http://www.wnd.sg045Growth for the company was gradual. From
selling it in their two restaurants Irvin’s Live Seafood
House and Leban HK Cafe, they went on to set up
pop up booths in the CBD and started online sales.
It culminated in their first store at VivoCity as the
brand’s popularity built momentum. These days, they
have stores across the island—including crucially in
Changi Airport—and even in the Philippines, Hong
Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, and pop-ups in South
Korea. “People in these countries appreciate the salted
egg flavour and there is a sense of pride to bring these
snacks home because of the premium quality and
global fame,” he says. These days they coat cassava
chips, potato chips, and little spring rolls with the
moreish golden condiment.
“When we first started, salted egg snacks as
a category did not really exist. Since we launched
however, there has definitely been a sharp increase in
local snack brands—producing both salted egg and
other variations of local flavoured snacks. We thought
this is great—to have this new vibrancy and creativity
within Singapore, with more variety and better quality
products for customers,” adds Gunawan.
Though salted egg is a traditional Chinese
ingredient, Singapore has given a dramatic new twist to
how it is used, and turned it into “a unique Singaporean
flavour that draws in crowds”. Much like how New
Zealand had taken the kiwi fruit for their own, and
Hawaii with macadamia nuts, for that matter.
The Golden Duck (TGD) is another brand that
established themselves early in what they so aptly
describe as the “elevated snacking community”. They
too dramatically changed the range-bound chips-
and-tortilla category of snacks in the market, with a
wider take on Asian-inspired snacks. Beyond their
salted egg fish skin crisps, TGD’s products include
chilli crab and mala hotpot inspired seaweed and
fish skin snacks. They also incorporate ingredients
such as crabmeat, mushrooms and beancurd skin. Its
bestseller is Singapore chilli crab seaweed tempura,
riding on another iconic and uniquely Singapore
flavour. “As chilli crab is a world-renowned specialty
synonymous with Singapore, we knew we had to
transform this dish into a snack with roasted seaweed
tempura chips peppered with a spicy, hearty brand-
exclusive chilli crab mixture,” say Jonathan Shen and
Christopher Hwang, founders of TGD. Their focus is
in “crafting the most complex, dish-accurate snacks
in the market” and “capturing the diverse spectrum of
flavours of the region”. Developing each new product
takes them anywhere from 20 to 50 rounds of research
and development, layering and capturing the ‘true’
flavours of the original dish as boldly and accurately
as possible.
TGD’s foreign fans come mainly from Hong Kong
and Taiwan, but there are also those from Australia,
USA and as far afield as Brazil. Many are Asians living
outside of Asia who crave for a “taste of familiarity”.
They have noticed a pattern of preferences over the
years. Westerners prefer chilli crab seaweed tempura
for tis mix of sweetness and spice while Asians enjoy
the complexity of salted egg flavours. Gunawan notes
that their fish skin snacks are widely accepted by
Asian customers who also like the salty-sweet-rich
flavour of salted egg, while many Europeans shy away
from fish skin—perhaps because it is not a familiar
ingredient to them.
What is interesting too is that these made-in-
Singapore munchies now occupy an elevated position
in the pecking order of snacks. They command a price
at a substantial premium over other long-established
international brands, and people are happy—in fact,
queuing up—to pay for the pleasure.
“It may not be easy to take away your favourite
food memory in Singapore or on your travels, but you
can with snacks,” say Shen and Hwang.