Takagi Ramen offers prawn noodles with mealworms for Halloween, Stomp tried it and survived
Halloween? More like hello, worms.
For this spooky season, Takagi Ramen introduced a Halloween-themed menu with a creepy crawly new ingredient - the larvae of the darkling beetle, better known as mealworms.
Mealworms are one of 16 species of insects that the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said it has approved for consumption in July.
"While the use of insects for direct human consumption is relatively new in Singapore, several species of edible insects have traditionally been consumed in parts of Asia," said the agency.
Insects have been touted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation as a more sustainable alternative to meat, as they have high protein content and produce lower greenhouse gas emissions when farmed.
Also, you can "prank or scare your friends" by adding them to their noodles, suggested Takagi Ramen.
The homegrown ramen chain with 13 outlets in Singapore said in a Sept 25 press release: "In alignment with Singapore's approval for the consumption of edible insects, Takagi Ramen proudly introduces a special ingredient into our Halloween menu.
"This new culinary trend not only enhances the thrill of our Halloween menu but also embraces Singapore's innovative food policies.
"No, we assure you that this is not just a gimmick. Our deep-fried mealworms add a unique, crunchy texture to our dishes, celebrating this exciting development in local dining.
"To add an extra eerie touch, we're offering these crunchy deep-fried mealworms for free with each bowl of our new prawn noodles purchased."
The noodles came in soup and dry versions.
To sample the mealworms, Stomp visited the Takagi Ramen outlet in Yew Tee Point on Oct 6 and ordered the dry version using the electronic kiosk outside the restaurant.
The price was $10.90. The $12.90 set came with one of the two new Halloween-themed drinks, the Divine Soursop Potion or the Enchanted Fruit Talisman.
When Stomp went to collect the prawn noodles, there were no mealworms in the bowl even though Stomp had opted to add the larvae earlier when ordering at the kiosk.
While most people would complain when they find an insect in their food, Stomp was in the weird position of asking the restaurant staff member why there weren't any insects in the prawn noodles.
The staff member quickly scooped a spoonful of mealworms from a container and dumped them into the bowl.
You know how when you order certain Japanese dishes with bonito flakes sprinkled on top, the bonito flakes move when the food is hot?
Because the mealworms were so small and light, they also appeared to move, giving the impression they were alive even though they had been deep-fried. Quite appropriate for Halloween.
By themselves, the mealworms tasted like fried whitebait.
But after mixing them up with the other ingredients in the prawn noodles, you can hardly taste the larvae apart from a bit of extra crunchiness in the food.
As for the dish as a whole, it lived up to its "fiery" name by being very spicy.
If you can take the heat, it may just worm its way into your heart.
