Chef Station lets us order from multiple HCMC restaurants
As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak as well as concerns over sanitation and safe distancing, Vietnamese people’s demand for home-delivered food is sharply increasing. While home delivery and take-outs are convenient for diners, they usually aren’t synonymous with amazing visuals and a variety of choices compared to traditional dine-in restaurants.
But that’s not the case with Chef Station, a newly opened delivery-only platform in Saigon that lets diners order from over 30 dishes from different F&B brands in one transaction.
Customers can order food from 5 different restaurants in one order
The Korean Lunch Box, originally known as Dosirak, consists of separate cooked rice and side dishes such as pork, kimchi, mandu, and glass noodles.
To cater to the diverse palates and budgets of us 12 million Saigon residents, Chef Station brings us various offerings from 5 trusted restaurants famous in both Saigon and Hanoi, including Cô Tấm Quán, Chops Saigon, Durty Bird, CJFood, and Bánh Canh Hai Nhiên.
What these restaurants have in common is that each of them specializes in one particular type of cuisine, such as noodle dishes and broken rice dishes.
The cherry on the cake for diners must be their big savings on shipping costs, which is impossible if you order food from different restaurants located in various parts of town. Being able to order food from 5 restaurants that deliver from the same place also means that you only have to pay a one-time delivery fee.
Those who live or work in Binh Thanh District will be more than delighted since Chef Station offers free delivery if the delivery distance is less than 3KM.
Beef burger with onion rings
Chef Station boasts a broad menu with over 60 items, including Vietnamese, Korean, and US-style food, ranging from VND39,000 – VND159,000 (~USD1.68-USD6.86). Compared to most restaurants you can find on online food aggregators such as Now.vn, Foody, or GrabFood, Chef Station has a significantly wider selection of dishes to choose from.
Diners will find home-cooked meals such as tasty signature broken rice dishes from Cô Tấm Quán as well as a variety of Southern-style noodle dishes from Bánh Canh Hai Nhiên. Korean lunch box meals for a sumptuous lunch and plentiful options of burgers for a midday pick-me-up are also among the offerings.
The ordering and packaging processes
You can place orders from Chef Station by calling 1900 9060 or via food apps and websites such as Now.vn and Foody. You can also drop by the venue for take-away, where you can comfortably wait in a spacious check-in hall for about 10 minutes for your order.
Chef Station has 4 kitchens spanning across 3 levels, where chefs from different restaurants accept customers’ orders online.
Chops Saigon’s kitchen
After your order is viewed and prepared by the cooks, your food will be sent for packaging and finally to the delivery station, where a driver will pick it up and bring it to your door.
A BAEMIN shipper picking up an order at the delivery station
Fast delivery time, proper packaging, and quality food
Apart from a smooth food ordering experience, Chef Station also blew us away with its impressive delivery time.
We tried the platform out for ourselves and ordered one broken rice with caramelized pork (VND27,000,~USD1.16), one Korean Meal Box (VND79,000,~USD3.41), and one Burger The Chop (VND65,000,~USD2.80).
We placed the order at around 11.45AM, which was the peak hour for lunch delivery and traffic in Saigon, and were amazed at how fast the items arrived at our door.
It took Chef Station only 35 minutes to take orders for 3 menu items of different brands, process the orders, send them for packaging, and have them shipped across a distance of 5.7KM from its kitchen in Binh Thanh District to District 1.
The shipping fee was VND35,000 (~USD1.51), which was quite reasonable.
Besides their acceptable delivery time, Chef Kitchen’s food packaging also deserves compliments. Every dish is neatly packaged in modern, tight boxes, and still feels warm upon arrival.
Its burger is placed in 3 layers of packaging, including greaseproof butter paper, a sturdy paper box, and a chic outer paper bag. The butter paper helps customers hold the burger with ease, while the paper box shields it from shoves and squishes on the road for a safe journey.
Thanks to its proper packaging, the food looked more like take-outs delivered fresh from the kitchen rather than packaged items that have traveled by motorbike on Saigon’s bumpy roads.
Tastewise, every dish is up to par. For the burger, the beef patty still retained its moisture, while the onion rings were crunchy, buttery, and slightly sweet.
What the Korean Lunch Box option is a little pricey for an office lunch, it makes up for that with its varied and healthy ingredients as well as its Insta-worthy presentation.
The deft use of vibrant colors such as red, green, white, and yellow on a black base gives the combo of rice and banchan a well-balanced and appetizing look.
If you’re a little short on cash but are not willing to scrimp on comfort, go for the broken rice dish. Not only is this crowd-pleaser the cheapest option on the menu, but it also boasts a filling combination of moist caramelized pork, a tender egg patty, and flavorful shredded pork skin.
Unfortunately, there was no dessert on the menu yet to cap our lunches off on a sweet note. Here’s hoping Chef Station incorporates a dessert brand soon.
Chef Station lets you order food from different brands with ease
While traditional dine-in restaurants and their full-service experiences are irreplaceable, delivery and take-outs are increasingly gaining popularity among office workers. Hardly anybody wants to walk in the sweltering heat or heavy rain to a restaurant, then wait for another 30 minutes to be served, when they could spend the same amount of time in their air-conditioned offices until their food arrives.
With Chef Station, customers know exactly what they want, how much they need to pay, and when they get it. All you have to do is to check out their menu on a food delivery app, place your order, sit back, and wait for your food to arrive.
Chef Station
Address: 168 Nguyen Gia Tri, Ward 25, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City
Telephone: 1900 9060
Opening hours: 7AM-9PM, Daily
Website
Also check out:
- Anthony Bourdain-beloved “Lunch Lady” Saigon food stall to open in Vancouver
- Play Dimsum – Novel Cantonese food in Saigon
- Live out your TVB drama fansies at Saigon’s Lost In Hong Kong Beer Pub
- Hao Hao Saigon – a chic and affordable Taiwanese brunch spot in Saigon
- 8 online grocery stores in Saigon for hassle-free shopping
Cover image adapted from: The Smart Local Vietnam
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