Foodie Heaven with Hellofood

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am a die-hard foodie also known as a die hard for food, adventure, and a lover of all things food. The things that frustrate a foodie like me include the unending traffic on Kampala roads, and the fact that some restaurants need you to scrub-up to have your meal of choice. Short of the scrubbing-up, you might get mistaken for the gardener. Basically to enjoy a meal at your favourite restaurant requires that you have the time and company (which company may or may not be necessary).

In the recent past, I have come across a number of HelloFood adverts on billboards, radio, you name it; and so I became curious enough to just check what the fuss was all about. As a foodie I have tried delivery services over time and have continuously been disappointed. Either the food would take ages to get delivered or it was delivered ice cold and painfully expensive. Occasionally, one of the delivery guys would want to make an extra buck and so I would bear the burden, most times unaware. My coffee often came halfway spilt and this was starting to get to me. Therefore my decision to try out Hellofood might as well be referred to as the proverbial leap of faith.

For starters, I had to download the app and go through with a registration process that ended in entering a few details here and there; something I meticulously did. Within a few seconds of registration I had an array of restaurants right there, on the app.

I have to admit I was quite impressed by the restaurant portfolio on the app. It covers a very good percentage of cuisines that include Asian, Italian, European, African, Indian and even the junk lovers are covered with several top restaurants included. Each of the restaurants had a rather in-depth display of their menus which made my appetite start doing back flips. I was specifically impressed that the numerous local restaurants had some of my wonderful delicacies like the mouthwatering Luwombo and undeniably tasty Olel.

With this list of restaurants and extensive menus, I was still skeptical … like the Ugandan I am, I needed some more convincing. So I went ahead and placed an order with Bon-Apetit. I opted to go for my usual quick fix - crispy fried chicken and fries. A few seconds after placing and confirming my order, I received a message (SMS) confirming my order had been taken and alerting me that my order would be delivered in about 60mins.

The message I received seconds after placing my order

At this point, a bit of my usual pessimism had begun to wash away. I was finally hopeful my disaster delivery experiences were going to be a thing of the past.

And boy did the Hellofood guys outdo themselves! Within 23 minutes of receiving the SMS, my crispy chicken was delivered. All I had to do was make the payment and proceed to dig into my chicken and chips.

I have on several occasions had to complain about a delayed order or a missing order and this therefore came as a pleasant surprise. It is likely that I will not be dealing with anyone other than Hellofood in the future. I was saved the hustle of calling up boda guys to run around looking for what I want and having to part with loads of money for transport. Besides, with this January sunshine, the boda guys are keen to bargain for an extra soft drink or an extra buck to cater for their flirtation with the heat.

In short, I think hellofood will be a hit especially with the hustle and bustle of Kampala. People working late with little or no time to go out to restaurants are finally free to work their behinds off without worrying about how they will eat something. The best part is one does not have to worry about overpriced delivery fees because everything is indicated right there on the receipt that you are given when the delivery is made. Basically, the delivery man cannot fleece or hoodwink you in anyway.

One surprising thing I noted on the app was that the restaurant menus have a ‘drinks’ section. So if you feel like having the night in, your drinks can be delivered to your doorstep. Simplicity!

For a Ugandan like myself who works quite a lot that I tend to have little time to dash out for lunch, this will be my perfect app. While people will make so much noise about candy crush, temple run or Facebook messenger, I will reserve my noise-making for this app right here. I don’t know who created it but I sure hope they can pat themselves on the back for making my day at work totally worth it. No more traffic jam hustles, no more overpriced deliveries, no cold food deliveries and most importantly, no more extended hours without my favourite meal.

@ruthadong