg
Rating: 4/5

American-style fish and chips, bak kut teh, and a plate of crispy Korean fried chicken.

These are the types of food you can expect when you scroll through the long list of places available to order from What To Eat. There is a good mix, ranging from comforting hawker food to chic pubs and posh restaurants.

Bringing over 200 cuisines across the island directly to us, What To Eat operates from 11am to 11pm – so order early if you’re looking for a midnight supper.

Our Yoshinoya meal arrived at our school in 40 minutes, well within the 50-minute average that it promises.

Similar to the other delivery services, you can make payment with cash, credit and debit card, as well as Paypal.

Its delivery charges are fixed at $2.99, with a minimum order of $30.

Gourmet To Go
www.gourmettogo.com.sg
Rating 3.5/5

Gourmet To Go’s bright and colourful website functions as an online menu of over 39 restaurants to choose from. Besides categories such as Mediterranean, Fusion, Vegetarian and even zichar, the website also allows you to filter restaurants according to distance and budget.

After looking through the menu, orders can be placed by phone from 11am to 2.30pm and 6pm to 9pm from Monday to Friday, as well as 11am to 9.30pm on weekends.

But one drawback is that its estimated delivery time ranges from 90 minutes to two hours. There is also a starting delivery fee of $4, as well as a minimum order of $25 per restaurant.