Most people celebrate a milestone birthday by throwing a huge party, booking a holiday, or finding an excuse to finally splurge on that expensive item they’ve been eyeing for months.
But Chua Jett Yong, owner of homegrown smokehouse Jett Barbecue, has chosen a meatier way to mark his 30th: giving away 1,300 tacos.
Your eyes do not deceive you: there will indeed be 100 free smoked beef cheek tacos up for grabs at Jett Barbecue’s booth each day at Sentosa GrillFest 2026, which runs from Fridays to Sundays till 16 Aug.
Each taco is loaded with beef cheek smoked for six hours, then topped with homemade onion rings and Jett Barbecue’s signature sauce.
The giveaway starts at 4pm and runs while stocks last, so you might want to head down early for a better chance of scoring one.
Mr Chua explained that the free tacos are a way of thanking the customers who have backed his barbecue dream over the past five years.
“I’m just super thankful for all the support that everyone has given me, and this is my little way of giving back, and gaining some good karma,” he told MS News.
Generosity has been part of Jett Barbecue’s story since its early days.
The business regularly runs giveaways through its website, but the habit began under much less celebratory circumstances.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Chua started giving away food as a small way to “spread some love during a time of uncertainty”.
It was also around this period that Jett Barbecue began taking off, setting Mr Chua on an unexpected path from accountant to full-time pitmaster.
Even without the free food, Jett Barbecue has no trouble drawing long queues at GrillFest, having become a crowd favourite since first joining the festival in 2023.
Mr Chua recalled receiving a “random text” asking whether he wanted to join a food festival in Sentosa, just months after telling his cousin that it would be cool to smoke meats at landmarks around Singapore.
He took the leap, and the rest, as he put it, was history.
“This is our fourth year at GrillFest, so it’s really exciting for us,” he said. “Sentosa GrillFest is the festival that started everything for Jett Barbecue, and we are eternally grateful for the opportunity.”
As Jett Barbecue doesn’t have a permanent restaurant or store, such events also give Mr Chua the chance to meet the customers who have followed the business over the years.
“So many people come to GrillFest to visit us every year, and getting to watch their families grow is really fun for us,” he said.
Mr Chua’s love for deeply smoky, American-style meats began long before the business did.
“I had a layover in Texas when I was 13, where I first tried Texas barbecue,” he recalled. “Needless to say, I fell in love with it.”
Still, becoming a full-time pitmaster was never part of the plan. A trained accountant, he said he “never imagined F&B to be something” he would pursue full-time.
That began to change when Jett Barbecue received its first paid order.
“I still remember telling my first customer she might have started something,” he said.
She remains a loyal customer today and still visits with her husband whenever Jett Barbecue appears at festivals.
These days, Mr Chua spends much of his time preparing meat and tending to smoking sessions that can last 12 to 16 hours.
Visitors can see the process up close — but not too close — at GrillFest, where Jett Barbecue’s custom two-tonne smoker, imported from Texas, will be parked beside Store 31 throughout the festival.
Fuelled by real wood logs, the giant red machine has become a signature sight at the stall, drawing attention even before the meat emerges with the dark, flavour-packed bark the smokehouse is known for.
Festivalgoers can order the Texas-style dinosaur beef rib, a USDA Prime cut smoked for 12 hours and served with signature mashed potatoes and homemade sauces.
According to Mr Chua, the meats are smoked for between eight and 16 hours to ensure the ribs emerge suitably “juicy” and “oozy”.
Visitors can also scan a QR code at the stall for a chance to win one S$500 home delivery voucher or one of five S$50 vouchers.
Another vendor returning to the smoky seaside feast is DAMN, the winner of GrillFest’s 2025 People’s Choice Award, which is back for its fifth consecutive year.
At Stall 7, Chef Jason and his team are serving popular picks such as the dry-aged beef burger, dry-aged ribeye skewers, and 48-hour smoked Texas-style brisket.
Image courtesy of DAMN
New to the menu this year are smoked pork hotdogs made with sausages prepared entirely in-house at his butchery.
Having taken part in GrillFest every year since 2022, Chef Jason described the experience as “exciting and fulfilling”, especially as it lets him cook for tourists and Singaporeans alike.
He also credited Sentosa Development Corporation for creating “a refreshing and encouraging environment” that supports and promotes young local businesses.
Beyond Stall 7, Chef Jason is part of the inaugural Chef’s Grill, where he’ll serve an eight-course, omakase-style dinner by the beach alongside three other chefs in a fully air-conditioned venue.
Image courtesy of Sentosa GrillFest
Jett Barbecue and DAMN are just two of the many vendors bringing the heat at this year’s Sentosa GrillFest.
Now in its ninth edition, the festival is staging its largest outing yet, with 42 vendors spread across five zones, including 18 newcomers.
Across the returning Local Grills, International Grills, and Beachside Grills zones, visitors can tuck into everything from oysters and dry-aged meats to Korean barbecue, Japanese robatayaki, and Taiwanese night market snacks.
Other returning favourites include Craft’ B, known for its grass-fed ribeye, and Slurp Your Oysters, which serves oysters sourced from Murotsu Bay in Japan.
New vendors include Smokin’ Joe, which is bringing Australian Wagyu ribeye, and ChillBro, whose grilled banana comes topped with chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Festivalgoers can also stop by the Marketplace by Indoguna to pick from fresh meats, seafood, vegetables, and gourmet items before watching them being grilled, smoked, or seared to order.
Meanwhile, the Sunset Lounge by Asahi offers beachfront drinks, live bands, and DJ performances for those who’d rather wind down over golden-hour views after their feast.
Sentosa GrillFest 2026 runs from 4pm to 10.30pm on 31 July to 2 Aug, 7 to 9 Aug, and 14 to 16 Aug at Siloso Beach.
For more details, visit the official Sentosa GrillFest website.
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Featured image by MS News.