Strategic Food Delivery Expert : Meal Diaries

There was a time when pizza was considered as the only dish which can be home delivered. But man's desire for having more variety of dishes at the comfort of his couch has lead to the birth of many food & foodtech startups.

Though lot of food delivery services are there in market, hardly I see competition among those. Since no one can stick to a single cuisine for long time and natural urge to explore more variant & cuisines has opened a lot of opportunity to bloom innovative food service startups at any point of time. Certainly, Meal Diaries is a new player in the market with lot of strategy.

It was a great privilege to attend Meal Diaries sampling event organized by FBAB as a part of its 20th Bloggers meetup.

PACKAGING: It looked very professional. Light branding, multi pocket pack and intact packaging was really cool. Every dish they served was intact without any spills or mixup.

DELIVERY: Since the event was organized  about 2-3KMs away from their kitchen, we were able know experience their delivery speed. And I personally think they should improve a bit in this factor. Though the main course was delivered a few minutes late, food was warm as it should be.

FOOD

Every food service tech has its own strategy when it comes to the menu. Likewise; Meal Diaries changes its menu everyday and renews it only after a month. And there is an exception for some popular dishes which are in demand. You can see those popular dishes in their menu frequently compared to others. This strategy is quite unique and I think it will surely satisfy explorers tummy.

SALADS: Green Green everywhere... They got some decent array of salads which appeared like they have lined up vitamin packages.

Vietnamese Salad: This salad was accompanied with sweet and sour dressing option. If you are spicy & tangy lover like me, you will definitely love this dish. Sweet and sour dressing added a tangy twist to bland Salad.

Yasai Salad:  Served with Spicy Mayo. How come anything served with Mayo can possibly taste odd... It was an absolute delight.

Asian Green Salad: This salad was quite an out of box thing. Seasoning it with Lemon & Coriander added wacky sour taste. Though it tasted very normal, I liked it.






SMALL MEALS:

Pita Pockets: It's a Syrian originated dish which is quite popular in Mediterranean and middle East countries. It's an easily customizable dish and Meal Diaries chose corn fritters as it's stuff. I've tried Pita Pockets with Paneer & Capsicum stuff before, but corn fritters seemed like a very ordinary choice. Nevertheless, it was good.

Whole Wheat Wrap: Unlike other dishes, wheat wraps can be a great stuff for a delivery oriented service. Since it remains hot for a long time and as it can be consumed even if it's slightly warm. Ingredients were good, taste was great and the quantity seemed fair to me.

Burger: Another popular American food. It comes in a huge size and the party used in it was fried to perfection. However, I wish bun was bit more softer.






MEALS:

Gobi Paratha with Chola meal: By the time they served the Big Meal, we were almost full. But still we managed to taste their main course. Gobi Paratha was kind of okay. I was not able to find the proper gobi flavour in it. It was more like a plain paratha. However the chola served as a side dish was good.

Onion Cheese Chilly Paratha with black Dal meal: All I can say is it was a good combination. By the time we opened the paratha, it was little mess. However the taste was good and black dal side dish was nice.

Bhindi masala with pakodi kadhi meal: Bhindi Masala was awesome. It was perfectly fried and tasted too good.







DESSERTS:

Gulab Jamoon: I must admit, it was one of the best Gulab Jamoon I had in recent times. It was so soft and sweetness was just perfect. Generally I'm not fond of sweets, but this time I ended up having 4 gulab jamoons.

Ras Malai: Another great way for a happy climax. It was too good. It was neither too sweet nor too bland, it just matched the perfect description of Ras Malai. Brilliant!






EVERYTHING ELSE:
Their strategy, service oriented dedications and a great team seems like a perfect formula for success. Some minor tune ups in the service and improvement to the delicacy can surely make them a pioneers in the market.

FINAL VERDICT: Meal Diaries can be a answer for those who love to explore varieties of delicacies at the comfort of their home. But only if you have open mind for all kinds of cuisines and interested in fusion delicacies.

BAKASURA RATING

3.5 / 5

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EXPERT VIEWS
Coming Soon...

Event Organized by  :

GALLERY

PACKAGING:

FOOD:

Rasta S02 E01 : A Wonderful Culinary Journey through Multiple Cuisine

By looks this restaurant has a stand-out appeal. We travelled almost from one end to another end of the city for a lunch meet up, and this restaurant worth it. Warm service, great food & a fantastic company made my day! In my views this restaurant is like a treasure needed to be explored more.

