The flesh is smooth and silky, giving way to a soft crunch when you bite down.
Quick Bite
Eating each cockle is a gratifying experience as you get to enjoy the full spectrum of flavours from start to end. Altogether, the flavours balance each other out nicely, and nothing overtly overpowers. It’s an addictive experience, and I found myself chasing the burn from the chilli and the sweetness of the sauce. It’s surprisingly light, and the flavours don’t get unbearable after eating one after another. The cold temperature and the burn from the chilli add a new dimension of sensation to this dish and I would strongly recommend following the chef’s recommendations. The only way we could all agree on describing the experience of eating this dish was “shiok”.
Eat Hum Hairy Hum & Regular Hum 50% and 100% Chilli
Good Hums (cockles) are hard to come by. Clam-like seafood requires a lot of preparation, overcooks easily, and can be potentially dangerous if undercooked. You’ll taste sand if the chef skimped on cleaning, and you won’t enjoy the texture if the cooking was rushed. The cockles we had today were made with the utmost care by an incredibly talented chef, and you can taste it in every cockle from Eat Hum.
We opted for the regular hums in 50% chilli to try and pick out underlying flavours, and the hairy hums in 100% chilli to experience the flavour as the chef intended. The cockles came in their half shells, bathing in a chilli-infused soy sauce mixture that covered the shellfish.
THE HUMS
First thing you’ll notice is the heft of each hairy cockle as you pick them out of the sauce. They’re big and fleshy, and thicker than what you’re probably expecting. You can feel the meatiness of each one as you pop them into your mouth. The flesh is smooth and silky, giving way to a soft crunch when you bite down. It’s no doubt very fresh seafood, and the mouthfeel is almost like eating a high-end Miyagi oyster. The texture is definitely a standout and it’s hard to find such quality on a regular basis outside. The regular size hums were just as fresh, and each one had their fair share of meat in them. They don’t have the crunchy texture of their bigger counterparts, but realistically you wouldn’t be disappointed with either. The cockles were also cleaned thoroughly – there was no sand or dirt to speak of. You can tell that the chef behind Eat Hum puts significant love and effort into ensuring the quality of his product.
THE TASTE
Eating these can only be described as a rollercoaster journey. The sensation of cold food and hot spices meld together and dance on the tip of your tongue with a pleasurable cold heat, slowly enveloping your mouth as you chew. It’s followed by a mildly sweet and salty flavour from the soy sauce that helps quench the heat. It’s a very light sauce that doesn’t linger and become sickly, giving way quickly for you to taste the cockle underneath. You can very clearly taste the freshness of the cockle. It’s a pure, unadulterated seafood flavour with no fishy taste or aftertaste. The high-quality cockles are done justice with a high-quality sauce, and the only thing I felt lacking was that the garlic flavours didn’t really come through. They functioned more like radishes, absorbing the sauce and adding a nice crunch when used as a garnish for the regular sized cockles. There also wasn’t a noticeable difference in flavour between the 50% chilli sauce and the 100% chilli sauce, but you have the option to go up to 400% chilli if that’s your thing.
