Chicken Lah! at Kelana Jaya: Restaurant Review

Hatching this month in Kelana Jaya, ChickenLah hopes to soon rule the fast-food roost here, marking a freshly laid plan by Perak’s well-respected Winner’s Fried Chicken franchise to fly the coop from its birthplace of Ipoh & spread its wings further.

The Winner’s Fried Chicken

Legend has it that the recipe for Winner’s Fried Chicken was conceived by an Ipoh Garden housewife in her kitchen in 1987; since then, she & her entrepreneurial husband & son have licensed the brand to hundreds of hawker stalls in night markets & food courts in Perak & beyond. ChickenLah takes things to a new level, heralding a possible chain conceptualised by Winner’s.

A Complete Meal

Customers can purchase two pieces of chicken (RM7+), three (RM10.20+), five (RM16.75+), nine (RM30.15+) or 15 (RM49.50+), or have a single piece in rice boxes of nasi ayam or nasi lemak (RM8.80+). The chicken proves crisp & tender, but perhaps not particularly pronounced in flavour. The rice? Fragrant, though the nasi lemak can be clumpy.

Local Twists

Local persuasions permeate ChickenLah’s choices, from belacan-fried chicken wings (RM6.50+ for two well-executed pieces) to keropok lekor (RM3+ for six slices) to pisang goreng with kaya (RM4.50+). Still, fries & coleslaw are offered too if you must.

SambaLAH! Burger

And while there are chicken burgers with black pepper sauce or smoky cheese, we were more tempted by the SambaLAH! Burger (RM4.90+), a riff on the components of nasi lemak, with sambal, fried anchovies & egg. One nice point: ChickenLah tastes comparatively less guilt-provoking than some of its established rivals – a little less oil & salt, maybe.

Special Service

Goat’s milk coffee (RM4.50+)? Robust. ChickenLah also does deliveries, & recognising that this shop-house street in front of the Kelana Jaya LRT station is hopeless for parking, you can call ahead for pick-ups – the staff will bring your meal to your car.