AMBIANCE: This Restaurant cum Pub cum Cafe has spread across in 3 floor. Ground floor has quite nice cafe type of ambiance, first floor has a smoking zone, equipped with a decent bar & beer tap. Some of the corners on first floor are shady and offers a perfect space for couples. Kitchen is located next to the bar and they have succeeded to keep their food secrets behind the doors. Seating capacity is good and scientific. It can house any kind of crowd easily at any point of time.


FOOD: Some of the dishes they served here were strangely new to me. So, before writing this review, I made a fair search about those dishes on internet to know its origin, cooking method and ingredients. Because some food can not be judged in an Indian view! Here is my experience about the food;

Zucchini Fritters: It was one of my favourite dish which I use to grill by myself during defence family meet up in Chennai. But these people made me to realize the real side of its taste. It was perfectly grilled and topped with spicy salsa. Just loved the way it was presented. I really appreciate their innovative idea to serve it with salsa.

Veg Rissole: By looks it was very close to Fried Mozzarella and this was the first time I tasted this dish. It was truly delightful. I'm a big fan of deep fry dishes and I kept experiencing every bite deeply & slowly. Finely chopped Fresh vegetables packed in a soft layer of cheese and fried it to the perfect point. Wow! Just mesmerizing!

Veg Vol-Au-Vents: At the beginning they served Prawn Vol-Au-Vents which was quite attractive, later upon request they made Veg Vol-Au-Vents for us veggies. To be honest it was average. The filling should have been more and they should have choose more vegetables or corn. Though I tasted it for the first time, I felt something is missing and finally when I did a research on it I figured it out. They should have used some ghee to the bread surrounding Vol-Au-Vent, it would have delivered a great taste to the bread without disturbing the filling.

Spaghetti Pesto Pasta: It was served as a main course, though I'm not a big fan of spaghetti, I liked this dish. Although it wasn't tangy, it justified over all taste.

Caramel Fruit Cup: It was served as a desert, attractively chopped fresh fruits with generous portion of various syrups in a semi transparent caramel bowl was eye catchy in deed. But the choice of fruits were very limited, I would appreciate if they include more fruits. Caramel bowl was bit high on sweetness but yet a good desert.

Belgium Chocolate Brownie: This was totally awesome, I'm running out of words to describe its wonderful taste. It was totally unexpected and I still wonder how come a pub can serve such a great desert. I ended up stealing brownie from others plate while they were busy in posing to camera! Just loved it!

Lemon Based Mocktail: In between I asked our host Mr.Vikram to get me a best mocktail, he got me a lemon flavour based mocktail (I forgot the exact name). It was out standing. On a first sip itself it refreshed my mind. I'm really thankful to Vikram for such a great mocktail.

SERVICE: Our host & the manager Mr. Vikram was very generous person and took a good care in every aspects. He explained the food every time as and when it arrived on our table, he suggested genuinely and very open for the suggestions. Servers were very attentive and their service was warm.

EVERYTHING ELSE: Textured plates might seem like its not clean, but don't worry its just an illusion. Wash area was not clean and it was stinking. Dining area on second floor is quite open towards a dumping area which has resulted in flies swarming in and around restaurant. Management has to take care of pest control and other above said things seriously. Parking wouldn't be a problem.

FINAL VERDICT: A great and casual like place to hangout with your friends. Don't expect rich ambiance, it is just the way as it should be.

BAKASURA RATING:

4.0 / 5

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EXPERT VIEWS:
Naveen Suresh, Food Blogger

Event Organized by:      

GALLERY

An awesome hangout place to StayOpen : The Open Box, St. Marks Road

If it's my last day of life and if I asked to choose one place to spend that day, I'll choose TOB.
Everything in here is freaking awesome. Once you reach 4th floor in this building you will notice that TOB is entirely a different world. Man! I just loved every second I spent in here!

LOCATION: It's on the same building where Federal Bank is located on St.Marks Road. They haven't done much branding on the exterior of the building, so watch out to make correct turn as it's located on one way road. It has valet parking option and plenty of parking space in the basement.

