Korean Fried Chicken @ Jinjja Chicken, The Gardens Mall, KL

 

Note: Visit was made prior to CMCO

Very few things comfort me like a good serving of fried chicken, maybe more fried chicken? Whether its Korean, Japanese karaage, or old fashion butter milk, it is one of my favourite things. I mean, most people like fried chicken in any form right? Well unless you are a vegetarian. Anywho, it seems that there is a new player in the Korean Fried Chicken battlefield. Jinjja Chicken has recently opened 2 outlets in the country, one in Gardens (which was the one I visited) and another in Sunway Pyramid. And you know me, if there is a new place up I am always keen in giving it a shot. 

Socially distant dining

The menu is relatively simple, heck its a fried chicken joint so do not expect a wide variety of non fried chicken items. However, there are about 3 types of flavours to choose from for your chicken and you can choose either the wings or the drumsticks. I opted for the wings set meal. And in terms of flavour, I had a mix of soy garlic and yangnyong hot, a nice combination of yin and yang. Being a set meal I can choose a side dish so I had the tteoboki fries, ie rice cakes and fries. For completeness, the third flavour is the monster hot. They do have noodles and rice dishes, but why go to a chicken place for that? But I digress. 

Winner winner... you know the rest. 

The chicken was quite good, with that ultra crispy crust that Korean FC is famed for. The crunch factor was amazing and it was very "uniform" as the batter was evenly coated. It is unlike KFC or tempura, where chunky bits are everywhere. I know some people prefer more crusty jagged edges. Yet, this was great. Flavourwise, both the soy garlic and hot packed a punch. 

Le close up

The soy coating was sweet and yet had a savoury and smoky tang, largely due to the presence of the garlic. If you like garlic bread or aglio olio, then this will be the ticket for you. The yangneyong hot had a prickly sting and the spiciness was just right for me. It had that classic smoky Korean tang and it left my lips slightly numb. Not mala heat, but its just a little close to the edge. If that was their average hot, I bet the monster hot would spell the end of me. 

Tasted like a forced marriage from a Korean soap opera. 

The rice cakes and fries were alright. Although I do find it slightly lackluster as it was an odd combination. The rice cakes were good and the fries were good too, but the combination did not work well. So probably it would have been a good idea to just have them separate. The spicy sauce that came with this seem to let it work though. A commendable effort, but not something I would get again. Probably having them separate would be the way to go if I were to visit, as mentioned above. 

The pick up hatch

Overall it was a decent meal, although it was a little expensive. The whole set with a drink was for RM22.90. So that price point may put off some, considering a lot of fried chicken places can offer more volume for much less. Still, it was a good chicken meal and I would probably give the drumsticks a try. Looks like KFC really needs to step its game up if it wants to protect its turf. So why not give it a go and try it out for yourself? 

Front of the house, of the Garden's branch.