Reviewed: Lunch deliveries in KL

From RM13

If you’re struggling to keep up with your clean-eating resolutions, this is the food delivery service for you. Weird name aside, The Naked Lunchbox is one of the best lunch deliveries we’ve had. Making healthy eating easier with its delicious fare, The Naked Lunchbox’s menu (with new items added every two weeks) is designed for different dietary needs (raw, paleo, vegan, low sodium, gluten-free and dairy-free). Plus, they avoid the use of refined flour, sugar and salt. Don’t yawn just yet. Instead, The Naked Lunchbox uses ingredients like sea salt, honey and olive oil to make their dressing from scratch. Tip: Try the tomato salsa.

What we had: The Mulan (RM16.90), a dairy-free dish consisting of stir-fried greens and mushrooms with organic bario mountain rice and homemade curry gravy, was a surprisingly filling option. However, the highlight of our order from The Naked Lunchbox was the Taco Salad (RM16.90) (pictured). The salad with avocado, vegan cashew sour cream, eggs and fresh tomato salsa was nothing like a taco, yet our biodegradable lunch box was scraped clean.

Verdict: Healthy and delicious lunches delivered to our door? Yes, please.

From RM21

First things first: We like the fact that Dah Makan offers the option of online payment and cash on delivery (not everyone wants to go through the hassle of online banking while on a deadline). The nifty website also provides choices for healthy snacks (we opted for salted gula Melaka granola from Amazin’ Graze), juices and artisanal sodas. Making life easier for us (which is basically the whole point of food delivery services), Dah Makan even offers food subscription packages for lunch and dinner, free delivery, and most importantly, a promise of food being delivered within 40 minutes of order.

What we had: Baked salmon on wild rice pilaf with steamed vegetables (RM18). A squeeze of lemon over the (slightly overcooked) salmon fillet and we were ready to go. Rice was rather dry, but we like the idea of having fresh steamed veggies for lunch instead of the usual kangkung belacan from the local nasi campur stall.

Verdict: Food was decent, but high points for convenience and a user-friendly website.

From RM76.90 (serves three)

From Ili Sulaiman (winner of the Asian Food Channel Food Hero competition) comes a tiffin lunch delivery service, Dish by Ili. Offering wholesome home-cooked food in multi-level tiffin carriers, Dish by Ili’s menu is a balanced mix between Western and Asian selections. Think Peranakan chicken curry and five-spice roast chicken. Apart from being environmentally friendly, using tiffin carriers also means that one gets more food, which means it’s great for sharing. They also have individual portions from RM16.90 (without the tiffin).

What we had: Gai Yang, a Thai-style grilled chicken (RM76.90). Lunch came in a four-level tiffin carrier containing fragrant pandan-flavoured rice, ulam (with pretty fantastic sambal belacan), matcha marble cake, nicely marinated Thai-style grilled chicken (there were hints of lemongrass, mint, garlic and fish sauce), a handwritten note and, weirdly, no cutlery. Highlight: The tiffin is ours to keep.

Verdict: Food arrived hot, portions were huge, but the steep delivery fees (our total bill came up to RM92) came as a shocker. Maybe order this as a surprise present for someone in need of a tiffin carrier and a homecooked meal.

Subscriptions from RM56 per month

With a nutritionist onboard, Food Matters offers healthy meals based on monthly subscriptions. How it works is this: You pick a subscription (choose from four to 20 meals a month) and using your meal credits, pick from six available dishes of the day (good to know: there's always one vegetarian and low-carb option). In total, there are close to 40 dishes on the menu, and the best part is you can pick the days on which you'll be needing lunch (and skip the days you’ll be away). Go for the complete subscription for a better deal – RM200 a month gets you 20 meal credits (RM10 per meal).

What we had: The Moroccan meatballs with couscous pilaf (pictured), tom yam pasta with tempeh, and salmon cilantro fish cakes with quinoa miso salad are all dishes we'd gladly order again. However, we're not huge fans of their brown rice dishes (like the Hainanese chicken rice for example) and those that feature baked skinless chicken breast, which both tend to be dry. Maybe adding your own sauce will help.

Verdict: Food may be hit-and-miss (they don't always arrive warm either), but it's nice to plan your weekday lunches for the rest of the month and not have to decide where to eat every day. There's also that added bonus of consuming only lean meats and skinless chicken breast. Warning: Don't expect your food to arrive as pretty as pictured.