Singapore has always been proud of its hawker culture, which explains the push to nominate it for UNESCO’s cultural heritage list.

Food delivery startups like WhyQ and Porterfetch has jumped on this opportunity to deliver hawker food to the locals.

WhyQ started out serving hawker lunches to CBD workers for a low delivery fee of only $1.50, but it has since expanded its service to deliver islandwide and has recently merged with the now-defunct Plum to absorb their partner and customer base.

Meanwhile, Porterfetch offers supper delivery from 9pm to 3am to help satisfy late-night hunger pangs.

And now, GrabFood has joined the foray with its new ‘Grab Hawker Picks’ option which offers top hawker fares in Singapore.

Most of the hawker food listed are Michelin-listed, such as Tian Tian Lai Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, Hong Lim’s Ji Ji Char Siew Wanton and Chicken Cutlet Noodles, and Golden Mile’s Chung Cheng Chili Mee.

There are also other “famous” hawker food listed such as Serangoon Garden’s Ah Seng Braised Duck Rice, Toa Payoh’s Lorong 1 127 Sliced Fish Soup with Rice, Toa Payoh’s Lorong 1 Henry Hainanese Chicken Rice, Kim Keat Palm’s Lau Pa Sat Minced Meat with Mushroom Noodles and halal gourmet burgers from Golden Mile’s Burgs.

According to a Grab spokesperson, the firm conducted “extensive research, looking through food guides and also going on the ground to identify merchants that are popular with consumers, many of which have received local and international recognition.”

“We want to satisfy more consumer cravings and become the leading food delivery player in Singapore by the first-half of 2019.”

Only Available In CBD, Serangoon, Fringe Areas For Now

The ‘Grab Hawker Picks’ is still in beta phase, and is currently limited to Central Business District, Serangoon and their fringe areas.

For regular food delivery on GrabFood, the merchants available to consumers are typically dependent on location and geo-locked, so how can the firm guarantee that the hawker food will travel well with this new option?

“The GrabFood delivery bag that our delivery-partners use is waterproof, helps insulate heat and can compartmentalise food items to help maintain the food quality. Our matching algorithm also helps to ensure that waiting time is kept to the minimum.”

In fact, one HardWareZone user who tried the new ‘Grab Hawker Picks’ option said that her orders were delivered in just 30 minutes.

For ‘Grab Hawker Picks’, the delivery fee is only $1.50 (half the regular delivery fee of $3), but it’s subjected to dynamic pricing.

However, users can enjoy free delivery during the beta trial period using the promo code ‘HAWKER’.

The launch date is still not confirmed, and Grab says that it will be collecting feedback from all users during the trial period before deciding on the details.

Featured Image Credit: EatWithRoy