My choice: Chili oil wonton

I have a problem with chili oil wontons: if I see them on a menu, the rest of the menu becomes theoretical. I order them.

If you ask me for the most delicious thing I discovered during my first four years in Singapore, this Sichuan dish is still a serious contender. Thin-skinned wontons arrive sitting in a glossy red sauce made with chilli oil, soy sauce, vinegar, aromatics and spices. They look dangerous. In practice, the heat is only half the story.

You can find versions at restaurants such as Din Tai Fung, Paradise Dynasty and Crystal Jade, as well as at food courts. At the moment, Paradise Dynasty is my favourite. But this ranking is under permanent review: whenever I notice chili oil wontons somewhere else, I have to order them. This is not greed. It is comparative research with an unusually short reporting cycle.

Why your tongue starts buzzing

The trick is Sichuan pepper. It is not really pepper at all, but the dried husk of a small fruit from the citrus family. First it tastes fresh and fragrant. Then your tongue begins to buzz. Then your lips go slightly numb. At this point a sensible person might stop. Luckily, there are wontons.

In one experiment, people compared the buzz to a vibration of about 50 Hz. This sounds very scientific. In the mouth, it is simply a tiny bzzzt.

If you ever tested a 9V Krona battery with your tongue as a child, you already know the general idea. The difference is that now there is chilli oil, a plate of dumplings and, in theory, adult supervision.

The chilli does not disappear. It is still hot. But the heat and the numbness mix together, and somehow everything tastes brighter: vinegar, soy sauce, spices, all of it. Your mouth is saying, “Something unusual is happening.” Your hand is already picking up another wonton.

I scoop up one wonton with plenty of sauce and eat it in one bite. Then another, for comparison. Then the bowl is empty and the research has to continue at another restaurant.