The life of a champion chomper

They wolf down the entire hotpot in 5min 47sec. Throughout the messy chaos of used utensils and splattered gravy, Mr Kent Phoa is sweating and tearing up.

The 40-year-old IT consultant is panting as he tells The New Paper on Sunday: "My mouth and lips are burning, but I feel great."

Last Wednesday, he and freelance photographer Ng Chin Sheng, 37, participated in The Fiery King Challenge at Chinese restaurant Fat Bird. They beat the previous record of 10min 9sec.

The tag team challenge involves polishing off an entire hotpot of piping hot food as fast as possible. The ingredients in the hotpot include chicken, Chinese cabbage, bean curd and a lot of cut chilli.

Fat Bird's supervisor, Mr Gerald Khoo, 26, says he has never seen such experienced competitive eaters before. He says: "Once the timer starts, they hurriedly use two plates to scoop the food out of the hotpot onto another plate.

"I am struck by their speed and strategy."

COMMUNITY

Mr Phoa and Mr Ng are part of a community of over 20 competitive eating enthusiasts.

NOM NOM: (Above) Mr Ng Chin Sheng and Mr Phoa completing the challenge. PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR, BENJAMIN SEETOR

Mr Ng says: "We are all friends who share the same hobby. We meet about once a month to participate in food challenges."

But a specialist cautions that speed eating can be dangerous.

Which is probably why the duo had to sign an indemnity form before taking up the challenge. Not that it deters Mr Phoa.

He explains that he focuses his training on eating speed.

"Once a week, I eat six hot dog buns in 60 seconds to train my chewing ability," he says.

Mr Phoa participated in his first eating competition in 2003. But it took him five years before he was able to do it as a serious sport.

He says: "I was shopping at the then Compass Point Shopping Centre when I came across the Major League Eating Asia 2008.

"I walked in to register and surprisingly, I was one of the finalists. It was then that I realised I was quite good at eating competitively."

Winning the Fiery King Challenge gets him $600 worth of dining vouchers, but Mr Phoa says he does not care for the prize or the money.

He says: "I just do it for the fun of it."

The food challenge was started to promote the restaurant, says Fat Bird's marketing manager Tan Lee Yan.

"Because this dish is newly launched, the food challenge was started to attract customers to try it," she says.

Safety precautions are in place during the competition. She says: "The staff keep a close watch on the participants throughout the challenge to ensure their safety. They are also instructed to call for an ambulance should any accident arise."

Another competitive eater is Zermatt Neo.

NOM NOM:  (Above) Competitive eater Zermatt Neo. PHOTOS: ARIFFIN JAMAR, BENJAMIN SEETOR

The 28-year-old personal trainer made the news earlier this year for eating a near-4kg portion of chicken rice in slightly over 29 minutes.

Mr Neo has his own YouTube channel, which is filled with videos of his competitive eating experiences, including gobbling up, in separate sittings, 150 sticks of satay at Lau Pa Sat, 100 gyozas at home and 50 chicken wings at WingStop - all to challenge himself.

He has even travelled to Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines to compete.

In a previous interview, he told TNP: "Most of the time, I don't even know what the prize is. I do it for the fun of it and bragging rights."

Even so, Mr Neo doesn't encourage others to take part in competitive eating.

He says: "It is pretty high risk, and you can choke and feel sick. I've learnt a few tricks to make it easier for myself, like taking small, quick bites and washing it down with water.
"

But vomiting and competitive eating go hand in hand. Sometimes your body goes into shock and just can't accept all the food you've eaten."


Of Mr Phoa, Mr Neo says: "He is dedicated to the sport and will even study the food he is going to eat for an upcoming challenge.

"I really respect him as my senior in competitive eating."