Chicken Up

Chicken Up, which opens from 2010, is a casual restaurant offering Korean Cuisine. Currently it has expanded to a chain of 7 restaurants all over Singapore. It is well known for its Korean style fried chicken which marinated for 12 hours before double fried to seal in the flavors. The fried chicken is available in a variety of flavours such as Yangnyum — a sweet and tangy flavour and Ganjang– a garlic-​soya based blend. The restaurant also boasts a unique range of home-​brewed, fruit– infused Soju with thirst-​quenching flavours like watermelon, peach, apple and pear.
The restaurant at the Parkway Parade has an interesting concept where the walkway cuts through the restaurant which gives the restaurant a kind of indoor or outdoor dining although both are within the aircon area of the shopping mall. The restaurant is decorated in an unique fusion way with light bulbs and bottles of dried fruits and vegetables decorating the walls.
Ganjang (Soya) Chicken Wings ($ 12)
The restaurant’s bestseller! declared as the best Korean fried chicken in Singapore! Freshly deep fried chicken wings dipped in Chicken Up’s Special Soya Sauce blend (kids friendly)
The chicken wing is quite crispy on the outside and juicy inside. Although it is tossed in soya sauce, it is not overly salty. Instead the soya sauce lends a kind of sweetness to it.
Yangnyum Chicken Wings ($ 12)
Chicken wings with Korean Style Spicy chilli sauce
Although it sounds quite spicy, but it tastes more like deep fried chicken wing covered with a layer of sweet and sour sauce. Maybe the spicy level has toned down for the local.
Jabchae ($ 14)
Stir-​fried glass noodle with carrots and chives in secret blend of soy sauce and beef seasoning
The dish tastes not bad even although it is a simple traditional dish.
Makguksu ($ 12)
Cold Buckwheat Noodle Salad and hot summer go together like hot chocolate and cold winter.
The shredded vegetables gives a crunchy and crisp texture on top of its cold and wasabi like taste. I am quite surprise to find wasabi like taste like in this dish as it is rare for a korean dish to have this kind of taste.
Ugly Tang Stew ($ 30)
Good for 2 persons. Chicken Up’s Unique Army Stew with (Pork) belly, ham, sausage, vegetable, macaroni, baked bean, cheese and noodles.
I am disappointed with the size of the serving, especially after reading that it is good for 2 persons on the menu. It looks quite small, served in a small metal pot over the burning stove. However it is quite filling as there is instant noodle and macaroni in it. It looks a bit overpriced to me with all the cheap ingredients in it.
Haemul-​Pajeon ($ 18)
Also known as Seafood and Green Onion Pancake. Shrimps, squids, chilli pepper, onion and chives prepared with korean batter mix and beef seasoning
It tastes not with the soya sauce based sauce, although I feel the pancake is a bit bland on its own.
Topokki with Cheese and Seafood ($ 20)
Rice cake, vegetables and fish cakes, seafood, museels, squid, scallops and prawns in gochujang (red chilli paste) sauce and beef seasoning
This turns out to the most spicy dish of the meal. It is served in a small metal pot, similar to the Ugly Tang Stew. The soup is quite thick and rich, even richer than the cheese is melted. We are all downing cups of water after having this.
Kimchi Fries ($ 18)
Generous serving of fries with fermented kimchi, marinated shredded chicken all bunched in one delighted bite
Quite an interesting combination. It tastes quite even when the fries has turned soggy. However I feel that the shredded chicken is a bit too dry and does not look like chicken with its dark color or taste like chicken. I have thought that it could be beef at first but the staff has confirmed with me that it is chicken cooked in stock.
Bulgogi Fries ($ 18)
Fully loaded with thin slices of beef marinated in soy sauce and others home-​made ingredients
This kind of reminds of potato wedges served with sour cream, except that the wedges are replaced by fries here. Quite addictive to have, except that the beef is a bit hard to chew.
Watermelon Soju ($ 38)
The water melon shell is served in a bowl of dry ice, which makes such a grand entrance with the smoke flowing out. Soju is stirred into watermelon juice in front of us. It is quite a refreshing drink with finely crushed ice, although I wish that it could be colder. Good for before or after meal.
Pineapple Soju ($ 30)
Similar to the watermelon soju, it is also served in the fruit. The drink has a richer taste of the fruit but also have a more fibre like texture especially towards the bottom of the fruit.
Overall the food is not bad. Remember to handle the chicken wings with the disposable gloves provided if you do not wish to dirty your fingers or use fork and knife to cut it. There is also wet tissues provided on the table for one to clean up. Iced water is served in a bottle and refilled regularly. I will be back to try the restaurant’s other signature dishes such as Yangpa Bomb and Bingsu.

