Tiger Street Lab turns up the heat with sambal tze char dishes by Yishun-based Jiao Cai Seafood

If you’ve set foot in Jewel Changi Airport since it opened its doors last year, you would’ve come across Tiger Street Lab that’s surrounded by lush greenery on the fifth floor.

tiger-street-lab-storefront

The homegrown lager brand’s first-ever global experiential concept store is known for bringing together its iconic Tiger beer and the best of local savoury dishes, and this time ‘round, you can enjoy BBQ seafood favourites from Yishun Park Hawker Centre without travelling up north!

Teaming up with Jiao Cai Seafood, which is helmed by 29-year-old second generation hawker, Chew Zhi Jie, Tiger Sreet Lab is able to bring a couple of sambal-based tze char dishes to Jewel Changi Airport.

AVENUE ONE was recently invited to sample the latest collaboration at Tiger Street Lab and being avid foodies, we obviously couldn’t say no.

Scroll on down below to find out if the dishes are worth a shot!

BBQ seafood dishes featuring fiery homemade sambal

tiger-street-lab-x-jiao-cai-seafood-review-sambal-kam-heong-clams
Sambal Kam Heong Clams (S$16)

To start, we tried two traditional tze char dishes that Zhi Jie brought to the east, Sambal Stingray (S$18) and Sambal Kam Heong Clams (S$16).

Featuring homemade sambal that’s steeped in 40 years of rich tradition, the dishes definitely conjured up memories of enjoying these perennial favourites with our families over a simple dinner at a bustling hawker centre where we would perspire profusely while savouring every bite of the dish.

When the plate of Sambal Kam Heong Clams was served, we couldn’t help but notice the cook’s generosity. The plate was filled to the brim with clams, and each of them was coasted with a thick layer of said sambal.

As we tucked into the dish, we were taken away by the combination of juicy clams and rich chilli paste – it was like a party in our mouths! Having the dish with plain white rice, we couldn’t help but to go back for seconds as the special sambal chilli sauce was just too good to resist.

tiger-street-lab-x-jiao-cai-seafood-review-sambal-stingray
Sambal Stingray (S$18)

This naturally got our expectations up for the Sambal Stingray but we certainly did not get disappointed. Also covered in the same chilli paste that the clams were cooked in, the stingray cut we got was thick but it still retained a degree of juiciness and even flaked nicely on the plate.

As we took bite after bite of the seafood dish, we couldn’t help but wonder how amazing the dish can be if it was served on a sizzling hot plate like it’s sometimes done in a hawker centre – simply tantalising!

Bonus: Double Fried Crispy Porky Belly with Sambal

tiger-street-lab-x-jiao-cai-seafood-review-double-fried-crispy-pork-belly
Double Fried Crispy Pork Belly with Sambal (S$17)

As if two stomach-filling dishes weren’t enough, Zhi Jie has also collaborated with Timbre head chef, Tommy Teo, to debut the Double Fried Crispy Pork Belly with Sambal (S$17), available exclusively for diners of Tiger Street Lab.

With two stellar dishes that were drenched in the chilli paste, how exactly would this dish fare?

Well, we definitely had our hopes up since we’ve tasted good deep fried pork belly dishes before. And this, while crispy, unfortunately fell a little short as the meat was slightly dry to the taste. To make up for it, we covered it with a good layer of the fiery sambal paste which helped bolster the dryness.

To wash it all down, we got to enjoy the Tiger Trio-Sampler (S$9.90) which gave us the best of everything as we got to try the Tiger Lager beer, Tiger White, as well as the Seasonal Brew of the month, which is the Orchid Brew draught.

tiger-street-lab-x-jiao-cai-seafood-review-tiger-trio-sampler
Tiger Trio-Sampler (S$9.90)

For those who prefer to imbibe in all the popular Tiger beer flavours with their meal, we definitely recommend going for the Tiger Trio-Sampler. If you’re going with a group of friends, there’s also the option of ordering a bucket of five Tiger Crystal beers (S$45).

If you plan on visiting Tiger Street Lab to try the new dishes, you’ll be happy to know that you can just pay an additional S$10 to enjoy a pint of any Tiger beer on tap, including the fan-favourite Tiger Orchid Brew draught.

What’s more, the hip diner is also serving the limited-edition Tiger Radler Pomelo drink throughout this month to celebrate the festive season!

Jiao Cai Seafood’s hearty sambal-based tze char dishes are available at Tiger Street Lab until end-February 2021. You can also check out the various ongoing promotions available during your visit.

Tiger Street Lab is located at 78 Airport Boulevard, #05-205, Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore 819666. The concept store opens daily from 11am to 10pm on Sundays through Fridays and from 10am to 10pm on Saturdays. Visit the website for more information, or book a table via Chope!