21-04-2025
Egg Talk: Another Danlao dupe? Silky scrambled egg rice w mala pork, basil mushroom & prawn paste chicken
Did the title get you there? Egg Talk may seem uncannily similar to the famous scrambled egg rice brand , but that's no coincidence – it's a lesser-known sister brand of the chain!
Like Danlao, Egg Talk focuses on scrambled egg rice bowls. What sets it apart from the former is the inclusion of more Chinese-inspired dishes on the menu like mala pork egg rice and sides including Fried Beancurd Roll with Curry Mayo (S$4.50). The brand also has 2 outlets, one in Keat Hong Food Centre and the other in Compass One.
I'm not usually one to jump on the bandwagon until months after a trend, so I confess I'd never tried Danlao before this. However, one of my relatives is a fan, so she happily accepted the invitation to test this 'dupe' out. We headed to the Keat Hong branch for this trip as no one was very keen on journeying to Sengkang from the West.
Keat Hong Food Centre wasn't very crowded when we arrived and there wasn't a queue at Egg Talk's stall. Most of the time we spent waiting was for the dishes to be cooked and watching the chef literally fire up the wok.
Every rice bowl had the same base: steamed jasmine rice drizzled with sauce and draped with soft scrambled eggs.
The runny but not undercooked eggy blanket was the first thing our utensils pierced to reveal the sauce-covered white grains. Light and silky, it was as though the eggs had been whipped with sunrays for the vibrant golden colour and glorious creamy taste.
I soon learned that Egg Talk's dishes are on the sweet side. My first bite of rice was coated with a splash of sweet sauce, different from what I had initially expected since I prefer mine savoury. It was a good thing that the egg was more umami to contrast the sauce! Still, the rice was nice and fluffy, and I would've gobbled it faster if not for the sauce.
As a fungi lover, I had to get the Three Cup Mushroom Scramble Egg Rice (S$6) with king oyster mushroom chunks cooked Taiwanese sanbeiji (three cup chicken)-style. Sanbei, directly translated to 'three cups', refers to the marinade recipe which uses one cup each of sesame oil, soy sauce and rice cooking wine.
The mushrooms were far from what I expected, especially texture-wise. While the chunks still possessed the familiar chewy texture, they were surprisingly almost as soft as a firm pudding. Was it my mind playing tricks on me because they looked so much like egg tofu?
Each juicy piece had a char around the base edges which didn't taste much but made the dish look more appealing. They, too, were more sweet than savoury, but the basil in the mix added an intense herbal note and elevated their fragrance.
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Egg Talk's Scrambled Egg Rice (S$7.50) was a dish similar to Danlao's prawn paste chicken-inspired Chicken Cutlet Scrambled Egg Rice. The deep-fried chicken cutlet was coated in a crunchy prawn paste batter, and the sight made my mouth water.
Finally, there was the savoury umami to balance the rice's sweetness. The har cheong gai's light skin and meaty slices were deliciously crisp yet moist, and fragrant though I wish the prawn paste could've been stronger. There was also some fat streaking through the slices and under the skin, which I didn't like but might be perfect for others.
My companion's top pick was Spicy Pork Scrambled Egg Rice (S$8), which brought the flames to the other milder components. Despite my low spice tolerance, I found it impressive how fast the numbing mala spice kicked in the moment the protein touched my tongue. Meanwhile, the pork slices were deliciously tender and eating them with the silky eggs helped tone down the heat.
Finally, we tried the Prawn Scrambled Egg Rice (S$7.50), a classic flavour. It didn't leave as large an impact compared to the other dishes but was decent enough. The prawns were bouncy and fresh, though not salted enough for my liking – the eggs tasted more seasoned than they did, so eating them together gave the best experience.
I swear it wasn't just because I was famished, but the food was great! The scrambled eggs were nicely cooked yet still runny and tasted delicious even on their own.
My only peeve was that the rice with sauce leaned to the sweet side, which while many may like, I don't usually prefer. Despite this, the ingredients were well-prepared and flavourful, and the rice was fluffy. It would've also been nice to have some vegetables to complete the dishes!
As observed by my companion, Danlao and Egg Talk's portions and prices are extremely similar. So if you'd like to explore different flavours other than those usually offered, this could be an option to check out!
Expected Damage: S$6 – S$8
Order Delivery: foodpanda
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