🍛 Waited 40 minutes for biryani and ate Maggi anyway

Last Saturday I ordered chicken biryani from a place near Banjara Hills at 8 in the evening. The app said 25 minutes. It had been raining since afternoon, so I didn't believe it. At 30 minutes the rider still hadn't picked up. I kept refreshing the screen like that helps. My sister sat next to me and laughed every time I checked the phone. At 40 minutes I gave up and made Maggi with an egg on top. 6 minutes, done it 100 times. I'd just sat down with the bowl when the doorbell rang. The biryani guy, completely soaked. He apologised twice. He said the road near the bridge was full of water and he'd had to walk the bike. I paid, gave him 50 rupees extra, and felt bad he was dripping on my doorstep. Then I looked at the table. A hot bowl of Maggi and a big box of biryani, side by side. My sister said eat both. I managed half the Maggi and about 4 spoons of rice. The biryani was good, but the rice had gone soft from sitting in the bag so long. She took 2 pieces of chicken from the box and went to bed. Next day at 11 in the morning I ate the leftover biryani cold, standing at the fridge door. It was better than the night before. That tells you everything about my priorities. The app messaged me asking if I'd order again. I tapped yes before I finished reading. I gave it 4 stars, mostly because the rider looked so tired. The rice deserved 3 and a half.

Maggi with an egg in six minutes beats most restaurant food when you are tired and hungry. I keep two packets in my drawer for exactly this reason, because delivery apps lie about timing. Ever since that happened to me twice in one week, I order only from places within three kilometres. Eating half the Maggi and then cold biryani next day sounds like a perfectly fair rainy Saturday.

Soaked rider apologising twice is the part that got me, because most delivery guys just hand over the bag.

Giving four stars because the rider looked tired is the most relatable thing I have read this week. Last monsoon I waited fifty minutes for a pizza and tipped double for the same reason. Soft rice is the price you pay when the bag sits in humid air for half an hour. Cold biryani standing up at eleven in the morning is underrated though, I would take it over reheated any day.