How this S’porean shopped, cooked & prepped for a party without stepping out of the house

We’ve all had days where we’re so busy with work that other “less important” things simply fall by the wayside — cooking and household chores included.

Working parents like myself can probably attest that without external help, ensuring that the house is in order and everyone is fed is no easy feat.

Throw in entertaining or socialising into the mix, and things can get downright hairy.

For a friend’s recent birthday celebration, it was decided at the last minute that the few of us would have a casual pot-luck party at my place the next afternoon.

Regret soon set in, however, when I realised I would have to not only cook but also clean the house in preparation for my guests.

I had some basic ingredients, but they weren’t enough.

My cleaning and bathroom supplies were also running low — would I have the time (and energy) to go for a grocery run, clean the house and prepare the meal?

Turning to the foodpanda app

Instinctively, I turned to online delivery apps hoping to find an easy solution — one just short of ordering food delivery.

I was glad to find that the foodpanda app now offers users the luxury of selecting from not just pandamart and other minimarts, but also supermarket chains Giant and Cold Storage as well.

Of course, the availability of the supermarkets would have to depend on whether there is one located near you.

Lucky for me, I had both Giant and Cold Storage within close proximity.

Scrolling through the product list, I was surprised by the wide array of items available – almost as good as being in the physical store.

What was even better, was that prices of the products on the app are the same as those in-stores.

Being able to place the orders for immediate delivery without having to incur any additional fee is also a plus in my books.

If you prefer to have deliveries scheduled by timeslot, the option is available as well, also without any extra charge.

Minimum hassle, maximum results

No time to hop from one supermarket to another in search of an ingredient you need?

Another benefit of ordering your groceries through foodpanda is that you can see which supermarkets stock the product you want and easily compare prices across the stores.

One tip I can offer is that Giant offers cheaper salads and cleaning products, but Cold Storage has a wider variety of house brand products, especially for food items.

It also has a nice selection of pre-marinated, ready to cook meats, perfect for busy mums like myself.

While I was ‘shopping’, I took the opportunity to top up my cleaning supplies — because while I do enjoy heading out to the supermarkets if I have the time, but lugging around bulky toilet or kitchen rolls and heavy liquid detergents?

No thank you.

As for the meal itself, I decided that I’d whip up a dish of BBQ pork ribs with pasta, along with a tuna balsamic salad, with ingredients gotten from both supermarkets.

The plan was to air fry the pork ribs, cook the pasta, and assemble the salad.

Sounds simple enough, right?

Dessert was a generic crowd-pleaser, in the form of Meadows’ chocolate ice cream.

Orders for some packet and canned drinks were also placed from Giant.

Note, however, that if you are ordering from both supermarkets, you would have to check them out separately.

The good thing is that one is able to toggle between the supermarket carts, without having to rekey the items each time.

S$1.99 delivery fee from now to Oct. 31

I placed my orders on both Giant and Cold Storage while on the commute home, and was happy to see that they were already at the doorstep within the stipulated 45 minutes time-frame.

And here’s another hack if you’re at home — you can use the time while waiting for the deliveries to arrive to get a head start on whatever chores you have to do.

How’s that for alleviating some stress?

Grocery shoppers like myself would be happy to note that from now to Oct. 31, the delivery fee from Giant and Cold Storage via foodpanda will be at S$1.99 on all orders.

To avoid a small order fee however, users will still have to spend a minimum of S$30.

foodpanda users can also link their yuu Rewards account to earn yuu Points on foodpanda transactions.

This will give foodpanda users access to close to 20,000 items, delivered within one hour islandwide, with prices the same as what you’d find in-store.

In addition, pandapro subscribers will enjoy free delivery from Giant and Cold Storage in September and October, with a minimum spend of S$35.

Following the promotion period, the delivery fee will vary, with free delivery for purchases above S$80.

This sponsored article by foodpanda allowed this writer to shop, cook & prep for a party with ease.

Top images via foodpanda and Candice Cai