Saturday 15 December 2012

Shopping Online for Gourmet Foods?

Being a foodie and a complete Bakeholic,Cookaholic..whatever you call it..... I always fancied gourmet ingredients! Especially those pretty cake toppings or those quick whipping cream mixes! Or those exotic herbs and pastas and gourmet cheeses!
However, being out of Mumbai in a non Metro does pose challenges in acquiring the food ingredients!
I remember how,departing from mumbai after visiting my parents, I had an extra bag full of fancy food stuff, be it the whipping cream cans, cream cheese,all types of pastas,salad dressings ,cake tins , breads and so on.....And my sister and parents would have that look( Are you going back to Antartica or something?) They now know especially after having seen my blog!

Things have improved now, since I do get some of the stuff from departmental stores here, but the real exotic ingredients are still inaccessible.
But that was until I discovered some of the wonderful websites that offered most of the gourmet ingredients that you will need to whip up a nice Firangi Spread! And what more, they deliver in most locations in India and offer a provision for Cash On Delivery Too!

And today I m going to share just that with you! Let me give it to you one by one in the order of how I discovered them and Ordered! Yes I have ordered stuff from each of these sites and the goods were super good!

Good Life.Com

www.goodlife.com

I discovered this site about 6-8 months ago when searching on Google.
Its a division or sister concern of firstcry.com, the advertisements of which are aired regularly on TV channels.( its cool too, my kiddos toys and colour books came from there)

Though Good Life isnt a dedicated site only for gourmet foods, the World Food section does have some nice options, especially with sauces,dips and noodles.

I had ordered

with an option for cash on delivery.

The Order was confirmed immediately on phone by the good life.com employees and I received the Package on 3rd day after placing the order.
The packing was wonderful , with the fragile items carefully packed to prevent damage in transit.

All the Items were branded and recently packaged and imported.
I preferred to buy olives and jalepenos online,eventhough I get them at the store nearby, and my decession was right , since the ones I received were of recent mfg. date which meant a longer storage span.

Only the Tahini Dressing had to be used within 7 days post opening....I wished the same was mentioned on the site too...it helps you to decide if you really need it and can you really finish it within its shelf life!
Otherwise, a Good site with Good Options and a wonderful service!
The package arrived from Pune ,which explained quick delivery at Nasik and Mumbai!

Few of the items from Good Life

Zansaar.com

www.zansaar.com

I knew about this site 6 months ago , but I did order  just a week ago. This site has some really good options under World Foods,with categories like oils and vinegars,Baking , Dips and sauces etc.
It also has some good and classy options under kitchenware....I loved the knives and storage options.
Its got some elite furnishing options too!

I ordered for
A Glass Oil Drizzler :
Something which I had been hunting for a long time.This one was inexpensive,as compared to the other imported options available over the internet  and could be delivered at my location and for that matter most locations in India!
It costed me INR 695, and was packaged safely for transit.

Thai Tom Yum Paste:
I never came across a readymade tom yum paste, all the options were for soup mixes , and I preferred making a nice tom yum rice with it! So my search ended with Zansaar!
Priced at INR 291 for 400 gms , its affordable,considering the price of another brand offering the same paste at higher cost.

My Glass Oil drizzler and Tom Yum Paste

It was Cash On Delivery this time too!
Order confirmation happened after 30 mins or so. Their standard time for delivery is 5-7 business days ,I confirmed that they deliver on saturdays too. Package came from Bangalore, in 3 days after placing order,including a Sunday. Good "TAT" I must say!

Happy with all the goods delivered..Planning to order for some of the baking flours and toppings!




Foodesto.Com

www.foodesto.com

A new kid on the block and with huge ambitions...is what I can say about Foodesto!

There was this article published in MID-Day ...a mumbai daily , and my sister in law,knowing how crazy I was for some exotic ingredients, was prompt to tell me about this site!
http://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/2012/oct/091012-Mumbai-Guide-Gourmet-foodies-have-it-good.htm

And I fell in love with this site instantly.

Its the only website I have seen so far in India that specialises only in Gourmet Foods and also offers cold cuts and breads (that are delivered within Mumbai)

Launched a few months ago , this site is still in initial stages of establishment..Nevertheless,considering the wide options available, they sure are here to offer a tough competition to the others in the same industry!

