The 20 Levels of Spice

One of the more unique eating places in Singapore would definitely be this place known as Sunset Bar & Grill, located in the distant deep reaches of Seletar Air Base.

Not only is navigating to the place (especially at night) a distinct difficulty as there are many roads leading in different directions, and the roads are pitch dark, since there are no street lamps, it is like traveling through the countryside. 99% of Singapore is covered by lamps but this place belongs to the minority 1%.

There are however tiny signs which hint the direction which you are supposed to head, and if you are discerning enough to spot them it should lead you to the requisite place. It is not that simple at night, and I assure you many an adventurer has gotten lost on subsequent occasions before, and that is actually a small issue compared to one traveler, he who shall not be named, who has actually managed to ‘require the services of AA’ on his ill-fated attempt to reach this destination. To cut a long, tragicomedic story short it was so dark he drove into a ditch. And he wasn’t the first to do so, apparently. So riding towards the Sunset is long and treacherous but when you finally get there the rewards you may reap are multitudinous.

Upon parking you are greeted by a modest, nondescript barracks and the place itself seems nothing out of the ordinary but rather out of place. Ignoring the scarecrow whose job might be in serious jeopardy in times of economic recession, you then choose a seat outside oblivious to all the mosquitoes and other insects who covet such a setting. After all, which self respecting insect would reject the fine comforts of an ulu jungle setting together with fresh meat/blood just a whisker away?

So they bring you the menu and in stark clarity on the menu are the infamous chicken wings which they are famous for. When you first hear of it, listening intently to accounts of great sorrow and regret in many a foolish traveller’s encounters with these fabled wings, you scoff at their incessant insistence of their potency. What harm, if any, could a chicken wing cause to a man who grows chilli padi in his backgarden just so that he could eat them, who has walloped many a fish head curry with nary a tear, whose quantities of pepper in soup would put the swarm of locusts in the Book of Exodus to shame?

Well these Wings are graded from level 1 to 20 in spiciness level, 1 being the weakest and 20 being the strongest. Legends say that no one has been able to close in on Level 20, and that even level 5 and beyond can cause considerable stress to the average reasonable Singaporean standard.

All urban legend, you scoff at these weak willed victims who haplessly fall to their darkest fears. You note that amongst your fellow adventurers the highest level conquered is level 6 and that it comes with a huge warning. So you decide to up the ante and order level 7 wings, you know, in a blatant display of foolhardy one-upmanship. To play it safe you order the relatively ‘modest’ Level 4s as well, as well as the deepfried mushrooms which are highly recommended as a foil.

The Level 7 wings come, and they assault the tongue then the mouth the hands and any other part of your skin that it has direct contact with, and indeed, indirect contact with the chilli. Woe betide the man who rubs his eye because blindness is a distinct possibility. Imbued with all kinds of spice are the skin of the wings and it assaults your senses (mainly taste) relentlessly until you are forced to concede defeat, weep at the sorrow it has unleashed, cries of jugs and cups of water surrounds the person as the staff and the scarecrow give all-knowing hidden, subtle grins which hint of witnessing many such scenes before, their reconstructed “I told you so” faces yet again utilised at the expense of yet another victim of self-circumstances.

It burns for hours, days after you have cleared the place. The mystique is gone but the fire certainly lingers. It follows your every track, in this case, tract, of the digestive system as far as regions where the sun doesn’t shine.

Before we digress further into territories best unexplored, the writer would like to conclude that dining at this place is a novel experience in itself, especially since there are hardly any places this remote in Singapore to explore anymore. Adding to the mystique would of course be the fabled 20 levels of chicken wings, though actually trying anything more than Level 3-4  is not really recommended if you are there for an enjoyable time. While not exactly cheap, there is a unique novelty factor like no where else and that is the price to pay for the adventure and allure of the place.

For a gastronomic and geographic experience, do try the place!