Online food delivery service is not new in Singapore, what is important is the variety of food offering and the assurance of quality service.
FoodPandais an online food delivery portal which delivers food from various local restaurants, right to your doorstep. They are currently operating in 30 countries worldwide, including Singapore and is founded by Rocket Internet, the same company behind online shopping site, Zalora.
Sick of the usual fast food delivery options? Why not try ordering from FoodPandafor a variety of international cuisines from a slew of local restaurants?
Welcome to FoodPanda
I just made a dinner order on FoodPanda last night and was pretty satisfied with their service.
There is a variety of different cuisines available on FoodPanda, ranging from Italian to Japanese to Indian. I had a craving for briyani last night and was very happy to see a few Indian restaurants which deliver to my home.
I made the order at around 7pm from my office. The estimated delivery time was indicated as 70 minutes and the charges were all reflected upfront, with no hidden costs:
Browsing through the menu for Aromas of India
My wife texted me at around 7.30pm to inform me that the delivery has been made. Love it. Fuss-free and easy to use. Dinner is just a few clicks away with FoodPanda.
The total bill from Aromas of India restaurant came to S$28.27. Food cost was S$25.70 with an additional 10% (S$2.57) service fee. There is no 7% GST.
My order
Here was how my order looks like when it came:
A salad, mutton briyani and chicken briyani to share between two paxSalad to shareChicken briyaniMutton briyani
The portal also offers periodic discounts and alerts, much like many of the online coupon websites, except that they will be tempting you with food offerings exclusively.
French bistro Ô Batignollesintroduced a brand new weekend brunch menu to celebrate their first year anniversary this September. The brunch menu, ‘Champagne & Croissants’ features a range of new dishes typical of Paris, with the decadent addition of free-flow Champagne.
Champagne & Croissants at Ô Batignolles
Ô Batignolles is located at 2 Gemmil Lane, off Club Street in the CBD area. It is a good place to people watch with an eclectic mix of people strolling by. When I was there the previous weekend with Rachel and Asher, we spotted curious tourists with tell-tale maps, weekend cyclists and elderly Singaporeans from the nearby old HDB estates.
Good spot to people watch
The Champagne & Croissants brunch menu is priced at S$89++. Guests get to indulge in a range of patisserie, including Blueberry Pancakes, French nursery favourite Brioche with Nutella or a classic basket of Pain au Chocolat and Butter Croissant served with Bonne Maman preserves. The brunch continues with a second course of eggs prepared ‘in every way’, all served with a lightly dressed green salad. Choices include Eggs ‘Cocotte’ with bacon and cream served in individual ramekins with toasted bread, and Eggs Benedict, poached on English muffins with ham and a rich hollandaise sauce. The set menu includes a choice of tea, coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Here are what Rachel, Asher and I ate from the Champagne & Croissants brunch menu:
The set menu starts off with some fresh bread and champagneThe croissants were light and fluffy, served with home made jamsAuthentic french toastsBlueberry pancakesEggs with parma ham for meEggs with smoked salmon for Rachel
“We have created a menu which offers a real taste of Paris with the tempting addition of free-flow champagne to allow all our guests to celebrate our first anniversary with us. We were inspired to create ‘Champagne & Croissants’ by our favourite weekend spots in Paris – the bustling street cafés which invite guests to linger and relax over food and wine with friends.” Said Antoine Rouland, one of the owner at Ô Batignolles.
We enjoyed the cosy, friendly cafe environment
Yveline Prat brut Champagne is the champagne chosen by the owners to accompany the brunch menu. A light champagne with fine bubbles, known for its floral notes and toasted aromas, it is a perfect pairing with the brunch menu. Rachel like the champagne because she finds it light and smooth, not overbearing for an early meal.
Rachel enjoying her champagne while Asher enjoyed his lemon water from home
Rachel and I had a good experience dining at Ô Batignolles. One suggestion when ordering is to swap the order of the egg dish with the patisserie. For Singaporeans, we may be more used to eating a savory dish followed by something sweet than the other way round.
The full set brunch menu is very filling. Hence go with an empty stomach.
For family with young kids, note that Ô Batignolles do not have baby chairs, but Asher was welcomed there and the service was exemplary.
Champagne and Croissants Brunch is available on Saturday and Sunday from 11am – 3.30pm. For those who prefer a non-alcoholic weekend brunch, Champagne & Croissants is also available with soft drinks for only S$29++. A la carte menu is also available starting from S$8++.
Guests can also choose to supplement the set menu with additional a la carte menu items, which include Fromage Blanc aux Fruits Rouges – mixed berries with a creamy French yoghurt, Croque Monsieur – the indulgent ham, cheese and béchamel sandwich favourite, alongside a range of salads, charcuterie and cheese boards. A la carte dishes are priced from S$8++ to S$28++. Champagne starts from S$68++ by the bottle, with wine by the bottle priced from S$39++.
Ô Batignolles was opened in September 2012 by Parisian-born Antoine and Marie Rouland who sought to recreate a typically French ‘village bistro’ with good food, a relaxed atmosphere, and most importantly, an extensive and diverse selection of wine.
