‘I mean, I’m still in chicken euphoria right now, I haven’t snapped out of it yet’
‘You know when you see someone like a random stranger, and they’re just so unbelievably slap-me stupid beautiful. That’s like that, except for its chicken and rice.’
These are the very words American food vlogger Mike Chen used to describe the locally renowned Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice from Maxwell Food Centre.
Seconds later after taking his first mouthful, Mike looks puzzled as he fails to fathom the complexity of flavors from just a simple dish of chicken and rice.
In contrast to Mike Chen’s belief in our local delicacy, we locals seem to find our food pretty mundane.
Although we are spoilt for choice with a wide array of cuisines from the micro-cultures, all coexisting amidst an overwhelming variety of Chinese food, served in our hawker centers, yet the most dreaded question of any Singaporean is easily, ‘What to eat ah?’.
Forget the overpriced cafes and fancy hotels for a while, perhaps it’s time to take a step back to acknowledge our achievement as one of the world’s culinary capital.
It’s refreshing to see an outsider’s perception on what we deem as the ‘norm’. Joined by fellow YouTubers ‘Mark Wiens’ and ‘FUNG BROS’, Mike Chen co documented their take on Singaporean food. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Mike Chen (Strictly Dumpling)
Mike Chen is an United States based food traveler and vlogger, known for his over-the-top description of the food he eats. But that doesn’t mean that his description doesn’t accurately depict the taste of the food. For example, in one of his episodes here in Singapore, he describes the toast from Ya Kun.
When describing Ya Kun’s toast, he said:
‘This is kinda like a toast-siren. Every bite you take, it just beckons you to take another. This is definitely the crack of the toast world.’
Having seen this vivid yet accurate description, how could we not picture ourselves nibbling the toast as we watch him say that?
Having scoured high and low for the best eats Singapore has to offer, Mike uncovered the best of breakfast places in one of his episodes.
He complained about the typicality of breakfast in America and was glad that he got to taste Nasi Lemak, Prata and the famous Old Airport Road Food Centre Lor Mee for a change.
Upon his first mouthful of the goopy broth and noodles, he exclaimed:
‘This is just masterful. I mean, gold-buzzer-this-thing-send-this-to-the-live-show-good.’
He then spends the next minute and a half of the video praising in awe of the Lor Mee.
If you think eating toasts, Nasi Lemak, Pratas and a bowl of Lor Mee for one meal is too much, wait till you witness his unconditional love for chilli crab the next day.
An extraordinaire with an appetite of a cow, Mike devoured not 1, but 3 crabs in one morning. I shall not ruin the surprise any further, catch the monster in action yourself with the video above.
Mark Wiens (Migrationology)
Known to his 1 million subscribers, Mark Wiens with Migrationology judges the deliciousness of the dish by how much he tilts his head to his right. It’s true. Just watch any video of his and you’ll soon realize the trend on how much he likes/dislikes each dish.
A full-time food traveler based in Thailand, he has traveled to places like Israel and Tanzania in pursuit of exotic food.
There’s no need for words when Mark reveals his verdict on the various foods via his Oscar worthy expressions. His smirk and head tilt after the first mouthful of Mee Goreng says it all.
Hungry yet? If you need a little inspiration on what to eat (shame on us), check out Mark’s YouTube channel thumbnails.
Mark definitely immersed himself fully in this multicultural city – well, at least chow wise. From Beach Road’s famed Hainanese Scissors Cut Curry Rice to Peranakan food, he’s tasted it all.
He could be crowned the daredevil of food tasting as he took on the gnarly and unappetizing looking curry rice only to be rewarded with the richness of the plate. ‘Comfort curry’ is what he called it.
‘This messy plate of food just cannot get old to look at either. It’s almost frameable’
The degree of head tilt he’s demonstrated in that particular video is a true testament to the dish’s imperceptible goodness.
FUNG BROS.
Last but not least, hailing from California of the United States is ‘FUNG BROS’. Heavily influenced by the Californian food culture, their undying love for hip hop and all things alternative; ‘FUNG BROS’ comprises of the Chinese-American duo, Andrew Fung and David Fung primarily curating videos of the pop culture scene and food in the 626 district (626 is the area code of the place they live in).
Singapore is incontestably one of the top destinations in the world to visit for food. Looking beyond the high cost of living for once, one thing that is definitely unmissable and affordable is the hawker food.
Accompanied by local YouTubers, they checked out the old but gold, Old Airport Road Food Centre. If Laksa, chicken rice, and Nasi Lemak are some of your favourite local dishes, rejoice, for they’ve certainly been fairly represented.
What I can deduce from these videos so far: the ‘asian’ food they have in America is most of the time, what they perceive ‘asian’ food to be.
‘You definitely feel the kick that you don’t taste in the American version.’ when they savoured the coconutty laksa broth.
‘Hawker stalls = Soul of Singapore’
This quote basically sums up everything when local talent ShiggaShay introduced ‘Zi Char’ to the brothers.
Meat on a stick in any culture is always a big hit, and Singapore’s rendition of it – the Satay, is something that left an impression on the FUNG BROS. The charcoal smokiness that infused the meat is what got the brothers hooked to it.
Though Sambal Stingray is not a widely-accepted dish in the US, the FUNG BROS liked this dish as they relished the flaky texture of the fish.
While Lau Pa Sat as shown in the video, isn’t an entirely accurate representation of a hawker setting (‘tourist prices’ for common hawker foods and ambient environment), food is still a strong identity of Singapore.
There is a time and place for complaining about the lack of variety but when it comes to the ever diversified options as validated by these travelers, we ought to know better. Be the one who appreciates the ‘juiciness of the rice’ (Mike Chen, 2017), and not the one who complains, ‘wa sian, chicken rice again.’
