THE first weekend of December saw Tiger Beer serve up 40 different street food delicacies from 20 local vendors at its Uncage Street Food Festival, part of its final Uncage event for 2018.
The platform, which aims to encourage Malaysians to awaken their courage and pursue their dreams, took place over the weekend at The Gasket Alley, Petaling Jaya.
From the ‘delicious’ stench of stinky tofu greeting guests near the entrance of the public event, to Middle Eastern wraps, refreshing bubble tea, pork karaage, and cheeseburger gyozas, the atmosphere was one of indulgence.
Some of the vendors responsible for feeding hungry tummies at the Uncage Street Food Festival include Shawarma King, Makirito, Softsrve, Pho King, Forty Licks, and TNR by Sean & Angie.
Well-known local burger place myBurgerLab also set up a station flipping patties topped with its signature charcoal buns, alongside its latest beverage business, My Boba Lab.
Lines were even seen forming at Ticklish Ribs & ‘Wiches, thanks to its pulled pork nasi lemak babi, and sticky barbecued ribs and wings, while Butaya Izakaya added some Japanese street-food flair with its crispy pork skin and luncheon meat tamago.
The perpetually-humid weather also meant sips from the ice-cold bottles of Tiger Beer acted as a welcomed relief, an accompaniment to the array of unconventional Asian street food at the two-day event.
The addition of fun games like the Wheel of Flavours daring players to sample snacks that stopped at sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, strength or courage, and the empty beer bottle barter for special Tiger Beer and Asian spice-infused drinks in Street Beers gave a nice festival touch.
Marketing manager of Tiger Beer Malaysia Pearly Lim said: “The Tiger Uncage Platform aims to show fans how following their passion can create the unexpected through the lens of food.”
“With that notion in mind, 20 of the finest established food vendors Malaysia has to offer joined hands with Tiger Beer to serve unconventional takes on Asian street food dishes at this festival.”
Meanwhile, Uncaged heroes Im Cheah, Herukh Jethwani, and Jun Chan, acting as faces of the local brewery’s campaign, were also part of the grub lineup who served their culinary creations to hungry foodies.
Penang-born Cheah embarked on her food journey with Bacon It, after closing the chapter to a steady career in advertising, and now offers mouthwatering bacon and alcohol-infused treats.
Her love for the craft goes as far as curing and smoking the bacon herself, before the tasty bits are added to popcorn, cupcakes, and cookies that eventually get made into Bacon It delights.
On top of a hospitality and tourism degree, Herukh’s love for food steered him on the path of studying wine and winemaking at the University de Toulouse in France.
Helming multiple restaurants including the pork-centric Meat the Porkers, his gastronomic claim-to-fame stems from his ability to inject contemporary Malaysian flavours into Indian cuisine like his siew yoke biryani.
Hoping to push the boundaries of the local food scene, Jun Chan opened ramen bar Bowls of Steel, dishing out bowls of food that blur the lines between pan mee, ramen, and poke.
After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, he decided to work as a chef in London for some time, before returning to Malaysia to put dishes like eggplant belacan tempeh ramen on his menu.
For more on the Tiger Uncage campaign, visit the Tiger Beer Malaysia Facebook page or website.
