WECO -- a food make&deliver service in the GBA

[fooddabbler]

I’m starting this thread as a spinoff from this and the surrounding posts from the Sekali thread:

Sekali (Greater Boston Area)

Thanks for posting this. I am wondering if anyone has used WECO to order food, what their experience has been ? Me, my order is in for Sekali’s pop-up at Momi Nonmi on 7/30.

I had a delivery from the WECO Sekali “guest chef” today. I’ll comment on the food on the Sekali thread, but here are a few comments on WECO itself. As you’ll see below, I’m not enthralled.

1. There’s a relentless chumminess to their many texts and emails. I’m apparently now part of the WECO “fam”. I’ve been on pleasant and friendly terms with the people behind many food make&deliver efforts – Tim Maslow’s Fishyfish, Jason Bond’s Bondir delivery, etc. – but the canned conviviality of WECO grates on me.

2. Worse, when I got the link from Sekali to order I’m reasonably sure there was pricing involved. I’m not the type of bird to select three orders of curry puffs without making sure that I’m not paying a thigh and a wing. The first danger signal was that my confirmation email had no prices in it (and, of course, the original order link is now dead), but it didn’t register on me at the time.

My invoice that just came in lists “ingredient prices” then asks me for what I think is a fair add-on for their “overhead, labor, and love”:

Fifty bucks is a steal for what I got, but really how to decide how much to add? What is the price of their love?

I’d really rather deal with a less convoluted business than this. Life has too many decisions as it is without having to additionally worry about how much to pay for love.

[sciaccagirl]

Appreciate this post ,your thoughtfulness in separating from Sekali thread. I unsubscribed from WECO . Too many emails, to chatty. I won’t be using them. Must add how much I miss Tim Maslow’s food. Fishyfish we used during the pandemic. Would still be using if he was offering the service. So good !

[Saregama]

There’s a prior Weco thread:

WECO - meal deliveries in the greater Boston area

A friend mentioned hearing about them. I ordered 3 meals but won’t be a repeat customer. They post the menu for the next week on Thursday. There are adult and kid’s meal options, with different items depending on category. Delivery is $6 but pickup in West Concord is available, and they are opening a Randolph location. Here’s where it gets odd. Your meal is delivered in a brown bag, with elaborate printed suggestions about how to heat it up, using multiple pans and procedures, apparently oblivi…

[kobuta (The Original Passionate Cucumber)]

I have some posts on the general Weco experience in that original thread. I still use them on occasion, but I did try some of the Sekali dishes. I ordered the Nasi Lemak and the Malaysian curry laksa. Overall tasty dishes that reheated well. With Weco, that’s always the catch. While it’s made to be reheated, I find varying degrees of success there depending on how they package it.

Interestingly enough, the one thing I didn’t love as much was the sambal in the nasi lemak. Maybe I’m too used to the garlicky version available in the markets. This version was super ginger-y, and was almost all I could taste.

The curry laksa was delicious… after I stirred in some ground shrimp paste. I get this is not everyone’s cup of tea, and I’m sure it was still a good curry, but my favorite laksa distress ashtrays had shrimp paste, and I love the salty funk. My real nitpick though was that they called it udon; those were not udon noodles. They were looking mein/ yellow noodles. That is actually know traditional with the dish, so I’m not sure why they called them udon noodles to begin with.

As for Weco, since last year they have scanned been to more normal portion sizes. Can’t blame them in this inflation environment, but cooked with the hike in prices because of the ingredients, the costs can add up quickly. I also found one or two occasions where they missed an ingredient. . Their CS was responsive and gave me a coupon for a future meal, but it obviously doesn’t fix that I have an incomplete meal that I have to eat. I think getting the quality to stay consistent while they grow has been a challenge.

[wonderwoman]

@kobuta

As for Weco, since last year they have scanned been to more normal portion sizes. Can’t blame them in this inflation environment, but cooked with the hike in prices because of the ingredients, the costs can add up quickly. I also found one or two occasions where they missed an ingredient. . Their CS was responsive and gave me a coupon for a future meal, but it obviously doesn’t fix that I have an incomplete meal that I have to eat. I think getting the quality to stay consistent while they grow has been a challenge.

this has been my experience, as well. a friend told me about them two years ago, and i thought it was great… can’t say that i’m surprised that it’s not proved financially sustainable.

but, i live alone and work from home, so rather than convenience, weco’s appeal was the menu — things i wouldn’t make just for myself. and, sad to say, since they’ve expanded, i’ve found fewer menu items that appeal to me — and, of course, the prices have gone up, along with the email blasts. so, it’s been awhile since i last ordered. — not sure i will again, but i still take a look at the menu.