Food app-ko pasand hai?, writes Sajid Khan

There was a time when one had to sing for one’s supper. Then came a time when one could just ring for his supper. Now is the time when one has to just press keys on a smartphone and voila! Dinner is served. In my phone, I have more than 50 phone numbers of restaurants (some of which I know by heart). Last week when I was ordering for me and a couple of friends, they were like who calls to order food. Just order it online, download these food apps. I did. In a week’s time, my life (like my palate) has changed...for the better or worse? Find out karte hain…

Most homes in cities have aaju-baaju ke restaurants ka takeaway menu cards. So whenever you order you more or less you know that the food is tried and tasted. So how do food apps score over regular menu cards and psychologically force you to order more? The funda is very simple… when you are at a buffet table, your eyes do the eating first, then your mouth. You want the five different kinds of salads, but you also want the breadsticks, but you also want the butter chicken, but you also want thoda sa Chinese, but you also want the kulcha, but you also want the veg au-gratin, but the teen kismo ka raita is very tempting!!!! Your plate now looks like the food you barfed out rather than what you ate! Food apps more or less psyche you out in the same way. Every restaurant puts forward digitally enhanced, colour-corrected, 25MP and more HD resolution pics of the dishes. Before it goes from the mouth to the tummy, your eyes are already finding it yummy. (want more rhyming?) Makes you forget the food cooked by mummy. After a few months, you will look like a bear who’s gummy. Ideal to order from when the neighbours are busy playing rummy. After a few days, the delivery boy and you become chummy. Bas!! I can go on and on. Can you? I thought as much. Proceed please.

Now I am not saying the taste of the food changes when it arrives, it’s the same food, but you don’t realise it that most of the time, you over-order. Now I have been regularly using three different food apps ( I won’t name any, nahin to aapko aisa lagega mujhe paise aur food coupons mile hain endorse karne ke liye). When I was ordering regularly from a neighbouring restaurant, I somewhat had a fixed menu. Now through the food apps I’ve discovered new unknown dishes from the same places. I even did a delivery time test. I ordered the same two dishes from the restaurant, one by the food app and one by making a call at the same time. Guess whose delivery came first? The food apps.

I don’t know about you guys, but within a few days I have become a food app junkie. Since the day I have got it, I have been ordering food only through the app. Even when food is cooked at home, because believe it or not, the apps still deliver it faster than my cook!!!