CAUTION: KNOW YOUR ALLERGIES!

Swollen lips and rashes will spoil your joy of eating.

Adri Zaihan Ahmad, a Republic Polytechnic student who is 19 this year, is an ordinary individual who has a passion for music. With his profound passion, he started a band Singapore 360, together with his group of friends. As Adri recalls, what really keeps them together as a band is the fact that they all love food. 

Adri and his band, Singapore 360

Like how salt and pepper goes along so well, Adri and chilli are no different from each other. With his love for spicy food, he feasts on it, on a regular basis. 

However, what seemed like a good spicy meal turned a little nasty, for him.

Adri in action

Adri at his own gig

Here’s an exclusive interview with the spice lover who had a tale to tell.

1) Besides being a student of Republic Polytechnic, what do you do? 

I actually have an active band outside of school. My band is on hardcore music, it’s a very underestimated genre in my opinion and I think that people should appreciate it more. 

2) What is your diet like and what type of food do you eat? 

Upon my 2nd year of school, I thought that it’s about a time that I took care of my diet. I have been cutting down on a lot of carbohydrates and sugars. 

3) Tell us something that we don’t know about you. 

I want to be the guards in army. It’s a very big dream for me, for NS especially. 

4) Do you have any allergies? How was your first experience like? 

I’m not sure of what I’m allergic to, I have and thought that I had an allergy to catfish oh no I meant Stingray. The problem is that I can actually eat a lot of stingray. I was allergic to this sambal chicken in school hence I may conclude that I’m actually allergic to some sambal spice that they put in. 

5) Where there any changes in your physical appearance? 

First time I had hives, the second time I had it in school, I had swollen lips for an hour or so. 

6) Did it hurt a lot? Could you still speak? 

It felt very numb and I looked stupid. I could still talk but the feeling was very ‘mehh’. 

7) When did you realize you had an allergy? 

That was really the first time that I realized that I had an allergy to some spice. If you can call it, that’s my hypothesis. 

8) Do you still eat what you are allergic to? 

Yes I still do, since I’m Malay and I like chicken and I work at Malay weddings. I eat it on a weekly basis. Since 2012, such incidents have not occurred.

9) Do you still go after that food you like? 

I still do eat and I go after it. I have minor allergies. Apart from that I still eat, but I feel that I should still find out about what is causing these allergies. 

10) Are you fearful that one day you might have a scarier allergy attack? 

I’m scared that I may die but still its good sambal. Besides controlling my diet, it’s a good source of protein. 

11) What advice would you give to those who don’t know their allergies 

My advice is actually, you know you only live once. You can try and find out what you are allergic to. Just eat and enjoy if you’re not fat.

We were not able to catch Adri's reactions live, BUT...