Hey Hive!
Now that it's been quite a while since Singapore has has been out of lockdown, or what our government has termed "circuit breaker", restaurants have been operating pretty much as usual aside from implementing safe distancing measures. We've also been eating out more and trying new places!
And one of these new places is Chic-a-boo!
So we went to check out this mall near our new house called Sembawang Shopping Centre since they had the nearest Daiso; which is a $2 mega store from Japan that sells all kinds of products. We still needed a couple of household items and Daiso is one the cheapest places you can get stuff immediately (i.e. from physical stores and not online).
Source: Straits Times
Anyway, after buying all the stuff we needed, it was around dinner time and we were pretty hungry and Chic-a-boo caught my eye! We've seen chic-a-boo before in another mall but have never tried it so we decided to check it out.
They had various promotions going on:
But here's the standard menu:
The set that definitely caught my eye was this one though, which I believe is the same as set 1 in the menu.
It includes 2 pieces of chicken, 2 side dishes and 1 soft drink, all for only $8.90! It seems pretty reasonable especially compared to KFC here, where 2 pieces of chicken is already at least 7 bucks, and a set is about 10.
We had to wait a bit at the door for there to be empty seats since they have to comply with social distancing measures, but it was alright. The aroma of fried chicken was definitely intoxicating though.
Chic-a-boo is just like any other fast food restaurant in that you have to order at the counter and find your own seats. I guess the people in front of us were taking a while. But soon, it was our turn to order! We ordered 2 of the set 1 but chose different side dishes so we could share them.
The interior of the restaurant actually looked quite cozy and modern. It had a country farm/barn atmosphere which I thought was a perfect fit for them.
The mix of light and dark wood for the furnishings was a good fit with the whole barn aesthetic as well, and made the whole restaurant look comfortable, clean and modern. I especially like that they included the barn doors on the actual doors and the open beams to make it look like the inside of an actual barn.
So after ordering, you'll get a beeper that will vibrate and make sounds when your order is ready to be collected at the pick-up counter.
About 10 minutes or so later, our food was ready!
This was my set, which came with 2 pieces of fried chicken, mashed potato and curly fries.
And this was Sean's set which also came with 2 pieces of fried chicken, but he chose corn and onion rings for his sides.
The plates were quite a peculiar shape, but either way, the food looked and smelled so goood!
The chicken was actually really tasty! The batter was a little different from what I expected, but it was nicely seasoned, slightly peppery, and fried to crunchy perfection. The meat itself was also tender and juicy and not dry at all.
The mash potato gravy was also quite special. If I recall correctly, it tasted a little milky and slightly sweet, but I think it complemented the crunchy chicken skin really well. One of the things I always do when eating KFC is dipping the fried chicken inside the mash potato since it can be a little dry sometimes. But this chicken was great on its own.
It's no wonder that we like Chic-a-boo; it literally has Chicken Specialty right in the name. And its parent company is actually Astons! Astons is this fast-casual restaurant that offers Western cuisine at affordable prices. It's actually one of our go-to places for cheap Western food. But they only ever serve grilled chicken at Astons and now they've branched out into a whole new fried chicken chain! And they're halal-certified as well; which is good for all our Muslim friends!
Source: Oddle
Overall, this meal was absolutely delicious! And very worth the money I'd say, given all the sides and the actual size of the chicken pieces as well. If you ever have a hankering for fried chicken and want to try something other than the usual fast food, definitely check out Chic-a-boo!
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
