To research the local take aways before I order

[AliceRR]

We’ve just moved house to a new area. Can’t be bothered to cook tonight so thought we’d treat ourselves to a Chinese takeaway.

DH expects me to order from the one he assumes is the closest as we’ve driven past it

I just had a look online for the local Chinese takeaways and ruled out that one as it had 3.5 stars on google reviews whereas many had 4.5 so I have ordered from one of those

I also took a view based on which one I liked the look of and whether they looked clean

Am I being weird?

I know DH will think it odd when he realises I didn’t just order from the closest (not there was much difference in distance)

My local Chinese takeway asks you to ring to order and they will prep it ...they say "That will be about 20 minutes"

EVERY SINGLE TIME bar about once, I turn up after the agreed time has elapsed and I go to pay and collect and the chef STARTS COOKING IT!

It winds me up terribly.

I keep pre-ordering though because of the ONE time it was ready. WHY do they do this>????

Evilspiritgin They most certainly do not give prior warning of a Food Hygiene inspection to a takeaway or anywhere else. The whole point is that it is a random check.

I, too, wouldn't go anywhere less than 4 stars.. it's easy to lose that one star by forgetting to fill in the daily diary or filling it incorrectly. The inspection is very strict and conducted in silence unless inspector is asking you questions. There is zero chat or friendliness. They seem to take a perverse pleasure in arriving either just before or during your busiest times and you are not allowed to refuse them entry or to re-arrange the visit.

I used to dread the visits as one tiny thing can have such a large impact. However, as time has gone on I realise that they are doing a great job and most of the disgusting takeaways have either got their act together or closed down. You rarely hear a real horror story any more and that can only be a good thing!

What do you think the point of reviews are?This has to be the daftest aibu of the day

That has to be the daftest comment of the day. Not everyone looks at reviews and indeed OP said her DH doesn't and he would think it odd. Many many people just go to the local take away regardless of reviews for the convinience.

Remarkably few check the hygine rating.

So OP was asking a genine question was she being over zelous about going to the better reviewed better hygine rating that the closer more convenant one.

I mainly came on to post the joe lycett clip. Thats already been posted. The fact they didnt check with the council or even i would suggest companoes house to make sure it was a legit business is worrying never mind the fact it was skip in a random carpark

I always check the hygiene ratings! Sorry but some local restaurants can be filthy, you can’t just blindly order from anywhere.

Ordering from the closest doesn’t always ensure that you get your food faster though. I have ordered from a chippy on local high street that literally came awkwardly quickly, think 8 minutes when the ETA was 25-30m. I have also ordered from a Chinese takeaway on the same street which always takes 45-60m

I do this as well even though I know a 3 is fine as it means it’s clean but the paper work isn’t quite right. I worked in catering a long time.

Get an app called Scores on the Doors.

I swear by it, it tells you the hygeine ratings of food places nearest to you, anywhere in the UK. So, if you go somewhere you've never been before, it's a great use. It tells you what they've scored on too.

What do you think the point of reviews are?This has to be the daftest aibu of the day

Surely not?!

Not everyone reads reviews

My DH wouldn’t do it. He’d just order from anywhere but then it wouldn’t occur to him the place might be dirty

He thinks I’m fussy and U as I am more picky about food and food places than he is

EVERY SINGLE TIME bar about once, I turn up after the agreed time has elapsed and I go to pay and collect and the chef STARTS COOKING IT!

That is annoying! Isn’t there somewhere else you can go? You need to leave them an honest review and then sample all the local takeaways! 😃

My takeaway came quite quickly actually. They estimated 45mins to an hour and I think it came in about 35 mins so I was pleased with that!

I mainly came on to post the joe lycett clip.

That was really good and surely we are even more open to ordering crap food from a dirty shop when ordering directly. I chose to order directly because my experience of just eat is that they are slow and the food is cold. I assume they do lots of deliveries at once and the food is sitting in the car (but I don’t know)

Get an app called Scores on the Doors

I will have a look at this

all Chinese takeaways are never as good as you think they will be, but good luck anyway.