Committed to variety and affordability, Ô Batignolles has a wide selection of 14 French wines by the glass, priced from S$7-S$12: six white, six red, a Provencal rosé and a house champagne, all of which have been personally chosen by Antoine. Much of the carefully curated wine list is exclusively available to Ô Batignolles in Singapore, thanks to the personal relationships Antoine and Marie have cultivated with independent vineyards, and from whom they import directly into Singapore.
It is the 7th edition of the Singapore Restaurant Week, happening from 7 to 13 October, 2013. I was honored to be exclusively hosted by American Express, the presenting partner of this event, to do a food review of B@Rochester’s specialty cuisine.
Over dinner at B@Rochester on a Monday evening, I met and spoke with Sheena Yu, Head – Public Affairs & Communications ASEAN, American Express International Inc.
We sampled a full course dinner from their special Singapore Restaurant Week menu:
Fusion sashimi salad for starterSeparate order of salmon, swordfish and tuna sashimiFish mainClose-up of the fishSeparate order of grilled salmon fish head for sharingGreen tea ice cream with red bean paste and chocolate
Over dinner, we chatted casually over our respectively love for good food, with Sheena candidly sharing on her diverse culinary adventures, having lived and worked in three countries – Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.
American Express have always branded themselves strongly for culinary privileges. I still remember working on some of their creative material on dining deals during my first job as a graphic designer at OgilvyOne Worldwide Singapore – this was some eight years ago!
Speaking to Sheena, I learnt of the other exciting dining initiatives American Express extends to its cardmembers. These include:
1. The Far Cardwhich offers outstanding year-round dining privileges of up to 50% at all participating restaurants and special dining offers at selected restaurants.
2. Palate with more than 50 of the finest restaurants and bars island wide offering savings of up to 50%.
3. SELECTS® for a yearlong selection of dining privileges.
More details are available on the respective links.
The number one local butter brand, SCS, recently launched its first ever social media platform – an official Facebook Page.
They sent me some nice little cupcakes in conjunction with the launch announcement:
Cupcakes from SCS Butter
I believe most of us have tasted a product or two from SCS before. Here is a picture of SCS product offerings to refresh memories:
I find it rather interesting to see such a traditional brand embrace social media. It is a sign of things to come for branding, advertising and promotions in the near future.
Why did SCS decided to do this?
In their own words:
Over the years of changes, our loyal customers make spreading SCS butter a part of their lives. The recognition of uncompromised product quality over the years has ensured that SCS remains a favourite household brand that is trusted through generations. Now SCS would like to continue spreading the goodness of our products by reaching out to the public on its Facebook page.
Being a brand popularised by the older generations, SCS acknowledges that to stay relevant and to reach out to the more tech savvy and younger crowd, a SCS Dairy Facebook page is the natural progression to ensure the continuation of cooking and baking traditions.
“With the emergence of young entrepreneurial and aspiring chefs, we are excited to be on this platform to make sure SCS supports and continues to fuel such a passion for baking through relevant mediums” shares Nicholas Koh, Head of Marketing (Housebrand), Auric Pacific Marketing Pte Ltd.
What is the new SCS Dairy Facebook page all about?
The SCS Dairy Facebook page will be a one-stop centre that shares baking and cooking tips, easy-to-follow recipes, events information and updates, and inspirations from the online community. Expect exhilarating weekly contests and attractive prizes to be won.
SCS invites you to ‘Like’ the SCS Facebook page as it will be a one stop page for all your baking and cooking inspirations and communications.
Be prepared to cook up a storm with the SCS Facebook page!
About SCS
SCS Butter is one of the house brands under listed Auric Pacific Group Limited (APGL). It also owns popular brands such as Sunshine, Gourmet, and Buttercup. APGL also runs the Food Junction and Delifrance chains in Singapore.
Since 1905, SCS Butter has become a common fixture in kitchens around the island with its creamy, rich and buttery taste. All SCS products are produced and manufactured in Australia, and it is its dedication to delivering uncompromised premium quality that has made one of its products, SCS Butter, the No.1 trusted butter brand in Singapore.
To continue offering the goodness of premium quality diary products to consumers, SCS has gone on to successfully launch a range of other diary products such as SCS Spreadable Butter, SCS Cheese Slices, and SCS Cream Cheese.
Snax! by CP is the latest food concept launched by CP Foods, one of Singapore’s most popular and leading food brands, that serves up hot, flavourful comfort food that you can consume on-the-go.
Shrimp skewer choicesChicken skewer options
In collaboration with CP Foods, I will be giving our 5 pairs of Snax! by CP vouchers (each pair worth S$30++) – each voucher entitles a Snax! value meal, 3 seafood or chicken skewers, and 1 set of the new ‘Chicky Chix’.
One voucher can get you this amount of food:
Two chicken sticks on the left and three shrimp sticks on the rightA box of rice with two skewersThat’s really a lot of food!
The vouchers are redeemable at either of the two Snax! by CP outlets – Takashimaya (Food Hall, B2), and JEM (B1-K03) – and are valid till 31 October 2013. Other terms and conditions apply.
I will do a random draw and contact the winner via Facebook message by next Monday (14 Oct 2013).
[14 Oct 2013 Update] Congratulations to the following five winners:
I will be messaging the winners via facebook. A big thank you to everyone who joined this contest. Do continue to support Alvinology.com and Snax! by CP Foods. 🙂
In their own words:
