URBAN STOVE: for the Family

I remember with much fondness having my friends over for birthday parties, casual dinners & BBQ happening at my parents' home while we were growing up. It wasn't anything fancy except for the candlelight dinner with my sis & very close friend by our room balcony overlooking the stars (i think i was about 13??)... complete with the whole works of table napkins & champagne glasses!

We were happy having friends over either celebrating someone's birthday or some special occasion. Mom would more often be the one cooking up a feast while dad would be the man behind the pit whenever we had a BBQ.

While i didn't inherit mom's cooking skills, i still very much enjoy having friends over to our humble home for a casual dinner & good company. The dilemma lies herein. I've been getting better at the kitchen (well, i'd like to think so) but not confident enough to cook a full meal to host friends.

So when i stumbled upon Urban Stove, it was the perfect remedy!
Very simply, Urban Stove aims to help all to cook healthy restaurant-grade dinners in just 30 minutes by providing fresh pre-portioned ingredients right to your doorstep.

Here is my take on the experience.

Customer Service:
The day of the delivery, i received an email from Urban Stove reminding me of the delivery and what to expect. The email was warmly written & i like that kinda thing. It makes the experience more personal. My package arrived in a taxi & was greeted by a friendly & courteous pakcik. He handed me my dinner box & i couldn't wait to rummage through its contents!

Packaging:
There's something about brown packaging that makes me weak at my knees. The ingredients were neatly packed & labeled. The meat were packed and placed within non-toxic ice packs.

Portions:
My menu selection is as below. Each meal serves 2 adults.
*Chicken Schnitzel with Potato Salad
*Spaghetti Prawns with Chilli Garlic (olio)
*Shangri-la Beef with Sesame Noodles

While i would have personally liked more pasta & noodles in my box, i easily had that remedied as i already had pasta/noodles sitting in my pantry. The meat portions were however very generous.
For example, i cooked a good amount of beef for 2 portions and found that there were still enough beef for a stand alone beef dish which i accompanied with rice the following day.

The tiger prawns were still fresh & juicy despite it being in my freezer for 5 days. And again generous portions of prawns.

There were still lots of breadcrumbs & flour from the chicken schnitzel recipe so i quickly took out some meat from my fridge, coated & fried it & my family had more than enough which we enjoyed for the following day's lunch. Nothing went to waste... even the excess garlic from the recipes were stored & used for my other home cooked meals.

There really wasn't much preparation needed except for rinsing the vege. I enjoyed the whole process of cooking!
The step by step recipe cards complete with pictures made it so easy peasy. You really couldn't go wrong.

Time-saving: 
Having to prep & cook dinner for the family before my evening classes can sometimes be very tiring. Most of the time i prep them a day before or boil a one pot meal to keep things easy. Now i'm glad to have an alternative. In fact each meal took me less than 30 mins!

The aroma from the cooking made one really hungry. Hence i didn't had time to style the cooked dishes for some nice photos. Didn't want to risk showing badly shot photos as it wouldn't have done justice to the delectable meals.
So i've pinjam a shot below compiled by Urban Stove from fans who have sent in their beautifully shot pics @thatskinnyelephant, @syee_x, & Christine Liow

Urban Stove is currently preparing for its launch. Sign up for pre launch deals.
I got my 3 full meals, each meal served 2 adults for only RM49.90. I'm hoping subscribers would still get to enjoy a good price post launch.

So, friends, anyone for dinner at my place?

ps: this is not a paid post. i enjoy sharing tried & tested gems like these with my readers. good things are meant to be shared!