KyoChon Malaysia at 1 Utama: Restaurant Review

South Korea’s fried chicken chain has finally spread its wings (literally, in this case) to Malaysia.

K-pop meets K-poultry: Some folks have nicknamed this ‘Super Junior Chicken’ amid expectations that the Korean boy band, who double as poster boys for KyoChon, will personally meet and greet ecstatic fans next month at this 1 Utama restaurant’s official launch.

Fried chicken

Naturally, it’s the meat, not the music, that matters for this entry: KyoChon delivers fresh fowl crisply double-fried in canola oil on order.

Our best bet: Honey-coated chicken, well-measured in sweetness, satisfying in succulence, convincing in crunch. RM9.90 before taxes for a three-piece mix of drumstick, drumette and wing.

KyoChon’s ‘original recipe’ version proves a little less distinctive than expected, but it’s still enjoyably slicked up in soy-garlic glaze and notably not as greasy or salty as most fried chicken.

Fiery fare

The hottest wings here? The spicy ones smothered in a sauce made of Korean red chili peppers.

Fiery fare, perhaps best eaten with KyoChon’s firm-grained buttered rice as an accompaniment.

Bone-free strips of chicken breast, dubbed ‘sal sal,’ blanketed in a unique rice-flaked batter, with jalapeno dipping sauce. More moist than flavorsome, for better or worse. RM10.90 for five pieces.

Sides

Side dishes include a simple salad with blueberry sauce, somewhat overpriced for RM16 …

.. and steaming-hot chicken soup with rice cakes, clocking in at a more reasonable RM6.90.

Mains

Main courses comprise the likes of dak galbi-style chicken with kimchi fried rice and egg.

Beverages

Roasted barley or corn tea make up the beverage menu (no booze, boo!). Also worth adding: service is friendly and fairly fast; all in all, a solid entry to this mall (and more malls soon, we hope).