BBQ Chicken at Cineleisure – A rival to KFC

Updated : BBQ Chicken is now closed for business.

Barbecued Chicken may not be a true Korean invention, nevertheless the chicken here was rather delicious!

Recently my friend Juli, asked me out. She had read an article in Berita Harian, a Malay newspaper. Every Sunday, there would be a segment where it recommends good eating establishments. That particular week focused on a place called BBQ Chicken.

Naturally I was game to try something new and we hopped on the scooter and headed off to Orchard.

The place

It was relatively easy to get to. Just a stroll from Orchard Mrt Station. Motorcyclists like me may have issues parking near the area though as the parking area across the road is perpetually full. Located in the basement of Cineleisure, it’s hard to miss while going down the elevator with the bright and cheery decorations around the restaurant.

By the time we reached there, it was not very crowded. There were a diverse group there ranging from couples and groups of friends but what I was most surprised to see was that there were actually quite a number of Koreans patronizing. Turns out that BBQ Chicken restaurant really did originate from Korea as seen from their website.

One of the things that stood out about the restaurant was the LCD display on the wall. It was playing clips of Korean concerts. I am not familiar with Korean Singers, but watching it was entertaining for both Juli and I.

The service

The staff was generally pleasant. After being handed the menu, we were quite confused at what to get. The staff helpfully recommended us on what to eat according to what was popular in the menu. After a while, Juli decided on the Hot Hot Drum while I had the Original Chicken. We both topped up our meal to have rice, coleslaw, wedges and a drink.

Waiting for our meal was a slow process though. It took a good 15 minutes for our chickens to be done. Thank goodness for the Korean Concert. It entertained us enough till the food arrived!

The food

But the wait was quite worth it. This was my original chicken.

At $10.50, it was quite a generous portion. Looking at the size of my chicken, I was almost worried that I would not be able to finish it. But the chicken was tender and crispy outside. Being cooked with olive oil, it claimed that this was a healthier option. Nevertheless, it was yummy! KFC has better watch out as it has a rival in its hands now.

The wedges and the coleslaw was nice enough but they aren’t anything to cheer about, but the rice tasted really good. The taste reminded me a little bit of biryani, a buttery tasting rice with spices. I liked the rice a lot.

This was Juli’s Hot Hot Drum ($11.50) Juli says that it was actually quite hot. Personally, I didn’t think that it was that hot nevertheless, I liked the chicken very much. The chicken was tender and the gravy was a myriad of tastes, a bit of sweetness, a bit of sourness all covered up in heat. It was really yummy. I actually prefer this one to the original chicken.

In the end, we enjoyed our meal so much all that was left was bones! 😀

Here is a quick video of us after our meal :

BBQ Chicken, yummy chicken that would rival KFC.

You may also be interested in

• Spagetti Too
• Mega Bites Cafe
• Zingdo

Sidenote : On the same day, Juli and I had durian puffs at Puteri Mas, I dare say that that was the best durian puff that I have ever had.