Amoy Fried Chicken (Maxwell)

Amoy Street Food Centre seems to have been returning back to its “former glory” to the pre-COVID days in recent times — not only is the hawker centre now perpetually crowded with hungry office workers on weekdays, but there seems to be quite a wide variety of stalls serving up both local fare and hippier selections of food. We had written about the opening of the new 128 Amoy Laksa which had recently opened its doors at the ground level of the food centre not too long ago; there is also the new Amoy Fried Chicken which is situated at the upper floors occupying the old unit which Harry’s Eurasian Pies was formerly located at before its relocation to the stall beside Spicy Wife Nasi Lemak. Considering so, Amoy Fried Chicken is a stall that is relatively easy to locate at the hawker centre; they occupy the corner unit in the row of stalls where the famous and always-crowded Han Kee Fish Soup is also located. Given such a namesake, it is fairly obvious what Amoy Fried Chicken specialises in — fried chicken. The menu of Amoy Fried Chicken mainly comprises of fried chicken offerings such as fried chicken wings, two-piece fried chicken and a Maryland fillet — there a number of non-fried chicken dishes being listed on the menu but those have been struck off with a marker with red ink. Apart from those, Amoy Fried Chicken also serves up a variety of sides — think a variation of fries, that caters to those looking for something to share around the table.

The folks at Amoy Fried Chicken serves up their fried chicken sets with either a gravy salad or with fries — it does seem like they have at one point of time intended for rice to also be one of the option of carbs to come alongside their fried chicken offerings; that has since been struck off with the red marker as well. We were initially quite keen on giving either the Grandmon’s Fried Chicken Wings with Fries (yes, spelt in the menu as-is) or the Amoy Fried Chicken (2 pcs) with Fries a go, but after considering how there was a need to deal with chicken bones, we went with the Amoy Fried Chicken Maryland Fillet with Fries instead — a dish that features a fried chicken fillet that provides for a more convenient dining experience considering the lack of chicken bones to deal with in this dish.

The portion size of the dish was really generous — apart from the humongous fried chicken fillet that comes as the main star of the show, they were also very generous with the fries; it also comes with a side salad where shredded cabbage is drenched in Goma dressing as well. Going straight for the Maryland Fillet, we liked how the fried batter of the chicken fillet was lightly crisp; almost akin to that of a cracker crumb batter, though we did note that some parts felt a little more floury than the rest. That being said, the batter did carry quite a prominent hint of pepper that gave it much of its flavour — not too spicy, considering how it emphasises on the fragrance of the peppercorn. The chicken was also tender and juicy; not greasy and does not come with any undesirable stench of overused oil. For those whom might find the fragrance of the pepper a little overwhelming, dipping it in the beef gravy that was akin to that of a savoury mashed potato gravy might help — the gravy being flavoursome despite its runnier consistency. The shoestring fries are actually prepared fresh-upon-order; the grease being drained off adequately so that they still remain crisp despite sitting on the plate for quite some time. It does seem that the flavours of the fried food ar Amoy Fried Chicken are on the heavier side — the fries were well-flavoured for us being seasoned with sufficient salt, though we would reckon that some might find it a little salty especially considering the other elements on the plate. Meanwhile, the salad on the side keeps things refreshing and provides a break from the fried elements — the greens delivering a good crunch while the roasty sesame notes and the creaminess of the dressing helps to bind everything altogether. Whilst spending $8 at a hawker centre may not be something which everyone fancies given how there are cheaper and more conventional options around, it is undeniable that the quality of the food and the portion size makes it value-for-money. Looking forward to give their Grandmon’s Fried Chicken Wings with Fries sometime soon!