Foodpanda: Order delicious food to your doorstep!

Recently, I wanted to order some food home and that is how I landed at Foodpanda. It is a very interesting concept and that is why I wanted to share with you all.

Foodpanda, a relatively new, German based venture provides the service of order and delivery of food and beverages. They are an up-and-coming website that works by delivering food and drinks from a wide range of available partner restaurants such as Kebab Xpress, Subway, Pizza Hut, to name a few.

Foodpanda is now present in 11 cities across India, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, etc. and 28 countries worldwide. If one has a busy schedule or the job doesn’t allow enough time to cook or go out to eat, Foodpanda provides the best alternative. All one has to do is go on their website, select the current location and look through the available restaurants in the area. Next, select the restaurant of choice and choose all the dishes and beverages wanted, including toppings and dessert. Further, proceed to check out the order and after entering the delivery details, all one would have to do is await the delivery of their favorite dish by Foodpanda.


For people on the move, Foodpanda provides a smartphone app for Android and Apple mobile devices. This app follows a similar procedure as their website, and one can have their favorite dish delivered to the current location hassle free.

Personally, I haven’t used availed their services as yet, but would be happy to try them out at the next opportunity.

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Ima’s Vegetarian: Only Vegetarian Restaurant in Puerto Princesa

Being a vegetarian is tough life in the Philippines as beef and pork are so much a part of the local staple diet. True vegetarian food is so hard to come by. You can just about manage if you eat eggs. Else, you will have to end up eating at one of the more expensive restaurants who will have some basic vegetarian fare in their menu. Thankfully, when I was walking the streets of Puerto Princesa, I found this vegetarian restaurant called Ima’s Vegetarian. Initially, I was surprised that I found a vegetarian restaurant in Philippines, but when I entered inside I was very happy as there were banners of
‘Go Vegetarian’ and ‘Save Animals’ and all that.

This place is located on Fernandez street, which runs perpendicular to the Rizal Avenue and is located in the downtown area of Puerto Princesa. They are open every day from 11 AM to 9 PM, except for Friday (11 AM to 2 PM) and Saturday (6 PM to 10 PM). Their food is vegetarian with an European and Mexican twist. Their prime offerings are burgers, burritos and pizzas, but they also dish out some vegetarian foods with rice as the base. Their food is not extraordinary, but is simple and a savior for vegetarians in Puerto Princesa. Each dish should be about 100 to 200 PHP. Service is a bit slow when the restaurant is full. The place also comes with free wi-fi, so one can browse the internet while they wait for their food.

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Inggil Restaurant: East Javanese Cuisine in Malang

Every city and region has its traditions, culture and food and as a traveler it is special when you get to see all of it without moving between many places. The Inggil restaurant in the center of Malang is one such place. This restaurant, which began operations in 1949 is completely modeled after East Java, has people from East Java as its employees, plays East Java traditional music and serves only East Javanese food.


The place appeals to you as soon as you enter it. It has an archaic touch with old telephones, an East Javanese artistic touch with pre-independence paper cuttings, posters from that era, memorabilia from East Java and finally everyone dressed up in typical East Javanese style. This place is more or less full every evening as the restaurant hosts a live musical performance based on East Javanese traditions. The songs can be a bit slow, but it is supposed to portray events from the daily life of East Javanese people.


The place is not real up market, but the ambience is definitely unique and the food is also very tasty. Even as a vegetarian, I found many options. And the best part is that the food is not expensive and in fact very affordable. We had 8 dishes and 2 juices and the cost came to about 80,000 rupiah (~8 USD). In case you wish to try out this place, it is on Jalan Gaja Mada and near the Tugu monument.

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Tamnak Lao Restaurant: Best for Lao Food!!

Unlike Thai, Malaysian or Vietnamese Food, Lao food is not that popular the world over. But, that is not because the food is not good, but that there is hardly anyone who is taking Lao food to the masses. It is only when you get to Laos and taste the food that you know it can be a cuisine on its own in an international kitchen. One such restaurant, which is a good exponent of this tasty cuisine is Tamnak Lao. Tamnak Lao is located in Luang Prabang and Vientiane where it is not too far away from the most popular sights in these respective cities.


This restaurant, which doubles up as a cooking school dishes out a great variety of Lao food and its specialties include the Lao Fish Larp, steamed Lao fish in banana leaf, Lao Salad, Bamboo Salad and more. In Vientiane, they are only open during the evenings, while at Luang Prabang, they are open both for lunch and dinner. The restaurant staff speak decent English and will ensure that you have a great dining experience. In fact, this is one of their better selling points. The food here is slightly on the expensive side, but once you get a taste of their food, you are bound to return many times in spite of it putting a strain on your wallet. In addition to their great food, they have dedicated menus for vegetarians and diabetics, which augurs well for those with special needs too.

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Ying Vegetarian: A must visit for all vegetarians in Hong Kong

If you are a vegetarian in Hong Kong, you know how difficult it is to get true vegetarian food. Either they add chicken to your dish for flavor or cook your dish in the same vessel that is used to cook meat. Thus, you end up getting the taste of meat in your dish. And such vegetarian options come by only when you find a place where the hotel staff understand English. English speaking staff is available only in the bigger restaurants or in some of the more touristy side of Hong Kong or the areas where Expats feature more like the island side of Hong Kong.


This means you either have to travel far to eat good food or you end up paying more. Neither are sustainable options. But, thankfully I chanced upon one good vegetarian restaurant while I was exploring the temple street night market at Yau ma Tei. The place is called Ying Vegetarian and is located at one end of the temple street along side other traditional Cantonese restaurants.


The best part about the place is that they serve Cantonese food, but in vegetarian style. As a first timer, their menu can confuse you as its dishes look and read like the other Cantonese restaurants with words like hot pot, beef, pork, chicken, grouper, fish, squid, etc. Even I was confused when I went there for dinner. I had to double check with customers and the restaurant staff to validate if it was truly vegetarian. Their menu says that some dishes might contain egg, but that also can be removed if informed while ordering the food.


When they serve you the food, it looks exactly like its meat counterpart, but the meat component is either built with tofu, egg white or mushrooms. They have a fairly large number of dishes spanning Antipasto and Noodle Rice, but I opted for the traditional Cantonese hot pot variety that included Eggplant, Chicken and Fish. The dish that I ordered was the best dish that I had tasted in Hong Kong and may be one of the best veggie fare in all of my South East Asia journey.


While the food is great and the service decently quick, the restaurant might not be the cleanest in Hong Kong, though not dirty either. The setup is entry level restaurant type with air conditioning dining and all, but misses the sophistication. The prices are similar to other restaurants in remote areas of town (about 50 to 80 HKD for a dish) and definitely cheaper than the same scale restaurants on Hong Kong Island. Don’t miss to try them out if you are a vegetarian living in Hong Kong.

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