Come on Singaporeans! We're talking about satay here! Oohhh, I know why, no time to dip into that thick sweet and spicy peanut sauce... and what about the cucumbers, onions and kuetupat LOL! That's why! What's 500 sticks of satay to us!? :D Ok, need to stop, I'm salivating...
Takeru Kobayashi, 30, and Joey Chestnut, 24, the kings of competitive eating, met a a showdown at Robertson Walk during the inaugural Major League Eating (Asia) competition yesterday.
These two are best known for their record-setting appearances at the annual Nathan's Famous Hotdogs Eating Competition held in Coney Island, New York.
This year, Joey narrowly won the New York competition, breaking a rare tie to win with 64 hotdogs - just half a hotdog more than Takeru.
Joey also holds the world record for hotdog eating - 66 hotdogs in 12minutes. He won this title last year, ending Takeru's winning streak of six consecutive titles as the world champion of hotdog eating.
But in Singapore, it was a different story.
Takeru, nicknamed the Tsunami, chomped his way to an overwhelming victory over Joey.
Eating 51/2kg of chicken satay (nearly 275 sticks) in 12 minutes, Takeru managed to lick Joey (nicknamed The Jaws), who ate just over 4kg (200 sticks) in the same time.
From the moment the clock started ticking, it was clear why they were the best at their game.
They grabbed the satay with their hands and stuffed the food into their mouths, and the lead quickly went to Takeru, who finished his first kilogram of satay by the second minute. He then went on to claim an easy victory.
Familiarity of the food involved could have been an advantage to Takeru.
He said: 'Chicken satay is very similar in taste to yakitori (Japanese skewered chicken).'
DIFFERENT TASTE
In contrast, Joey found that the taste of our satay was very different from the ones he had back in California while preparing for the competition.
He said: 'The ones in the competition had a lot more flavour than those back home.
'It was like a combination of sweetness and saltiness, and for a moment, when I opened the box I was overwhelmed by the smell.'
Techniques made a difference as well for the two.
Takeru admitted that chewing was Joey's forte - which was why he preferred to use another method.
He said: 'It was my technique against his (Joey's). I knew that if I competed against him in chewing I would lose, because Joey has stronger jaws.'
For that reason, he took to drinking more water to swallow the satay faster, tossing his head back after every gulp of water and bite of satay.
Joey was disappointed that he had lost, but he was still optimistic about future competitions.
He said 'We're scheduled to compete again at a hamburger eating competition in the United States in September.
'I'm really always excited to be competing against him, because he makes me work and push my limits to the maximum.'
The competition was the closing event to this year's Singapore Food Festival.
It was organised by local media company Thinkin' Tub, who owns the Major League Eating (Asia) franchise, in conjunction with the Singapore Tourism Board
By Kelvin Chan, newsroom intern - Singapore New Paper
No comments:
Post a Comment