AMBIANCE: It's FREAKING AWESOME! While crafting this place they have thought in every possible angle to please all kind of guest / crowd. Trust me it has one of the best raw ambiance in Bengaluru. When the lift door opens at the 4th floor it appears like a wonder world has welcomed you.
They have divided restaurant into different sections to house different kinds of guests. It has separate section for families with hanging tables and low noise, also a moderate seating option near balcony with nice view of St. marks road, normal dining area, an awesome open air upper deck dining area which gives you the

feeling like stars are hosting your evening and a retro themed bar area with pool table which is perfect for music lovers and party animals.
As great as the ambience, music was awesome too. Each number was awesome than the previous one. DJ Ankith will surely keep up your mood throughout the evening! Just loved the music!

Science Project

DRINKS: Honestly, they can do little better on drinks. But nevertheless their presentation of drinks will surely compensate everything else. We were welcomed with the drinks "Piyya Kad Nariyal" which was served in ceramic jar (reminded me about pickles :P ) ; "Cuban Goli" which was served in goli soda bottle; and "THE science project" which is a vodka based drink served in a set of chemistry lab tumblers. When you mix two liquid, it changes the color! However, the science project tasted good.
We were also served with some more cocktails at the end. Namely: "Drip me tight" which was served on a stand. It looked exactly like some kind of dripping equipment ; "Kid Cream" was served in a bottle which looked like baby's feeding bottle. I must admit it was the most hilarious drink I ever came across (I'm talking about its presentation) ; "TOB Sharabath" was another great drink served in a normal bottle!

FOOD: It was as great & twisted as this place! They did a wonderful job by trying fusion with different cuisines, eye catching presentation and in-imitable taste. Every dish they serve will take you by surprise and you will end up wondering how the next item on your wishlist may appear like! Our food experience goes like this:

Firangi Paani: True to its name, it was mixture of 'firangi' avacado syrup with 'desi' Jaljeera. It was served with golgappe and it tasted good.

Kolkata by Trawler: We gave it a local name 'bhel puri'. They serve it in a box with all ingredients separately. You need to mix the ingredients yourself as per your appetite need. It tasted good, but I was expecting it to be better!

Hummosa: Another starter served in glass cups. It was a desi fusion. It appeared to be sour at the beginning but I ended up loving it.

Veg Manchurian Pizza: An innovative dish which clearly won our heart. The topping was like gravy with lot of cheese. It perfectly coped up with my taste buds. I wish it was bit more spicy.

Fettusuey: Served as main course, it's like mother of all fusions. They combined Roman cuisine's fettuccine to the fusion of American-Chinese cuisine's chopsuey. This is one tremendous successful experiment which not only satisfies your taste buds but also leaves you mesmerized about this idea! I just loved it!

Happy Ending Biryani: Wait! If you are imagining spicy hydrabadi or dum biriyani before opening the cooker lid (yes! they serve it in colored fancy cooker) you will be completely wrong. As it's name suggests, it's a mild "happy ending-wala" biriyani. Nevertheless, its delicious and helps filling the small gaps in your stomach!




How come desserts can be normal! Yes they were too out of the box!

Kapi Custard: the soothing taste of coffee will carry you away. It's a perfect blend!

Mini Oreo Baked Cheese Cake: Chocolate crust go well with the cheese cake. It's an awesome dessert indeed!

Magai Pan Ice Cream: I'm not a big fan of pan flavors. But, it was nice!





SERVICE: "dedicated" is the word which I love to use to describe their service. Our steward kept us engaged by serving dishes drinks one after another. And every time he use to explain about dishes 2-3 times patiently due to loud music. They do have well trained staff who will make sure about our comfort throughout our dining experience.

Feed back form designed like an inland letter 

FINAL VERDICT: as their moto #stayOpen, this place will surely makes you to open up for joy  happiness. With a right company you will surely enjoy this place.

GALLERY :

Team Lunch? They have 
a special place for you

#StayOpen : Painting which resembles

our expression when we enter this

restaurant for the first time.

Family Room with Hanging Table

Feed Back Box

Bill arrives in a match box

COCTAILS :

Cuban Goli

Kid Cream

Drip me Tight

Virgin Margarita 

NON VEG DISHES

BAKASURA RATING:

4.0 / 5

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EXPERT VIEWS:

Coming Soon...