Mia's Food Trail Review: Chicken Up

After my review of Penang Culture, here's another restaurant which I've really enjoyed the food while on my Century Square Food Trail.

Chicken Up!

I kind of like how they decor up the place. It's cute (those chicken feet!) yet paired up with pretty rustic looking furniture.

I've previously visited with T and tried out one of their KFC, kimchi fries and watermelon soju, all of which are really good but I felt was a little too pricey. Our bill for 2 (just those 2 dishes with the smaller serving of watermelon soju) came up to $80 plus $90? 

 Bulgogi Fries - $18

Comparing this to the kimchi fries, plus being a kimchi-fan, I'll definitely prefer the kimchi fries. The bulgogi ones are definitely a little too jerlat and 'meaty' for me. Fries itself is already a pretty heavy and oily taste, so drenching it generously with creamy mayonaise and tossed in bits of meat really isn't what I'll love to indulge in. 

I'll go for the kimchi fries anytime, sorry bulgogi. 

Toppoki with Seafood and Cheese - $20

And yes, that's quick a bit of shredded cheese on top when the pot is served. Just make sure to give it a good mix in.... 

And viola, cheesy seafood toppoki!

Unlike the 'traditional' topokki that has thicker gravy with a sweeter aftertaste (those sold locally in SG), Chicken Up does theirs more soupy, spicy without the off sweetness in the aftertaste, and added in tons of seafood, korean vermicelli, and topped up the goodness with grated cheese.

The teok (rice cakes) were chewy without taking down your jaw, and is well infused with the spicy flavour of the gravy, unlike some restaurants that probably doesn't cook the rice cakes long enough with the gravy, resulting in white and bland rice cakes. 

The pot looks small, but this dish sure packs enough to feed 2 or maybe even 3 tummies. 

A funny surprise when I tried the dish was when I bit into the mussel and heard something cracked. Initially I thought the mussel shell broke and I chewed on bits of it but it turned out....

The mussel 'ate' a miniature crab and haven't had time to digest it yet.

Watermelon Bingsu - $18

$18 might seem a little pricey for some watermelon balls, shaved ice, red beans and a scoop of vanilla ice cream sitting on half a watermelon. However, in terms of visual appeal, quantity and quality, $18 didn't feel that much overpriced either.
In addition, those shaved ice were made from freezing milk and not just plain water, making it much more creamy and flavourful than expected.

Macaron Ice Cream - $6 each

I was totally eyeing them when I visited the first time with T but ended up with no stomach spaces for even a bite of this after having the kimchi fries, KFC and watermelon soju. 

And well, it's really just a food trend and pretty instagram-worthy dessert. 

As seen, the macaron shells, perhaps affected by the coldness and dampness of the ice cream, were hard and overly moist and chewy in the centre. Not the best kind of macaron shell you'll want to bite into. The shells were also just flat sweet with no special flavours to them, which made me want to just chuck the shells and just eat the ice cream on their own.

Another $6 for one? I think I'll prefer finding another 2 girlfriends and sharing another bingsu instead, thank you.

Chicken Up is located at Century Square #01-44/47
For more information, visit their website HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo