'Tastes great but has the texture of nutty poo': British Youtubers review S'pore army rations

*Flashback to outfield*

Ashley Tan | August 11, 2021, 08:10 PM

Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

For men in Singapore who have gone through the rite of passage that is National Service, several visceral memories might linger in one's mind even years after.

Aching bones from 24km marches, sweat running down your face as your encik's voice rings through ears, and probably the taste of cold army rations.

Which is why a number of Singaporeans recently reacted fondly and wholeheartedly to a YouTube video featuring Singapore's army rations.

Trying out MREs

JOLLY is a British duo comprising Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal, who try out and react to various products, the majority of which are food.

In the past, Carrott and Kendal have reviewed army rations from a range of countries such as France, Korea, Australia, Germany and Russia.

On Aug. 2, they shared that they had received a bundle of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) from a Singapore supplier.

Kendal smears his face in camouflage paint and surrounds himself with fake plants to fully immerse himself in the army experience, and then tries out the first item on the menu, which is instant coffee.

This involves pouring coffee powder into your mouth, then taking a gulp of water, and chewing to mix the two items.

Despite the weird manner of consumption, both men found the instant coffee pretty good, with Carrott saying that it was "surprisingly not bad".

Poo-like consistency

They then move on to the actual meals, which included black pepper pasta with sausage, lentil curry, Javanese noodles with chicken frank, curry rice with chicken.

The meals were all eaten cold although they could have been heated up, and elicited a range of reactions, some more negative than others.

The appearance of the lentil curry, which came in the form of a thick, clumpy paste, had Kendal comparing it to "nutty poo".

However, both agreed that it tasted good despite its less-than-palatable look.

The Javanese noodles got mixed reactions from Carrott and Kendal, with the latter saying it was "actually okay", and the former disagreeing and saying that it was the worst meal out of all.

Meanwhile, the curry rice got a thumbs up from Carrott, who even added that he would eat it on an average day if heated up.

What is nata de coco?

Familiar desserts like barley nata de coco and green bean soup were also on the menu, but these baffled Carrott and Kendal more than the other meals.

Kendal compared the barley dessert to rice and lychee pudding. "I was really expecting it to be chocolate," Carrott responded.

And although the dessert's slimy texture looked a little like vomit, Carrott believes it to taste much better than it looks.

The green bean soup on the other hand, left both YouTubers gagging for a bit.

They shared that although they commonly ate green beans as a side dish in meals like casserole, the vegetables being cooked in soup as a dessert was unheard of for them.

And it seems some Singaporeans agree with the negative review.

Second best army rations

The consensus by Carrott and Kendal was that despite the less-than-palatable appearance of the MREs, some of them taste rather delicious.

The duo also observed that perhaps it might be better for one's stomach and constitution to heat up the meals beforehand as opposed to downing them cold.

Halfway through the video, Kendal had to pause and take a breather, wondering if they should have eaten so many at one go.

The instant coffee however, left the best impression, and overall, the pair ranked Singapore's army rations the second best army rations they had eaten, with France's at the top.

Which certainly led to some bewilderment from fellow Singaporeans.

You can watch their full video here.

Follow and listen to our podcast here

Top photo from JOLLY / YouTube