Here’s What Went Down at the Grab 5-Star Eats Awards: The Ultimate Taste Off

What happens when you take some of Grab’s top-rated food merchants, remove the logos and restaurant names, and let the food speak for itself? You get the Grab 5-Star Eats Awards: The Ultimate Taste Off.

Held on August 18 at Whitespace Manila, the event brought together the SPOT.ph crew, culinary experts and industry insiders, food writers and content creators, and food fans for a one-of-a-kind competition: a blind taste test. The goal? To pick the cream of the crop from Grab’s 5-Star Eats Community (more on this later). Think of it like the singing competition show “The Voice”—but a food version!

That afternoon, around 30 people—gathered by the SPOT.ph and Grab teams—streamed into Whitespace Manila’s brightly lit green-and-white hall. Up ahead, a white curtain concealed the rest of the space.

Host JC Tevez kicked things off by welcoming everyone to The Ultimate Taste Off, with SPOT.ph editor-in-chief Jerome Gomez also sharing a few words. Then, JC walked the guests through the mechanics of the blind taste test.

The rules were simple, JC explained: “No restaurant names, no logos, no [branded] packaging. A total mystery. Today, we’re stripping everything down to what really matters most: the food itself!”

Then, the curtains opened. And what awaited were tables and tables brimming with all sorts of mouthwatering dishes—all from fan-favorite restaurants short-listed from the Grab 5-Star Eats Community. ICYDK, the Grab 5-Star Eats Community is a group of leading community food merchants and MSMEs on the Grab app recognized for their strong customer feedback and high standards. They’re considered in a league of their own within the platform.

To keep the taste-off true to its “blind tasting” concept, each dish was identified only by a number, with no names or branding. The food was portioned onto individual plates for tasting, then placed on numbered platters at tables arranged by category. This means there were no clues as to which restaurant made a certain dish. The only info available was the category the food was competing in.

Here are the categories and awards up for grabs:

• 5-Star Platinum Plate: the ultimate stamp for excellent food and service

• 5-Star Filipino Icon

• 5-Star Japanese Icon

• 5-Star Korean Icon

• 5-Star Indian Icon

• 5-Star Italian Icon

• 5-Star American Icon

• 5-Star Thai Icon

• 5-Star Chinese Icon

Leading the evaluation were the three main judges. First was SPOT.ph’s own EIC Jerome Gomez, known for his discerning eye and palate for “hidden gems.” Next was food content creator Jason Go (aka Bradley Tries), whose popularity on TikTok and Instagram is attributed to his “based-on-taste” food rankings. Completing the group was celebrated chef, food educator, and food advocate Chef Heny Sison, who brought industry authority and expertise to the taste-off.

Joining them were co-judges from SPOT.ph: chef and managing editor Georgia Uy, food editor Bea Faicol, and food associate editor Michiko Manalang. Also serving as co-judges were Esquire Philippines managing editor Rhia Grana, Smart Parenting editor-in-chief Ronna Bonifacio, and Cosmopolitan Philippines executive editor Ida Aldana.

The rest of the guests participating in the judging included food industry insiders, food writers, avid foodies, and popular food content creators like Pacho Eats, Munchwithavi, and Jujumaoeats.

To simplify the scoring process, all guest judges were divided into three teams, with one main and two co-judges leading the group. Then, each team was assigned three categories to focus on.

With mechanics all squared away, the Ultimate Taste Off finally started. The hall buzzed with excitement and anticipation. The main judges and co-judges went first, walking toward the tables to try the food.

Practically all of their senses played a part in the evaluation. They looked, sniffed, tasted, and considered the mouthfeel of the dishes. After a pause, they scribbled on their scorecards, assessing the entries based on two criteria: Taste (60%) and Experience (20%).

Taste covered the dish’s overall flavor, while experience focused on how well it held up after “delivery.” That was especially important since all the contenders were fan-favorite dishes from the app.

The remaining 20% came from the 5-Star Wall Score, aka the People’s Choice. And this was where the guest judges stepped in.

After the main and co-judges finished scoring the entries in their specific categories, the host opened the floor to the guest judges. Armed with numbered star-shaped stickers corresponding to a dish, they worked their way through the tables, sampling each entry in their assigned categories. There was a lot of nodding and eye-widening as the guest judges looked at each other while trying the mystery food.

Then came the fun part: picking favorites.

After trying the dishes, the guest judges proceeded to the huge 5-Star Wall behind the tables. There, they took out their numbered stickers and placed the ones that represented their top two dishes per category on the wall.

Once all the dishes were scored and the star wall completed, the host allowed everyone to try all the dishes in all categories. And the tasting transformed into an all-out feast!

Some plucked dishes from the other categories they’d been eyeing. Others returned to their favorite tables for seconds. It was fun seeing the look of realization on some of the judges after they recognized their favorite restaurants based on the dish they were trying. But of course, everyone kept their guesses secret to follow the event’s rules.

… Are firmly under wraps!

The 5-Star Platinum Plate and 5-Star Icon winners of the Grab 5-Star Eats Awards: The Ultimate Taste Off will be revealed on September 3. Till then, the mystery remains—even among the judges!

Stay tuned to find out which dishes and restaurants from the Grab 5-Star Eats Community will earn their place among the Grab 5-Star Eats’ honor roll.

Follow Grab PH on Facebook and Instagram for updates.