But let's face it. It's an acquired taste for some people. When we decided to send salted egg chips to a relative in the United States, he didn't exactly go crazy over it. From what I heard, he didn't even finish the chips.
However, there are certain foodies who are somewhat addicted to the chips. There are many brands to choose from.
In the Philippines, there are a lot of local entrepreneurs who have also followed the trend. So not all the chips come from Singapore.
For the imported variety, it is usually a toss up between Irvin's or Golden Duck.
During a recent visit to Chinatown in Singapore, we tried Hu Zhen Long's Golden Crispy Salted Egg Fish Skin (around SGD20).
There wasn't much flavor until we reached the bottom of the canister where we found most of the egg yolk goodness.
The chips are thinly sliced and the flavors are well coordinated. It is rich and creamy. It is hard to finish one whole pack because of the high calorie content. It is meant to be shared.
Local brands have cropped up in bazaars, usually selling slightly cheaper than the Singapore brands.
Then, Stips Chips started appearing in groceries selling for roughly half the cost of the imported brands.
While obviously using cheaper ingredients, the brand has managed to copy the salted egg flavor. It comes close to the flavor of the local version Stips Chips.
So what does this mean for the Philippine cottage industry of salted egg chips?
At some point, there will be local brands that will naturally die out given the stiff competition.
Golden Duck and Irvin's have already created a name for themselves. It appears that their regular customers may not be price sensitive.
However, the Singapore brands would need to watch out for other food trends that could take away their established market share.
Oishi reaches out to another group. For those who cannot afford to buy the more expensive imported variety on a regular basis, this brand gives consumers the opportunity to give in to their cravings at a such a sweet price.
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Just this year, the Singapore Straits Times conducted a blind tasting of 17 brands of salted egg yolk potato chips and fish skin.
"It was not the popular brands that came up tops. The top spot for the fish skin went to East Ocean Teochew Restaurant at Ngee Ann City, while new snack brand Aunty Esther's ranked No.1 for the potato chips."
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/salted-egg-snack-attack
Sometimes, you just have to try different brands until you find the one that you like...