Currently they deliver everything only in Mumbai , with an exception for packaged goods like pastas and sauces ,that can be delivered out of Mumbai too.

What impressed me was that they have everything you need to whip up a nice continental spread for your meal , or a nice frosted cake or dessert! Be it the whipping creams, unsalted butter , canned exotic fruits, self raising flours for cakes and cookies , or those exotic curry pastes and sauces,panko crumbs and so on! There are various ingredients that are differentiated categorically , depending on the courses, like Asian,Mexican,Continental,which makes it easier to sort and buy.
You shall be amazed with the variety of Teas coffees ,beverages,chocolates,biscuits....they have!
And if you thought it was too much , they have an assortment of gourmet cheeses, mascarpone,fresh cream cheese,cheddars and so on...a platter of cold cuts , variety of breads and bagels and muffins fresh from the bakery! ( I cant wait to be in Mumbai which will give me chance to order these)

I had registered on the portal few weeks ago, but since most of the items I needed were "mumbai only delivery" I could not place any order. But next day I received a mail , asking me what all goods I needed and they shall try to deliver to Nasik.
I appreciated their gesture and replied back with my selection.
Apart from the goods that needed refrigeration like butter,whipping cream , they were able to deliver everything else.Ofcourse , I had to pay the shipping charges and octri , which were quoted earlier and honestly I really didnt mind paying them , at the cost of the exotic goods been delivered at my doorstep and with polite and accomodating Foodestoite to co-ordinate with!

My Order was :
 Basting Brush - Silicone - Mastrad
Sauce- Sweet Chili - 226gms - Lee Kum Kee
Canned Fruit - Berry Combo in Light Syrup - 425gms - Tin - Oregon
 Cake Mix - Golden Butter - Traditional - 440gms - Greens
 Seasoning - Instant Garlic - 55gms - Snapin

Later this diwali,when I visited mumbai, I had intimated them in advance about my order for
Unsalted Butter,Whipping cream,Panko Crumbs and Tortillas....
And despite the bandh like situation around that time,they still managed delivery!
The gourmet butter did wonders to my cakes and bakes!
You ll get to check the recipes using them all on the blog!
The Canned Fruit Berry Combo was a disappointment, since all the berries were partially mashed up in the syrup( which I had presumed to be whole and firm) Was able to bake only some muffins from them...nothing more!
The cake Mix was awesome! An australian brand, and the best cake I have tasted ,made from the cake mixes so far!( though I prefer making cakes from scratch, some lazy times are an exception....but I always blog my original cake recipes only)
The wraps I made with the Tortillas,were simple awesome, and saved me a lot of effort too. All I had to do is ,make ready my dresings,Veggies and ofcourse chicken for the filling!

Also , It would be unfair to others if I didnt mention this.....some of the items like canned fruit and pie toppings and glueten free flours are available at discounted prices at sites like Goodlife.com.
owever, Foodesto retains its exclusivity so far for Whipping creams ,Gourmet Butters,Tortillas and some of the exclusive gourmet stuff!


Some of the items I ordered from Foodesto!

Most of the ingredients were not available at any other portal and imported.So glad I got to know about foodesto!


Gourmet Company:

www.gourmetco.in

This is a website that is also completely dedicated to delivering gourmet food and select Kitchenware at your doorstep!
Though I havent ordered from this portal so far, it does have a good selection of Indian and Imported Ingredients,mostly packaged.
They deliver at most locations in India and have a Cash On Delivery Option too and a free shipping over Rs.500/-


And I couldnt help but mention about Snapdeal.Com..(www.snapdeal.com)

Well, if you are a chocoholic like me,you must check out their chocolate collection....
An assortment of finest imported chocolates,and amazing gift sets too!

So,what are you waiting for? Go ahead and order and plan a scrumptious meal for you and your loved ones!





2 comments:

  1. Hey!

    Hope you will try us at gourmetco.in sometime soon too - am sure you will find some hard to find baking ingredients with us that you will like :)

    Warm Regards,
    Neerja (Gourmet Company)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Neerja, Thanks for stopping by our blog! I love the systematic and easy navigation at Gourmet Co.as well as the speciality ingredients.Looking forward to posting my first order with you soon!
    Regds
    Harshada

    ReplyDelete

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