American YouTuber enjoys 'exotic Asian meats' at Chinatown Complex, Singaporeans react

The food we eat every day at our hawker centres may seem nothing out of the ordinary to us, but it's easy to see how the diverse selection of meats, animal parts and more might be a whole new world for tourists.

At least, that might be how YouTuber Will Sonbuchner — who goes by the alias Sonny Side — felt when he visited Chinatown Complex Food Centre during a recent trip to Singapore. 

In a video titled Exotic Asian Meats!! Singapore's Extreme China Town Menu!!, uploaded onto YouTube on June 11, the 38-year-old American tried a slew of local hawker delights and gave his honest reviews, to the amusement of local netizens. 

Braised beef tendon 

The first dish on the list was braised beef tendon, which Will described as the cow's "Achilles heel". 

According to him, the dish was "gooey, rich, delicious and soft". 

"It's not even just about the taste it just has a mouthfeel that is very satisfying," he raved, adding that you wouldn't be able to find it in the US unless you were at a Chinese restaurant. 

Old cucumber pork ribs soup 

Next up, Will tried a dish that's a comfort food for many Singaporeans — old cucumber pork ribs soup. 

Funnily enough, Will isn't a fan of cucumbers in general and even said that it was his "least favourite food ever". However, he decided that it was worth "putting [his] life on the line" as it was a new experience. 

"It's like that 1970s brown that everyone had in their kitchen," he said as he fished out a piece of old cucumber from his soup and scarfed it down, skin and all. 

For the uninitiated, the skin of the cucumber usually isn't consumed, so it's no surprise that its "sandpaper" texture gave Will some pause. Nevertheless, he pronounced the dish "quite delicious". 

Pig's trotter 

The pig's trotters turned out to be Will's favourite dish out of the lot. 

Upon his first bite, Will was so blown away by it that he remained speechless for a few seconds before mustering an impressed "woah". 

"This is amazing, it tastes like a Chinese five-spice blend, so it's super savoury, just an incredible depth of flavour." 

"Best thing I had this week," he concluded. 

Herbal chicken 

From the same stall where he got the pig's trotters, Will also got himself a bowl of herbal chicken, which the stall owner recommended to him. 

When Will picked up the drumstick, the entire thing fell apart instantly and he described it as "super fall off the bone soft".

"It must have been in the oven for six hours? Six days? Since the beginning of the pandemic? I'm not sure" he quipped. 

Will definitely seemed to enjoy the dish as he even said that "it should be award-winning". 

Jellyfish 

From another stall, Will picked up a plate of jellyfish to try. 

Following the instructions provided to him by the stall owner, he added a dash of kumquat juice to the jellyfish before digging in. 

"Jellyfish is so weird! I don't think it even matters what you do to it, it's always going to be kind of crunchy and snappy," he said.  

Fallopian tubes

We have to admit — even we found this dish a little out of the ordinary.

From the same stall where he got the jellyfish, Will procured a plate of pig fallopian tubes, which he saved for last. 

His verdict? 

"Chewy, almost like cartilage, but not that crunchy." 

But while fallopian tubes don't sound like the most appetising food out there, Will really took a liking to it. 

"I kind of love it," he admitted.  

He has quite a few fans in Singapore 

While Singaporeans can get a little protective over our local food, many were pleased to see Will, who has over a million subscribers on YouTube, eating his way around our little red dot. 

Some helpfully pointed out the proper way enjoy old cucumber soup. 

Others shared their recommendations. 

 But there were also some who pointed out that what Sonny ate shouldn't really be considered exotic. 

melissateo@asiaone.com