Pilot-In-Training Orders SIA’s $98 Satay Via Delivery ’Cos He Misses Flying

Before freelancing as a writer, I was training to be a pilot and spent a year overseas, flying rickety propeller airplanes over the vast lands of Florida, USA. I aspired to obtain my commercial pilot licences and return to a flying job with an airline in Singapore. But with less than a month away from completion, Covid-19 came along and put those plans on hold. Perhaps the real reason SIA’s Signature Satay Set intrigued me was my affinity with aviation, and after being away from an aeroplane for almost a year, this was one small way of rekindling the romance of flying.

Also, I’ve only tried SIA’s famous satay once years ago as a passenger, and my memory — and palate — needed some refreshing.

SIA’s highly-rated chicken satay is served as an appetiser in SIA’s premium cabin classes. It also featured in last year’s Restaurant A380@Changi and SIA@Home dining experiences to engage customers during the pandemic. The satay is a version popular in Singapore, marinated with a medley of aromatics such as turmeric, galangal, lemongrass and tamarind. It is also accompanied by a peanut dipping sauce. Interestingly, a plant-based Impossible Meat version was recently introduced but is not an option currently available in this $98 bundle.

The satay is offered at KrisShop.com at an introductory price of $98 or 12,250 KrisFlyer miles. Each package comprises 48 sticks of chicken satay (25g/stick in sets of 12) and 1.2kg of peanut sauce (four packets of 300g each). Everything is delivered frozen and requires an oven for reheating. It is still in stock currently, but you might have to look elsewhere for a CNY or V-Day satay feast as delivery slots are only available after 15 February for now.

The ordering process was straightforward and seamless. There was no option to choose a delivery slot before checking out as customers would be contacted by the KrisShop Concierge within 24 hours for arrangements. I placed my order on a Wednesday evening and true enough, was contacted the following morning. I felt this little bit of human interaction gave SIA a chance to demonstrate the “service that even other airlines talk about” and dressed it up with some frills associated with ordering premium satay.

There are limited slots available daily and I took the most immediate one available three days later. Fast forward to Saturday, my order arrived well within the confirmed delivery slot and frankly, I wasn’t expecting much. Maybe a styrofoam box of plastic bags and dry ice. So I was pleasantly surprised to be handed over a shiny thermal insulated bag, which was of high quality. Within the bag, there were two cardboard boxes, each containing 24 pieces of satay and two packets of satay sauce. However, there were no additional condiments provided, such as ketupat, onions or cucumbers. One of the boxes was dressed up with kebaya-patterned paper. Opening the boxes, I found the satay further packed into bundles of 12, which made it easy for portion control. Hard copy reheating instructions were provided as well. It would have been a nice touch to add some literature on the heritage or significance of the SIA satay. I’d imagine that this bit of information would add to the overall air of exclusivity that comes with ordering expensive SQ-branded meat skewers.

The prep was straightforward and required minimal effort. I followed the instructions and thawed the satays overnight for lunch the next day. The satays and sauce can be stored frozen for six months but have to be heated up immediately upon thawing. While unpacking the pre-grilled satay, I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of them had burnt edges, just like what you’d find from a hawker stall. Next, I reheated the satays for 15 minutes at 160°C in a convection oven and warmed up the peanut sauce in a saucepan over low heat. A pleasant aroma from the rempah filled my kitchen and I picked up hints of perfumey spices. Promising.

This is the big brother of satays: it’s plump and around twice the size of a hawker centre specimen. I was half-expecting chewy, dry chicken since it was frozen, but each bite yielded a chunky, tender piece of well-marinated meat. It tasted more sweet than savoury, with a honey-ish flavour, lifted with hints of lemongrass and turmeric. I also enjoyed the burnt bits, which gave it a subtle bitterness and closely mimicked the smokiness from charcoal-grilled satay at hawker stalls.

Chunky, lightly spicy, tangy from the tamarind and somewhat earthy thanks to the chopped peanuts. Yum. This helped to balance out the sweetness of the chicken and add some welcome crunch.

Taste aside, is this the real deal served on board SIA planes? Yes. An SIA spokesperson confirmed that the satays were prepared by the same caterers (SATS) and “[t]he Satay recipe is the same as those prepared for inflight meals. The satays, which are seasoned with SIA’s signature spices and satay sauce, do not require any modification for dining at home.”

To double confirm this, I consulted an authority on SIA satay — my dad was a flight steward with the airline for almost 40 years before retirement and prepped tons of those sticks during his flying days. Upon trying the first skewer, he declared immediately: “Same one!”

One could argue that the larger portions and authentic flavours might justify the cost of $2 per stick of SIA-branded satay. For the everyday Joe, however, that probably isn’t enough to warrant a repeat order. But in my case, it allowed me to support an industry dear to me. It also made me realise that food and flying had something in common — they are both motivated by an appetite for exploration. Until the pandemic situation gets better, we may very well have to rely on food to take us places where flying can’t.

Delivery slots available after 15 Feb. Order here: https://www.krisshop.com/en/product/702b4aaa340bd07b/sia-signature-satay-48-pieces.html. ​​​​​​​

Photos: Kubo Loh Hidenobu

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