The review is very much delayed due to some problems with my OpenRice account, apologies (and thanks) to the organiser. Although I have been to other food tasting events, this is the first event I managed to get an invite from OpenRice. Grateful to Chicken Up and OpenRice, as I loved Japanese and Korean cuisine.
I admit I have some limitations to my diet (no Soju, no beef), so did not sample all the dishes, but in a way that could be good as I will not have "diminishing satisfaction", which happens to the last dish, so hopefully can give a more accurate review (although we all know food reviews
are also subjective to personal tastes, ha ha!).
Chicken Up is a Korean casual dining concept first opened in Singapore in 2010 with the first outlet at Tanjong Pagar. Parkway Parade is its newly opened outlet in the East. This outlet has a cosy ca
sual feel, nice place for an after work gathering with friends, with a good mix of mains and finger foods on its menu.
The first and last dishes served are the Pineapple Soju and Watermelon Soju, which I do not take as I do not take alcoholic drinks (first dietary restrictions). Looks refreshing and aesthetically pleasing start and end to the event
Refreshing and eye pleasing starter
Refreshing and pretty last dish
Next up, Makguksu, cold buckwheat noodle salad, topped with sesame seeds (I love sesame seeds!), seaweed and egg. Dressing was made of yellow mustard, chilli and vinegar, a mix of spiciness and sourness. Nice appetiser to whet up your appetite, though do not particularly take to the dressing, which is subjective as I am not particularly fond of the wasabi type of spiciness as well.
Refreshing appetiser
Another appetiser which I did not take is the Topokki with Korean rice cake, glass noodle, seafood and cheese. Looks spicy and I love seafood and Korean rice cake, but contains beef seasoning,
which I wasn't exactly sure if it is just normal seasoning or uses any beef stock in its seasoning, so I wasn't comfortable tasting this (as I can't consume beef). I could have clarified.
Next up, the signature dishes of the eatery: Ganjang Chicken Wings and Yangnyum Chicken Wings, both deep fried chicken wings. The first is dipped in soya sauce and the second is dipped in Korean sweet chilli sauce. Both are nicely fried and crisp, but I do find the Ganjang Chicken Wings a bit drier and a tad bit too salty (for me). I preferred the Yangnyum Chicken Wings (my favourite of the event!), but I loved spicy food and yes, sesame, so this chicken wing suits my taste. Not bad.
Nicely crisp and savoury
Nice blend of crisp, spiciness and fragrance of sesame
Next up, the Bulgogi Fries (which I can't take as absolutely contains beef) and Kimchi Fries. The Kimchi fries could have been stronger in the Kimchi (which I felt can't taste the Kimchi) and cut down on the mayonnaise which is too overpowering and caused them to be soggy. But partly also due to us spending too much time taking pictures and we should have eaten them hot.
Best eaten hot!
Haemul Pajeon is a seafood pancake, which I didn't take as it contains beef seasoning (so again not sure, if I can eat it). Looks good and seems quite popular with the food tasting group.
Lastly, the long awaited Ugly Tang Stew, or in other words, Korean Army Stew. I loved the Army Stew and was looking forward to that. The presentation is very pretty and cute! Quite spicy and piping hot, but could be more generous with the meat serving. Nice ending dish for me.
The famous Korean Army Stew
Overall, there are some hits and misses and to be fair, I didn't sample some of the dishes, which could be good. The manager was very helpful and tried his best to answer our queries. And the serving was generous (except for the Ugly Tang Stew, not enough meat) for a food tasting event. Kudos to the Open Rice and Chicken Up for a well-organised and enjoyable event. Hope to have more opportunities to improve on my food review writings, food photography and yes, meet like-minded food enthusiasts like me.
Refreshing and eye pleasing starter
Recommended Dish(es):
Ganjang Chicken Wings,Yangnyum Chicken Wings
Date of Visit: Dec 08, 2015
Dining Offers: 試食活動
Other Ratings:Taste
4 |
Environment
4 |
Service
4 |
Clean
4 |
Price
3Recommend
0