It is an indisputable fact that Singapore is famous for its food. But, besides the usual chilli crab and chicken rice, one underrated snack is goreng pisang, or fried banana fritters.
An American man recently took to his TikTok to share his love for this regional tidbit.
He gushed about how one has never truly been in Singapore until they try goreng pisang.
Adding to his heartwarming story is that his favourite fritters are the ones his neighbour makes.
Firstly, Coach Rich Thurman started his almost 3-minute video love letter to goreng pisang by saying,
If you spent any amount of time in Singapore, and you call yourself having visited Singapore, and you haven’t had goreng pisang, you ain’t been to Singapore.
He then shared that he tasted his first goreng pisang at his mother-in-law’s place.
Their neighbour fried some up when he first came to Singapore to celebrate Hari Raya, and that was when he fell in love with the snack.
Source: @coach_rt3 on TikTok
“Oh, my god. I just died and gone to heaven right now,” Rich gushed. “Let me tell you, crunchy, delicious, sweet — all that!”
It is also worth noting that he held a single goreng pisang throughout the entire video.
However, Rich said he no longer returned to Singapore during Hari Raya.
So, a few years ago, he went up to the neighbour when he saw her come out of her house.
“I said, ‘Excuse me, excuse me’, I was like a crack fiend,” Rich joked. “I was like, ‘Excuse me, I sure do miss your goreng pisang. We haven’t been here for Eid in so long, I miss your goreng pisang. It is so good, so delicious.”
To his delight, the neighbour got him some bananas and fried some up for him that very day.
“That’s how sweet she is. That’s how neighbourly people are out here. That’s good people.”
Fast forward to today, Rich shared that he had just put on his shoes and was about to go for a run when his neighbour called out to him.
“She come out the door and she said, ‘I got something for you — some goreng pisang’. I didn’t even ask for none, y’all!”
Source: @coach_rt3 on TikTok
“That’s good people,” he noted once again.
Rich reiterated that if you never had goreng pisang, you have never truly been to Singapore.
“You been on that nonsense, you been on that tourist stuff. You have been on that ‘Let’s stay in the CBD and be in Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, and Marina Bay Sands and all that. You ain’t even really been in the hood like this, you know what I mean?”
Additionally, he compared goreng pisang to the authentic chicken and rib spots that only true-blue locals know of when one travels overseas.
Rich said matter-of-factly, “You ain’t getting this at the mall on Orchard Road, that’s not happening. It’s too greasy for Orchard Road. Orchard Road got all that bougie nonsense, Louis Vuitton and whatnot.”
“If you hanging out down there, pssh! Please, you a newbie,” he concluded humorously.
Well, we are glad we are not the only ones enjoying the warm, sweet, and juicy goodness that is goreng pisang. Someone give this man a lifetime supply of the fritters, ’cause he definitely deserves it.
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Featured image adapted from @coach_rt3 on TikTok.
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