When meeting foreigners who are intrigued by my Thai identity, their reactions often lead to an interesting question. It’s usually pleasant but somewhat awkward.
“Wow! Are you a good cook then?”
I must maintain a calm and composed demeanour, politely responding while holding tears in my eyes that I can only cook simple dishes. Then they will give the following response, such as mentioning a dish like Green Curry or Pad Thai, as they think it’s just a basic dish. In reality, for me, a simple and basic dish is like instant noodles or an omelette. The moment I flip the egg in the pan is a challenging experience.
Now life has become difficult. Even though I enjoy eating out, I can’t do it here in Australia every day as I did back in Thailand. I tried to buy vegetables and meat to cook but ended up too lazy, and all that stuff was left rotten in the fridge. It wasn’t a fun situation. I was frustrated and disappointed to waste my time and money. But then, I found HelloFresh.
Imagine when you want to eat a good-looking dish but can’t make it yourself, or if you can, it requires you to go out and buy ingredients that cost a fortune, and then you only use a small portion of it. The rest is left in the fridge until it goes bad. This problem is eliminated when we order ready-to-cook meals from HelloFresh. I found this platform from a friend in Sydney, and it piqued my interest.
The way it works is that after I open an account with their website, they will provide meal packages for me to choose from each week. The minimum order I need to place is three menus per week, but I can choose various dishes as I like. So whether it’s Western, Vegan, Low-Carb, Asian, or Desserts, they have enough options for me to choose from without repeating every week. Then, about a week later, HelloFresh delivered the food box to my doorstep.
When I opened the box, I found paper bags separated by the menu as I ordered. Inside, I got the ingredients for that dish and a piece of paper with instructions on how to cook the dish. It’s almost like half-ready food, as I still have to cook it ourselves. But it’s easy and convenient because they provide me with the right amount of ingredients, and I only have to get some extras if needed.
The cooking steps are relatively easy, and I don’t have to bother calling my neighbour’s auntie to help me see if the oil is hot enough or if the chicken is cooked. When I tried to cook the dishes from HelloFresh, I found that I could cook a sophisticated dish and was very proud of myself. I had to rethink whether I could cook or not. The good-looking dishes cost less than AUD $10, and taste delightful. In case I get bored, I can skip it or stop ordering without any obligation to keep ordering from them. It’s very convenient and perfect, especially for people like me who have low cooking skills.
Looks 👍