When it comes to family bonding time, my mum and I share a common love for staying in. Why? Weekends are the prime time to head out to a mall or park, but it’s also a surefire way of getting stuck in long queues and barely moving crowds… so not our idea of R&R!
That being said, settling our meals at home can be quite a hassle too. This is especially true when the cook (me) has to cater to the requests of a very demanding customer (mum). NGL, this means we often end up ordering in: she gets to enjoy her more traditional fare, and I can enjoy my sinful, Gen Z meals in peace.
But with Mother’s Day quickly approaching, I wanted to try something special to jazz up our mother-daughter bonding time — a food order swap!
Yes, for just one meal, my very Asian and picky mum will order lunch and a bubble tea for me, and vice versa. Since the foodpanda app is currently offering a $1.99 delivery fee promo for selected restaurants, we decided to try out some of the options available there.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
You can view all the participating restaurants in your area by tapping on the ‘$1.99 delivery’ button under the ‘Food delivery’ category. My mum certainly approved of saving money by taking advantage of the low delivery fee!
To my surprise, the ordering process went very smoothly since the app interface was user-friendly and straightforward enough that my tech-unsavvy mum (who has longtime beef with other apps like Chrome/Safari and Google Maps) could navigate it with ease.
Photo from foodpanda
Neither of us told the other what we’d gotten for each other, so it was a total surprise until the delivery rider got to our door with the food!
My order was the first to arrive: a still-warm box of wingettes and drummettes from 4Fingers! The juicy-looking pieces of meat come coated with hot sauce, and a mound of seaweed fries sit to the side.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
My mum’s verdict? The chicken was well seasoned, juicy, and surprisingly not too salty. Even though she usually doesn’t enjoy having french fries, the seaweed seasoning on these made them irresistible. Not one wingette or drummette was left uneaten, and I consider that a complete victory!
Me: 1, Mum: 0.
I soon got to try what my mum ordered for me too — a Mentaiko Salmon Bowl topped with an onsen egg and pickles from Ishiro Fusion Bowl. Nothing escaped from the packaging and everything stayed neat and presentable like how I’d imagine it to look when it left the restaurant.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Now, I’m usually more of a kaisendon (raw seafood) type of person, but this flavourful salmon bowl swept me off my feet. Runny egg with soft and flaky, melt-in-your-mouth fish, and that delightfully savoury mentaiko sauce? Delicious.
Me: 1, Mum: 1.
Moving onto drinks, I presented my mum with one of my favourites: I Love Taimei’s Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
My mum started roasting it for looking overly milky, but later remarked that the tea was fragrant and the chewy pearls were totally to her taste. She proceeded to slurp up everything in record time.
Me: 2, Mum: 1.
I wasn’t too sure about my mum’s choice of BBT, because not only has she never purchased one for herself, she isn’t familiar with brands or drink categories at all! I’m pretty sure she clicked on whatever popped up and looked healthy, and that turned out to be a Fresh Passion Green Tea with Taro Q from KOI Thé.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Originally, I was bummed that the drink didn’t contain my go-to pearls or any milk. But it turns out this tangy and refreshing beverage worked in my favour, since it didn’t feel too heavy after a meal.
Me: 2, Mum: 2.
So it turns out my mum and I do share some food preferences, and the food swap was surprisingly a win-win for us both! Now that we’re also more familiar with each other’s tastes, it wouldn’t be a stretch for us to experiment with more unique flavours together in the future — all in the comfort of home!
In fact, one of the best things we noticed about the foodpanda app is that you have the freedom to order from multiple restaurants at once, and with the $1.99 delivery fee promo, it’s extra affordable to do so.
Pro tip: you can also impress your Asian mum by subscribing to foodpanda’s monthly subscription programme, pandapro, which unlocks exclusive perks and discounts! For example, stack on extra savings by taking $4 off your food delivery order.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
To try out pandapro, use the code "NEW10" to get your first month pandapro for just 10 cents (valid for new subscribers only)!
Who knows? This tip could come in clutch when you’re hanging out with your mum on Mother’s Day.
Check out the foodpanda app on the App Store, Google Play, or visit their website at foodpanda.sg.
This post is brought to you by foodpanda.
