Chicken cutlet set + 2 pcs chicken with cheese fries ($16)!
Tai Seng hawker Korean-style fried chicken: 2-piece chicken with regular fries, and chicken cutlet set with cheese-and-mayo loaded fries. $7.50 + $8.50.
Lunch at the Tai Seng hawker fried chicken stall. Chicken cutlet set + 2-piece chicken with cheese fries, $16 total ($7.50 + $8.50). 😋👍🏼
What was on the tray:
- Bowl of cheese-and-mayo loaded fries with 2 chicken pieces (back): thigh + drumstick, deep golden brown crust, fries underneath topped with shredded cheddar, drizzled mayo and parsley flakes, a green-leaf salad base peeking out
- Bowl of cutlet set (front): 3 pieces of chicken cutlet (boneless, herb-seasoned, lighter golden), regular fries piled alongside, salad base
- Two small cups of chilli ketchup: house dip
- Black checkerboard tray: the takeaway packaging
The Tai Seng / Burghley Drive area has a cluster of Korean-Western fried chicken specialists, the kind of stall that opened post-2018 as the K-food wave hit Singapore. The format: hawker pricing, fast-food-style chicken (Korean double-fry technique), loaded fries as the carb side, mall-Western presentation in kraft bowls.
The 2-piece bone-in chicken is the proper Korean-style fried chicken:
- Double-fried: once at lower temperature to cook through, again at higher temperature for the crispy crust
- Thinner batter than American Southern fried chicken (less flour-heavy)
- Crust stays crispy longer: the double-fry vapour-extraction trick
- Sized like KFC bone-in pieces: thigh + drumstick or breast + wing combinations
The chicken cutlet is the boneless tender format: chicken thigh meat tenderised, marinated, breaded thinner, fried as flat fillets. Quicker to eat, easier for sharing. Herb seasoning gives a slight green-flecked appearance.
The cheese fries treatment (the $8.50 set’s hook): fries + shredded cheddar + mayo zigzag + parsley, the cafe-Instagram presentation. Not as cheesy as actual loaded fries at a Western chain (the cheddar barely melts on the kraft bowl format), but it photographs well.
At $16 total for two sets at this Tai Seng stall, this is fair-value Korean-Western fried chicken. Mall chains (4Fingers, Chicken Up) run $14-$18 for a single set; hawker stalls run $7-$10 for similar.
Overall: 4.1 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Decent Tai Seng fried chicken run. The 2-piece bone-in was the better order, the cheese fries presentation more visual than tasty. Would re-order the bone-in chicken.
