Golden, crisp, potato-filled curry puffs are a well-loved snack.

And most people have a go-to place for this baked or deep-fried snack, whether it is a hawker stall, bakery or famous chain.

It can be deep-fried or baked, and is generally filled with potato curry, chicken, onions and pieces of egg. The Malay version is known as epok epok and is smaller than most curry puffs. Potatoes are by no means the only filling either. Variations include sardine, tuna and beef rendang as well as more exotic flavours such as durian, custard and bird's nest.

To suss out the best ones, a panel of five judges ate their way through 41 curry puffs, shortlisted from popular brands and chef recommendations.

The judges are Life's food editor Tan Hsueh Yun and restaurant critic Wong Ah Yoke, as well as guest judges Violet Oon, food consultant and restaurateur; Devagi Sanmugam, cookbook author and cooking instructor; and Willin Low, chef-owner of Wild Rocket restaurant.

Two blind tasting sessions were carried out, with each judge awarding a maximum of 20 points to each curry puff - 10 points for the filling and 10 for the pastry.

Despite the perception that curry puffs made by hand would be better than those churned out by machines, the judges were surprised by the result.

For a full list of the other curry puffs tasted, click here.