A wide selection of food delivery services are available in Shanghai for the expat community. Photo: CFP
Whether you can't cook, are too lazy to cook, or it's just too hot to cook, sometimes we prefer to stay home and order in. But foodies need not worry about leaving their stomachs empty because a wide selection of food can be delivered straight to your door.
Screenshots of Mealbay and Sherpa’s. Photo: Courtesy of the websites
Sherpa's
One of the two major English food delivery services in Shanghai, Sherpa's was founded by American Mark Secchia in 1999. The name refers to an ethnic group in Nepal who serve as porters for mountaineers.
Customers can order online from sherpa.com.cn or by phone via the English-language hotline at 6209-6209. Their couriers deliver from 120 restaurants in Shanghai, according to Secchia.
"We try to get the perfect mix of restaurants," Secchia told the Global Times by email. If they have a restaurant that is similar in menu to an existing one, they will likely not add the new one, he said.
A wide selection of food delivery services are available in Shanghai for the expat community. Photo: CFP
Sometimes smaller restaurants misspell their dishes or list the wrong ingredients, he noted. One memorable typo was a restaurant that listed their "crab sandwich" as "crap sandwich." "For our customers who cannot read Chinese we spend a lot of time getting the English perfect," Secchia said.
In 1999, 90 percent of Sherpa's customers were foreigners, but now half are foreigners and half are Chinese, Secchia noted.
The delivery fee is 10 yuan ($1.63) for restaurants over 2 kilometers away, or 15 yuan for restaurants further than 3 to 4 kilometers. There is no delivery fee for happy hour from 2-5 pm every Friday.
Sherpa's emails a newsletter every three months to members listing discounts on beverages. Customers who order online are rewarded with free food if they order at least 300 yuan a month.
They also have a special cuisine promotion every two to three months. It's American Food Month in July to celebrate US Independence Day, with promotions that offer 50 percent off on selected dishes.
Secchia advises that customers order via the website because it is constantly updated, unlike the menu book, which may have out of date information. Another tip he offered is to order half an hour before a meal time so the food will get to you quicker and "everyone will put more care in to the order."
Screenshots of Mealbay and Sherpa’s. Photo: Courtesy of the websites
Mealbay
Mealbay is another popular Shanghai-based delivery service that has been around since 2007. To order, register on their website Mealbay.net or call 400-820-3727. They deliver from 10:30 am to 11:30 pm.
There are 70 restaurants to choose from on their website, and they are trying to expand to include more eateries, said Mealbay's Singaporean manager Ada Mak.
The delivery fee is between 15 to 45 yuan, depending on the area. The delivery fee is half price if an order is made before 4:30 pm from Monday to Friday. Customers can have a free soft drink if their order is over 100 yuan. Restaurants also occassionally give away special dishes or desserts.
Apart from food, Mealbay also specializes in wine. Every Wednesday there is a 10 percent discount on wine and every two weeks selected wines are sold at 20 percent off retail price. "We want to promote wine culture and share quality wine," Mak said. Customers get free delivery if their drinks and wine order is over 150 to 500 yuan, depending on location.
Mak said Mealbay will not restrict customers to order from the closest distance during busy hours because they "want to be fair to customers living in more remote districts like Songjiang." Next month, the Mealbay website will show the distance between a customer's home and restaurant as well as the expected delivery time.
It is best to preorder on rainy days because deliveries can be delayed due to high demand. Both Sherpa's and Mealbay have a preorder service.
Similar to Sherpa's, while 80 percent of Mealbay's customers were expats before 2012, starting from this year, Mak says they have seen a 10 to 20 percent increase in Chinese customers. "This is surprising for us because usually Chinese prefer to eat at an actual restaurant if they need to spend the same amount of money," she told the Global Times.
A wide selection of food delivery services are available in Shanghai for the expat community. Photo: CFP
Delivery by restaurants
Many restaurants in Shanghai have their own free delivery service.
Renowned for their fresh and healthy salads, sandwiches and smoothies, Element Fresh delivers for free within 2 kilometers, with a minimum order of 40 yuan. Customers can call their hotline 5116-9887 from 8 am to 10 pm in Puxi, and 9 am to 10 pm in Pudong, or simply order online.
To ensure timely delivery, Element Fresh only delivers to certain areas in Shanghai. Go to www.elementfresh.com for details.
Sushi'O is a popular sushi joint with Shanghai expats, with locations on Yongkang Road and Yanping Road. You can order online from www.sushi-o.com or call their hotline 150-0082-0420 for English service.
They offer free delivery within Puxi's Inner Ring (Zhongshan Road) and south of Suzhou Creek. Their delivery time is from 11:30 am to 2pm, and 5:30 pm to 10 pm, with a minimum order of 50 yuan.