12 August 2013

Wokmaster Randwick online ordering courtesy of Menulog, Randwick (9 Aug 2013)

Shop 48b, 73 Belmore Road, Randwick NSW 2031


When you're too lazy to cook

Thanks to Menulog for inviting me to test their online ordering system with a $50 voucher code. To use the voucher my fellow diners and I decided on Wokmaster for Chinese in Randwick. It's literally a 2 minute walk away although my voucher was for delivery only which in the end took an hour to arrive due to Wokmaster being so busy that night. There's certainly some stiff competition for online restaurant ordering which all offer the same menu prices but if you check around there's sometimes special deals on one website and not on the other like the free bottle of soft drink I got with my order. The Menulog website is well presented and easy to follow through although I did discover a frustrating issue when I entered my order under pickup and then when I needed to change to delivery it cleared all my order so I had to enter it all again. Would be great if this was fixable. Also with the free drink offer I couldn't specify which drink I would have preferred. The payment form was easy to fill in and the confirmation of payment clear to understand. I was supposed to get an SMS confirmation for the delivery time but this never happened so after about 30 minutes I actually called Wokmaster to double check if my order did go through and it did but I shouldn't have had to do this so not quite sure what went wrong here.

My order arrived safely, well packaged and no spillage. Delivery person was friendly but frantic due to being very busy that night with deliveries. Ordered online at 7.12 pm and arrived at 8.15 pm. Fried Rice ($6.50 small) was good and the Braised Chicken with vegetables in oyster sauce ($14.80) was my preferred dish of the night although vegetables a tad over cooked as they were very soft in texture. Shredded Fillet Steak Peking Sauce ($14.80) didn't fair too well for delivery as this dish is best eaten as soon as possible before the batter softens and starts sticking together. King Prawn Cutlets ($10.80 4 pieces) were OK but crumbing had gone a bit soft after long delivery time. Sweet & Sour Pork ($14.80) was quite sweet and batter had gone a bit soft and soggy by the time we got to eat it. I would have preferred to order pizza but my fellow diners were keen for Chinese. I think we could have made some better choices for a Chinese home delivery like dishes that weren't cooked in a batter which tends to not hold up well for a home delivery. I'll remember this for next time.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Easy to use online ordering system, Many restaurants available, Sometimes online discounts or deals are available, Getting home delivery means you can keep drinking at home
CONS: Didn't get an sms confirmation of delivery time, Delivery can take a lot longer than ordering a pickup, Not all restaurants may be available in the system
MUST TRY: Remembering to compare other online ordering systems to see if any special deals are available
VERDICT: I'd happily use Menulog again although my only concern is that I never got an sms confirmation of delivery time so I'm not sure if this is a system fail or restaurant followup fail
Menulog search for a restaurant or via postcode
Menulog menu ordering — easy to follow, check order and amend although if you started with pickup and then need to change to delivery it will clear your order which is frustrating
Payment form easy to use
Order confirmation clear although I never received an SMS confirmation with the delivery time so not sure what happened there
Wokmaster order $64.20 minus $50 voucher

King Prawn Cutlets ($10.80 4 pieces) — decent size with prawn crackers underneath
Shredded Fillet Steak Peking Sauce ($14.80) — usually has a crispy batter but doesn't fair well for a takeaway delivery 
Sweet & Sour Pork ($14.80) — quite sweet and batter goes a bit soft after takeaway delivery
Braised chicken with vegetables in oyster sauce ($14.80) — survives a long delivery time
Fried rice ($6.50 small), Boiled rice ($2.50 small) — good old classic fried rice stands up to a long delivery time


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5 comments:

BGDino said...

Hi Simon,

I love Menulog! I have ordered with them for ages now and it's very uncommon not to get your SMS confirmation - sounds like they were having a meltdown that night! Wokmaster is one of my favourites because they don't have a minimum order amount for delivery. I agree the clearing your order thing if you have to change to pickup/delivery is annoying :S

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

Menulog is definitely one of the best, it is so easy to order from :D

Cheers
CCU

Simon Leong said...

hi BGDino, hopefully next time I use it i'll get an sms confirmation.

hi guru uru, glad to hear you found it easy to use to order as well. :-)

Sara - Belly Rumbles said...

The Shire really is the backwater when it comes to sites such as menulog. Ahh... for the days when I lived in the Eastern suburbs :|

Simon Leong said...

hi sara, i believe you can request menulog to add restaurants that they don't have on the system and they'll try and get them on.

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