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Three Singaporean homebaker teams, four uniquely local flavours, three hours.
Which of the four GrabMooncakes will emerge as the winners of Singapore’s Next Top Mooncake?
The four finalists are: Sambal Shrimp, Mocha Salted Egg, Ondeh-Ondeh and Milk Tea with Pearl (S$82 for a box of four, available on GrabFood & Grab with self pick-up).
Vote for your favourite GrabMooncake in the Grab app by scrolling through the home page’s feed to “Polls”.
Just in case you’re wondering, @GrabFoodSG issued a challenge to these homebakers to create mooncakes out of 12 user-suggested flavours, which included mango sticky rice, strawberry, cupcake, lavender, avocado, cheese, and pineapple. The four mooncakes that you’ll get in your GrabMooncakes box are the final chosen ones, and they’re all handcrafted and preservative-free.
Sambal Shrimp in a mooncake might seem odd to you, but the Mooncake Mamas managed to make it work.
These three matriarchs—related by blood and bonded closer together by mahjong—started making mooncakes for their friends and loved ones before turning it into a family business. From snowskin durian mooncake to azuki snowskin mooncakes, Sharon, Christina and Jamie have made them all.
The Sambal Shrimp mooncake is one of their unique inventions and is inspired by nasi lemak. The outer filling is made of traditional white lotus paste, while the inner filling is a fragrant blend of dried shrimp, red chillies, shallots, kaffir lime leaves and peanut oil.
I absolutely loved how I could taste so many flavours in a single bite of this mooncake. It was sweet at first—probably from the sugar and golden syrup—and then I started to taste the mild roasted nuttiness from the shallots, and then finally, the characteristic tangy and sweet spiciness from the hae bi came through.
This was definitely a mooncake that I could sit down and slowly munch on, preferably with a bottle of Da Hong Pao oolong tea. Not only was the contrast of textures between the smooth lotus paste and the gritty hae bi fabulously refreshing, I loved the way the aromatic spices lingered on my tongue even after my last bite.
The Mocha Salted Egg mooncake is also one of Mooncake Mamas‘ exclusive creations, and would definitely appeal to those who can’t resist a spoonful—or tub—of rich chocolate ice cream.
While its exterior chocolate skin is infused with coffee, its lotus paste is actually tiramisu-flavoured, so you get a double punch of rich chocolatey flavours. At the centre of this mooncake is a sphere of salted egg yolk for that much needed savoury touch.
Just looking at that glowing lump of salted egg yolk made me go, “Woooow.”
I’m a die-hard chocolate lover, so it’s no wonder that this mooncake was one of my favourites. I felt like I was eating a gooey and chocolatey brownie with a sprinkle of sea salt on the top—every bite of the mooncake was indulgent and rich.
I loved how the salted egg yolk wasn’t too overpowering and instead, elevated the earthy sweetness from the lotus paste.
If you told me that this would be what Milk Tea With Pearl looked like as a mooncake, I’d probably do a double-take in disbelief.
Despite its humble looks, the baked and golden skin of this mooncake is actually infused with fragrant milk tea. It’s filled with milk tea lotus paste and a chewy brown sugar mochi centre, which is supposed to mimic pearls.
It’s baked by Cream & Custard, a brother-sister team who started their very own award-winning bakery in Shenton Way.
If you’re wondering whether it tastes like bubble tea, here’s my take.
The gummy brown sugar mochi centre really tastes like pearls. It’s soft and chewy, and taste-wise, it was sweet and caramel-like.
As for the milk tea lotus paste, I could taste a mild roasted smokiness from the black tea base, but I wished it could’ve been slightly sweeter, so that the taste of the tea came through more.
I thought this mooncake was paddle pop-flavoured because of the pretty swirl of pastel colours, but it was actually Ondeh-Ondeh!
Created by Raymond Tan, an Insta-famous self-taught baker, this Ondeh-Ondeh mooncake is a nod to two traditional desserts: Teochew-style mooncakes and ondeh-ondeh. That explains the delicate, flaky crust, as well as the smoky gula melaka lotus paste on the inside.
It was supposed to be heated up prior to eating in order to get a molten centre, but honestly, I was so excited by its gorgeously layered crust that I just had to sneak a bite.
Just like traditional Teochew yam paste mooncakes with a flaky crust, Raymond’s creation had crisp layers that were airy and light, but the hero of the dish had to be the gula melaka lotus paste.
While we weren’t eating it as per the serving suggestion, biting into it was still a delightful experience. It was like popping a caramel and butterscotch candy in my mouth, and I took my time to savour the sweet and smoky flavours. As I continued to chew, I could taste the fragrant toasted coconut flakes, which helped cut through the honeyed sweetness.
Taste, texture, looks—Raymond’s Ondeh-Ondeh absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Of course, no Mid-Autumn Festival experience is complete without lanterns, and Grab has thoughtfully provided a mooncake packaging which transforms into a one.
Stack the individual boxes on top of each other, loop the string provided through a hole in the base, attach the handle, insert two AA batteries, and you’re ready for an evening stroll with your fam!
Not only are GrabMooncakes yummy beyond belief, it’s also amazing to know that these unique mooncakes are Singaporean through and through. They were suggested by Singaporeans, feature distinctly local flavours, and will eventually undergo a round of voting—by Grab’s own Singaporean users—to reveal Singapore’s Next Top Mooncake!
This Mid-Autumn Festival, enjoy these four delicious and unique mooncakes which can be delivered right to your doorstep thanks to GrabFood (Delivery).
Expected Damage: S$82 per box (Introductory price of S$75)
*This post is brought to you in partnership with Grab.
