Ordering take-out is normal in America. I didn’t expect such normalcy in Hanoi. There are numerous places that deliver food to your
doorstep. A few websites were provided to us, but the one we favor is http://www.vietnammm.com/en/. I was amazed
to see how many restaurants delivered and the varieties of cuisine that were available. The website is extremely user friendly. It gives you a full display
of the menu and often describes the contents of each dish. You simply select
the item and quantity and place in your shopping cart. During checkout, you can
select what time you want your order delivered. The earliest time is ASAP and
then every half-hour is listed until the close of business. Easy breezy!
Douglas and I hardly ever ordered take-out food in the States. If we wanted take-out in Algiers there was really only one restaurant we trusted ordering from. Here, however, there are well over 100 restaurants for our choosing. I’m sure only 1/4 of them are to our standard of deliciousness, but still, it’s great to have options! Also, people have told us it comes in handy on those days when the sky decides to open up and rain heavily for hours on end in the day. It rains very frequently in Hanoi; this city is no stranger to monsoons and torrential downpours.
Since I’m still learning my way around the grocery stores, markets, and vegetable stands, we have taken advantage of ordering in twice now. I have to say I am impressed with the level of customer service around here. Yet another reason why I love Hanoi!
One afternoon I was in the mood for Indian cuisine. I decided to order from a nearby restaurant, Taj Mahal. I went online, placed my order, and received a confirmation email. Then I received a confirmation text. Minutes later I received a phone call from the restaurant. I had requested the food be delivered ASAP and the gentleman called to ask if one hour and ten minutes would be okay. I said sure. I wasn’t expecting it any sooner than an hour anyway.
Exactly one hour later my food was delivered. I ordered butter chicken, basmati rice, and a spinach dish. Everything was good, but the chicken dish was pretty spicy for my taste. I was happy though, and would definitely order from them again.
Later that evening my phone rang and it was an employee from Taj Mahal. The conversation went something like this:
Employee: Hi, I’m calling from Taj Mahal. You had a delivery earlier today?
Me: Yes, I did.
Employee: I wanted to know what you thought about your food and the delivery service? Was everything good?
Me: (after looking at the phone in awe) The delivery was great and the food was very good.
I figured while I had her on the phone I would ask about the chicken dish. Usually butter chicken is not so spicy, so I wanted to ask her about it.
Me: I have a quick question about my dish. My butter chicken was good, but very spicy. Is that usually how the dish is served?
Employee: Oh no problem. I’m so sorry. I will be sure to let the chef know for all your future orders to make your dishes less spicy. No problem. Okay?
(At this point, Douglas and I did a slow turn to each other with both our faces twisted to the side in complete disbelief that this conversation is even happening, let alone the employee telling me that the chef will make adjustments on all my future orders.)
Me: Uh...wow! Thank you. That will be great!
Employee: Okay, bye-bye. Good night to you.
Me (to Douglas): Babe, I want to bring her and this restaurant back to the States with us!
Now that is customer service at its absolute finest! I see many online orders to Taj Mahal in our future, whether we want Indian food or not!
Douglas and I hardly ever ordered take-out food in the States. If we wanted take-out in Algiers there was really only one restaurant we trusted ordering from. Here, however, there are well over 100 restaurants for our choosing. I’m sure only 1/4 of them are to our standard of deliciousness, but still, it’s great to have options! Also, people have told us it comes in handy on those days when the sky decides to open up and rain heavily for hours on end in the day. It rains very frequently in Hanoi; this city is no stranger to monsoons and torrential downpours.
Since I’m still learning my way around the grocery stores, markets, and vegetable stands, we have taken advantage of ordering in twice now. I have to say I am impressed with the level of customer service around here. Yet another reason why I love Hanoi!
One afternoon I was in the mood for Indian cuisine. I decided to order from a nearby restaurant, Taj Mahal. I went online, placed my order, and received a confirmation email. Then I received a confirmation text. Minutes later I received a phone call from the restaurant. I had requested the food be delivered ASAP and the gentleman called to ask if one hour and ten minutes would be okay. I said sure. I wasn’t expecting it any sooner than an hour anyway.
Exactly one hour later my food was delivered. I ordered butter chicken, basmati rice, and a spinach dish. Everything was good, but the chicken dish was pretty spicy for my taste. I was happy though, and would definitely order from them again.
Later that evening my phone rang and it was an employee from Taj Mahal. The conversation went something like this:
Employee: Hi, I’m calling from Taj Mahal. You had a delivery earlier today?
Me: Yes, I did.
Employee: I wanted to know what you thought about your food and the delivery service? Was everything good?
Me: (after looking at the phone in awe) The delivery was great and the food was very good.
I figured while I had her on the phone I would ask about the chicken dish. Usually butter chicken is not so spicy, so I wanted to ask her about it.
Me: I have a quick question about my dish. My butter chicken was good, but very spicy. Is that usually how the dish is served?
Employee: Oh no problem. I’m so sorry. I will be sure to let the chef know for all your future orders to make your dishes less spicy. No problem. Okay?
(At this point, Douglas and I did a slow turn to each other with both our faces twisted to the side in complete disbelief that this conversation is even happening, let alone the employee telling me that the chef will make adjustments on all my future orders.)
Me: Uh...wow! Thank you. That will be great!
Employee: Okay, bye-bye. Good night to you.
Me (to Douglas): Babe, I want to bring her and this restaurant back to the States with us!
Now that is customer service at its absolute finest! I see many online orders to Taj Mahal in our future, whether we want Indian food or not!
Well they can teach a few of our American restaurants a thing or 2, lol. I've never had Indian food but this butter chicken sure sounds good!
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