A Banker Who Yields a $100K A Year Job Left The Job To Becomes a Sambal Stingray Hawker
Photos: Kelvin Chia 
Photos: Kelvin Chia
Chew Zhi Jie who was making a comfortable living working in a bank as the personal loan executive at DBS where he is earning commission-based and high salary which end up he can earn up to $100,000 a year. But in 2015, Zhi Jie decided to leave the industry and he has been studying part-time for economic and finance degree from Murdoch University while working.
Photos: Kelvin Chia
Her mother who ran a barbecued seafood hawker stall called Jiao Cai Seafood at Yuhu Village in Jurong East where they sold dishes like sambal stingray and spicy stir-fried lala and Zhi Jie then renamed the stall to Jiao Cai after consulting a temple where it was called Woodland BBQ and the business whcih started in 1982 by Zhi Jie Late father is now moved to Woodlands Food Centre.
After 6 month learning how to cook from his mum, Zhi Jia decided to open his own Jiao Cai stalls at Yishun Park Hawker Centre in 2017 and it sells barbecued seafood plus a zi char section too. The business was doing well in the first two months but then is started to slog down and Zhi Jia recalls that the salary was horrible which he faced problem paying bill at his stall and he even considered selling his car but his mum need it for buying supplies and he ended up close to giving up his shop but he decided to press on as his mom trusted him.
Zhi Jie, who was scared of the knife to four hours to slice 20 kg of stingray and before his stall were open for the day, he was already tired but after three year of being hawker, he can now slice the same amount with just 45 minutes and being his own boss, Zhi Jie changed his spending habits where he no longer interested in alcohol and he is saving more money to open more shop instead.
Photos: Kelvin Chia 
Photos: Kelvin Chia
In 2019, he opened a second outlet in Woodlands and his business is now stable where he can convince his mum to retire this year and she has closed her Jurong stall in February and helping her son as part-time at his stall making the signature sambal chilli for the seafood. The highlight of the dish here is their signature stingray where it filled with sambal chilli and comes with a thick slab of meaty Malaysian stingray for $12/$15/$18. Other than this, you can find curry fish head $22 which can feed up to four person and he use a 1.4 kg to 1.5 kg white snapper head for each pot which is filled with rich and thick curry broth.
So if you wanted to enjoy some nice seafood hot plate then check out his stall this week!
Address: #01-39 Yishun Park Hawker Centre, 51 Yishun Ave 11, S768867
Tel: 8282-1253
Opening hours: 11.30am-9.30pm daily
Photos: Kelvin Chia 
Photos: Kelvin Chia 
Photos: Kelvin Chia