Singaporeans familiar with Zermatt Neo would already know how big of an appetite he has through his YouTube videos. But for his latest challenge, the local competitive eater joins forces with US competitive eater Raina Huang as they attempt to down 100 egg tarts in 30 minutes.
The feat, which has never been attempted before in Singapore, was undertaken by the double threat and captured in a YouTube video posted yesterday (March 14).
Taking place at the Joy Luck Teahouse ION Orchard branch, the stakes were high for the pair of competitive eaters with the opportunity to win a trip to Hong Kong if they succeeded.
Initially, the two of them seemed daunted by the task, with Raina stating that “sweet [food] challenges are difficult” as the resulting sugar rush makes one feel full faster.
Nonetheless, Zermatt and Raina were egged on by an onlooking crowd of fans.
Surprisingly though, Zermatt suffered a sluggish start with Raina making light work of her first few pieces and setting a steady pace.
The difference in their eating style was evident with Zermatt the wisecrack chiming in with the occasional remark, while Raina remained super focused on the egg tarts and never broke her eating stride.
Five minutes in, the pair downed 30 egg tarts between them, with Raina maintaining her lead like a well-oiled machine.
This prompted Zermatt to admit that he was feeling anxious seeing his companion’s relentless eating speed.
“I see her eat fast, I very kan cheong,” the 35-year-old confessed before upping his own momentum in a bid to match Raina.
After 10 minutes, they demolished 70 egg tarts.
With 30 more pieces to go, Raina had to take a breather while Zermatt finally showed his form and took the lead for the first time.
It seemed that Raina’s earlier words came back to haunt her as she had to take a breather while Zermatt picked up his pace to help her out.
Through their combined efforts, they managed to finish the 100 egg tarts in 25 minutes.
A commendable result considering that it was Raina’s first egg tart eating challenge and her first time in Singapore.
Raina, who is based in Los Angeles, said that she was “loving her time here” and the local food has “blown her away”.
She also visited the famous Lau Pa Sat hawker centre, where she attempted to break the record for the Satay Challenge.
While Raina tried her best, she ultimately fell short of the record of 220 sticks of satay in 20 minutes currently held by Zermatt.
Although she was “truthfully not full”, the overwhelming combination of the satay and peanut sauce left her “flavour fatigued”.