We were in Bacolod for almost a month in December for the holidays. We almost always go and eat out with families and friends. If we are at home, my mom cooks for the family.

Before Christmas day, everyone was lazy to cook. Mau be because we were all tired of the preparations we did for the get-together fof Christmas day. It was then that I remembered that I had 2 vouchers of Food Panda which are expiring in a few days. We will just order food and have it delivered at our doorstep.

When I logged on to the site, however, I was a little disappointed to know that Bacolod is not yet included. In Visayas and Mindanao, only Cebu and Davao are serviceable. Since the vouchers are expiring in a few days, I looked up for friends who are online so I can order and have the food delivered to their place.

First voucher goes to friends living in Marikina. I ordered for a pancit bilao and after some confirmations, they received the food right on time. I’m glad they were able to enjoy a warm pancit for lunch with their kids.

Second voucher goes to friends having their holidays in Davao. There are several restaurants to choose from but I had a hard time looking for open restaurants that will deliver for that day. Most of them were closed and not delivering for the holidays. Sadly the voucher was not used and got expired.

From my experience in Food Panda, here’s a quick review of their service:

1. For the greater Manila area and nearby cities, there are many available restaurants to choose from. From the site, the list can be easily sorted by deliver fee, fastest delivery, minimum order value required and ratings. You can also filter restaurants who are serving healthy food and vegan-friendly ones.

2. The site is easy to navigate. At 3 steps you can already order your food. The website is divided into three major steps or sections.     Step 1, you will need to choose your location. Step 2, you will be asked to choose the restaurant and delivery type. Step 3 and final step, you will be asked to make the payment.

3. Good costumer service. Upon finishing the order, after a few minutes, the customer representative will call you for verification. You can also provide more information like a landmark or additional contact number which they can use during delivery.

3. Food is delivered based on the promised time. I was informed by my friend that the food was from Cubao area and was delivered in their place in Marikina right on time. Perfect timing for lunch!

4. FoodPanda can be accessed using a smart phone and has an available app in the iOS and Android app store.

5. Limited Choices. They have to tie up with more restaurants especially in the Visayas and Mindanao areas for more choices and for more people to avail of the online food delivery.

6. High Delivery Charge and Minimum Order. Delivery charge can be as high as 20% of your bill (Php 50 for a minimum order Php 250 order). Though there are restaurants offering free delivery, putting a % limit on the delivery charge, say 10% would be surely be appreciated by consumers. Some restaurants also require a Php 500 minimum order value.

7. Voucher problems. I have encountered some problems using some vouchers. At one point, it says that it is no longer valid or the site just hangs up when you use it. The reason why, I did not proceed in using my second voucher.

So, if ever, will I still use Food Panda Food Online Delivery? Yes, I will. They offer good quality service and I will call them when I’m too lazy or too tired to cook to get food for the family. I hope we can see more improvements based on customer feedback.