8 DAYS’ Eat Dirty Awards 2017: Vote For Your Favourite Decadent Dish Now

We’re not trying to be wanton rebels. More brown rice, less sugar and all that — we hear ya, PM Lee. But some days, we just want food that's rib-sticking, satisfying, soul-lifting.

And bland fish soup or veggies dunked in hot water, a la sexy hunkle Chuando’s daily diet, are not the types of dishes we lust after on those days (actually, most days lah). Instead, they fall under these 10 groups, which are by no means exhaustive in the foodie wonderland that is Singapore. But hey, someone has to do the tough job of picking and choosing, right? So, here they are­ — 40 eateries — grouped under the following 10 categories: www.8days.sg/ eatdirty

Why these 10 (each housing four nominated eateries), you ask? What happened to chicken rice or laksa? Well, we sat down, thought hard and concluded that these were the dishes we constantly reached out for whenever we wanted pure comfort food.

Crispy Korean fried chicken for emo nights, satay for weekend makan marathons, pandan chiffon cake for a fuss-free treat in the office. And a bowl of rice or pasta heaped with dreamily creamy uni (sea urchin) whenever we feel the urge to splurge. Then we went around the island in search of the best versions of these dishes — and these make up the 40 nominees (full list of eateries here: www.8days.sg/eatdirty).

Omakase Burger

2. Burger
3. Korean Fried Chicken
4. Salted Egg Dish

Kwong Satay

5. Satay
6. Nasi Lemak
7. Crab Bee Hoon
8. Hokkien Mee
9. Pandan Chiffon Cake

Udders Mao Shan Wang ice cream

10. Singapore-Style Ice Cream

THE PANEL OF JUDGES

Local celeb and makan mistress, Rosalyn Lee (@heyrozz).

Each category will boast two winners — one voted by a panel of three judges, and the other, a Readers’ Choice Award picked by you, dear reader. On the panel: our fave local foodie-cum-famous person, Rosalyn Lee ( @heyrozz), who helped us to whittle down the nominated eateries and pick her winners, as well as 8 DAYS’ resident makan fiends — food editor Florence Fong ( @flofongsg) and this writer, Yip Jieying.

What makes a dish worthy of an #eatdirty prize? “To me, a dish should look as good as it tastes. Bonus points if it stuns me into silence after the first bite,” declares Rozz. She adds: “If I stuff my face with lard-laden Hokkien mee, it’s pure pleasure.”

Florence shares, “It should be so irresistible that midway through my meal, I furtively make plans to eat this exact same thing again at the soonest possible date.”

Meanwhile, for this writer, a deserving winning dish must be roguishly addictive enough for a queue-hater like herself to queue up for it… on a rainy day. What constitutes the ultimate #eatdirty dish for you? Tell us by voting.

HOW TO VOTE

Visit www.8days.sg/ eatdirty and pick 10 of your top #eatdirty dishes. Closing date: Nov 15, 2017. Click away!

SELECTED PHOTOS: Aik Chen & Chee Yan