Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Just a stone’s throw away from Kovan MRT is the Korean-run Basasak Chicken.
Wedged in between a Thai cockles stall and a claypot chicken steamboat eatery, this humble joint offers authentic Korean food at reasonable prices.
You won’t miss the vivid yellow tables or the snaking queue from the neighbouring Ponggol Nasi Lemak Centre stall.
They specialise in Korean fried chicken, but heartier communal dishes like Army Stew (S$18.50) and Ramen (from S$5.50) are also available.
We went for the pint-sized SO TTEOK SO TTEOK (S$5), deep-fried chicken sausage and tteokbokki with sweet spicy sauce.
I mean, it is what it is. Just extra chewy, crispy-edged rice cakes and sausages tossed in a gummy sauce—pretty underwhelming.
A safe option is the Jap Chae (S$6), which is savoury Korean glass noodles in a bulgogi sauce.
Topped off with sesame seeds and the usual suspects of slivered carrot, onion, and mushroom, this certainly didn’t disappoint.
Japchae’s not a foolproof dish, but it’s difficult to screw it up.
If you’re planning to go hard on the chicken, the complimentary side of sweet, crunchy Radish (S$1) will come in handy.
Unwilling to get “lost in the sauce” just yet, we ended up with the Original Crispy (S$14 for half, 6 pcs).
“Not many people order the original chicken,” owner Kevin shared. But how else do you ascertain its freshness and quality?
With anticipation, I advanced upon this basket of deep-fried, golden-brown perfection.
The first bite of fried chicken is always magical.
Drumstick in hand, I was whisked into the wonderful world of crispy skin and succulent meat. A single mouthful speaks volumes—you’ll know from the first mouthful if the fried chicken you’re eating is good. And it was.
Chicken skin is a weakness I am unwilling to renounce.
I happily popped every last bit of thin skin (flanked by a layer of barely-there fat) into my mouth. Mmmm.
Now, I need to rave about the chicken breast.
I’ve had several bad experiences with this notoriously tough white meat, most recently at a certain Korean fried chicken franchise in Johor Bahru.
The meat here was astoundingly moist, juicy and tender. Seriously, every piece of chicken breast was bursting with juices (I gave them a squeeze to check). No more convincing was needed—they were undoubtedly very fresh and very fabulous.
Kevin shared that he imports only fresh chickens for Basasak Chicken from Malaysia. The best way to tell if the chicken is fresh or frozen is to look at the colour of the bones. Black bones are a tell-tale sign of (inferior) frozen chicken.
Every portion of Original Crispy chicken entitles you to a choice of dip. I’d recommend the Soy Garlic—fragrant, mildly sweet, and guaranteed to be finger-lickin’ good.
Maybe you don’t need disposable plastic gloves after all.
I particularly enjoyed the Wasabi Mayo, sweet and creamy with a nose-tingling heat that lingered no longer than a minute.
Veering away from the Original Crispy chicken’s versatility, there are also Sweet Spicy Wings (S$7 for 3pcs or S$12.50 for 6pcs).
I must say, flavours like Butter Garlic, Snowing Cheese, and the overwhelmingly indulgent Honey Butter were very tempting.
We were content with these classic yangnyeom wings. The skin wasn’t super crispy, but that well-balanced sweet & spicy sauce was immensely satisfying, to say the least.
I instantly regretted not getting an icy cold bottle of Hite beer on the side. It would have really completed the experience.
If you happen to be in the area, why not drop by Basasak Chicken for some underrated, but honest-to-goodness Korean fried chicken?
Chowing down on chimaek in a breezy coffeeshop with your pals is an evening well spent.
In the words of Minny Jackson from the film The Help, “Fried chicken just tends to make you feel better about life.” It does, it really does.
Expected Damage: S$20 – S$25 per pax
