Shilin Snacks, Singapore

It's good to see enterprising people bringing in stuff from other countries for us to savor. I'm a big fan of Shilin Night Market and was fortunate enough to frequent it before its major renovation (somehow it's not the same anymore). This place does some iconic Taiwanese snacks such as the fried chicken cutlet, oyster vermicelli and tempura (tian bu la). Although their quality varies from store to store, I usually give into the temptation and still get at least a chicken cutlet whenever I see one because (people who know me will know that) I have a huge soft spot for Taiwan or more accurately; the Taiwanese.

I love to add extra chilli powder to my chicken cutlet. It's almost glistening in crimson glory. This isn't really the best chicken cutlet I've tasted, the meat was too thin and dry and the oil didn't really taste fresh but it sufficed for my little craving then.

Although the chicken cutlet is nothing compared to the ones in Taiwan, I'm always pleasantly surprised with the tempura. This actually tasted better than some I had in Taiwan and believe me, I've tried a lot. From the stir-fried, deep-fried, boiled and grilled versions; I've tried them all. I like to add chilli powder to my tempura as well which is usually not the norm, in fact I had a mini lecture from one server once on how, by definition that "tian bu la" can't be spicy because it's "bu la". In which, I responded with an emotionless blank face and gestured towards the chilli powder. She eventually but reluctantly sprinkled it on.