I was out shopping with an old friend the other day. We were in the middle of a dollar store when she started squealing loudly and pointing to a dark, secluded corner of the store. From experience, it could mean one of two things – either she’d just seen a rat or she’d just seen a dog. See, this friend of mine hates rats and have an extreme case of cynophobia. The probability of a dog wandering in the store is very low as we were in a “No Pets Allowed” shopping centre so I checked out the aisle expecting to see a huge, filthy rat. There was none.

“What are you squealing about?”

“Super Ring! Eeeek!!!”

Yes they were squeals of delight. You see, Super Ring is one of the snacks that many people growing up in Singapore and Malaysia in the 80′s have fond childhood memories of. Mamee, Bee Bee, Chickadees, Kaka, Ding Dang and Tora– these are the other snacks we loved as kids – so cheap and full of tasty MSG. It’s been 13 years since I last eaten any of these and I was surprised to find the price of a pack of Super Ring not being affected much by inflation.

Super Ring are cheap, very cheesy-smelling, cheesy-tasting soft cracker rings. Those not familiar with the snack might be repulsed with the initial cheesy attack but bear with the smell and you’ll find a pleasantly sweet, creamy and salty cracker that’s both cheap and satisfying at the same time.

If you’re a child or a child at heart, the correct way to eat Super is by slipping a bright orange ring on each finger, admiring your bejewelled digits for a few minutes and then proceed to stuff each ring one by one into the mouth ala the opening scene of the movie Amelie. Repeat this until the pack is empty and you’ll be left with a thick coating of orange powder at the tips of your fingers. You either scrape the well-earned powder with your teeth or suck your fingers like a treasured lollipop. To me, this is the best part of eating Super Ring.

Photo: Oriental

As cheesy as a cheesy snack should be, this snack is also cheap and doesn't pretend to be anything else. And that's super!