Crouching Tiger Hidden Gem

Just another review from the depths of the Eating World food court. After reviewing Gumshara and Hong Kong King’s Chef the next stall is the Thai fusion stall Tiger Cave. It offers mainly Thai dishes of course, when you see deep fried Hainanese chicken rice that’s the fusion side of it. It has some Western classics like fish and chips, steak and chicken schnitzel so it is a safe zone to bring your less adventurous mates. An important but surprising thing to note is that this is the only stall in Eating World to accept bank cards.

Great Value

All mains come with white rice and tasty soup and they are the most consistent in the food court. Tiger Cave is generous with the protein too, probably 1.5 servings compared to other options in the CBD.

DEEP FRIED BASIL CHICKEN $10.90

The chicken is very good. The near perfect batter remained crispy even while being soaked in a well balanced chili basil sauce. Surprisingly the chicken was not oily at all. The chicken flesh did get dry at the ends and the batter was a little too floury but at this price point these flaws can be excused. The sauce made the dish. It brought the signature Thai basil flavour and of course the heat of the chili.

DEEP FRIED CHICKEN – TAMARIND SAUCE $10.90

The chicken was consistent with the basil version. The sauce was a little too sweet but that is to be expected from Thai cuisine I suppose but most importantly it did miss any distinct (sour) tamarind taste. It did have some cashew nuts and the red onion did not bring much.

Verdict

If you’re a fan of fried chicken, Tiger Cave offers a refreshing take on it with Thai flair. I don’t know how authentic it is but the basil version was delicious. It had a more balanced sauce and an overall better combination of flavours. If you don’t want to queue up for Gumshara this winter, Tiger Cave is an excellent and even cheaper alternative.