Located on the ground floor of Parkway Parade is a new outlet of Chicken Up, it may be new to the easties but it is the fifth outlet of this Korean Fried chicken chain!
Chicken Up has been in Singapore for 5 years now and has finally opened an outlet in the east! Chicken Up is well known and best loved for serving Authentic Korean fried chicken. By adapting the Korean methods of removing the fat from the skin and double-​frying, Chicken Up created its own distinct variation of fried chicken, featuring juicy, sumptuous and tender chicken meat under its thin and crunchy skin without being too greasy. Best known for its signature Spicy Up and YangNyum style fried chicken, Chicken Up also serves several variations of the dish with the accompaniment of different sauces such as soya and curry sauces.
The outlet is pretty much split into two, with both inside and «outside» dining area, but I noted that the staff were quick to respond to customers seated at the «outside» dining area.
Looking through their menu, you will see their top 12 best selling food, which includes their Ganjang and Yanghyum chicken wings, along with kimchi, bulgogi fries and more. Once you flip past the first page of the clear folder, you realize that Chicken Up is pretty much a full fledge Korean Restaurant that serves a menu that consists of 30% fried chicken!
1. Pineapple Soju $ 30++
The Pineapple soju was up first, and presented in an impressive whole pineapple shell! The pineapple juice itself was very sweet and you could see the real fruit pulp! The alcohol itself wasn’t too strong and didn’t drown out the pineapple taste.
I totally adore how this pineapple soju looks and tastes! It is very refreshing with a zesty after taste!
And this is the reasony why the Pineapple Soju is so amazing! Almost this entire bottle pretty goes directly into the pineapple concoction!
2. Topokki with Cheese and Seafood $ 20++
Rice cake, vegetables and fish cakes, seafood, mushroom, squid, scallop and prawns in gochujang (red chilli paste) sauce and seasoning. This dish was way too spicy for me, and take note I’m not a spicy-​food lover. I couldn’t even deal with chewing a bite off the topokki. So this dish was a no-​no for me.
3. Maguksu $ 12++
Next up we had a cold buckwheat noodle dish served with cabbage, seaweed, korean chilli sauce, vinegar and yellow mustard. The manager explained that this cold dish is typical eaten during the hot korean summer period.
4. Ugly Tang Stew (Army Stew) $ 30++
This is my first time trying the Korean Army Stew. The manager explained that during the war times, Korean soldiers couldn’t be picky eaters and they pretty much whipped up a stew with whatever ingredients they could find and woah-​lah!
5. Ganjang (Soya) Chicken Wings $ 12++ for 4 pieces
Delightful taste of chicken coated with soya sauce! The chicken being fresh and not frozen makes the chicken meat extremely tender and juicy! Despite their sizes, which are definitely smaller than your typical fast food chicken chains. I was satisfied with the quality that their sizes did not matter.
6. Yangnyum Chicken Wings $ 12++ for 4 pieces
Have that Korean «sweet sensation» in your mouth. This version has the chicken wings covered with sweet sauce and sprinkled with sesame. Perfect for kids or non-​spicy eaters. Personally it’s a bit sweet for me, but still the outside was crispy and the chicken warm. Though this was touted as their «sweet and spicy» sauce, I felt like it was more sweet and sour. I preferred the distinctive sweet sauce from the soy chicken more as it left the chicken crispy. This Yangnyum up chicken soaked up more of the sauce and wasn’t as crispy. The chicken really wasn’t spicy at all.
7. Kimchi Fries $ 18++
Featuring sliced onions, mayonnaise, cheese sauce, pulled chicken that tasted amazingly like pulled pork, and crispy fries coated with kimchi that was pan-​fried to take off the sour edge. A taste bomb — sour, salty, spicy, creamy all in one — and perfect for sharing.
The portion here is just nice for 2 pax, I would recommend getting more of this as it’s quite addictive, especially the shredded chicken with the cheese sauce. This is probably one of their items that you probably shouldn’t takeaway as the fries would get extremely soggy!
8. Bulgogi Fries $ 18++
If you can take beef and you liked the kimchi fries, here’s taking fries heaven to another level! The bulgogi fries are to die for! I pretty devoured this entire basket, no embarassing notes here. The beef here had alot more flavour than the shredded chicken! Okay! But for the health conscious, do note that the fries are drowned in a heavy and thick but creamy mayo sauce with chunks of bulgogi beef. Yeah, that’s a lof of calories, but it is so good!
9. Watermelon Soju $ 38++
Watermelon SojuMy friends have told me so much about this and I’ve seen tons of instagram pictures about this, but having tried the pineapple soju, I’m going to say, the pineapple soju wins the watermelon soju!

Chicken Up has expanded from Tanjong Pagar out to the east– hooray!
Though they’re known for chicken wings, for some reason their Dup Bap set caught my eye. It’s a mix of rice and noodles, topped with a choice of chicken or pork, spicy or not. It also came with soup, kimchi, salad, fruit, and a drink.
My non-​spicy chicken was very tangy and I loved it, but I could see it being a bit too salty for some. I would order again; I just wish the portions for everything were bigger. If you look at the picture, I received 2 small balls of watermelon… a bit pathetic; how about some slices? :)
Ambiance wise, it’s pretty cool. Semi-​hipster (after all, they’re in a mall) and club-​like music. So glad that a place like this is close to me; I plan on making many returns at the expense of my waistline!