For the foodies out there, you’re probably familiar with the name HungryGoWhere. If you are not, it’s one of the few sites you go to not only to check reviews of the food a restaurant serves, but also to make reservations of your own sometimes. It was shut down last year in July, since movement restrictions thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic meant people aren’t visiting restaurants much, let alone using its service.
But now, the service has been acquired and relaunched by Grab. Despite new management, HungryGoWhere will continue to do what it used to do before – being the go-to place for food reviews and recommendations. As Grab puts it, the company wants it to be the “go-to source for diners seeking F&B news”, as well as for businesses to increase visibility.
Grab is also tapping into its superapp data, likely the ones related to GrabFood, to improve what’s being displayed on HungryGoWhere. This will also give vendors another avenue for reaching customers.
HungryGoWhere was originally founded in 2006 by GTW Holdings, with the three founders Dennis Goh, Tan Yung Yih and Wong Hoong An. In 2012, GTW Holdings was acquired by Singaporean telco Singtel. According to CNA, the telco was aiming “to re-shape culinary experiences across Asia”. The telco would then shut it down in July of 2021 due to “severe challenges” faced in the industry, with the pandemic playing a major role.
All that being said though, this reboot is mostly only applicable to Singapore. While the Singaporean website and Facebook page have sprung back to life, the Malaysian counterparts remain dormant, if even available. In a similar vein, the last post on the HungryGoWhere Malaysia Instagram account was in 2018. But on the flip side, HungryGoWhere Singpaore has a brand new account, with images posted just today.
(Source: Grab, HungryGoWhere, CNA)
