Chimaek Perfection!
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“Chimaek” eateries are flooding our
shores and one of the better ones is Chir
Chir Fusion Chicken Factory located in Pavilion Elite. Ever since it’s
opening, foodies have been flocking over to the largest Chimaek restaurant in South Korea with over 100 outlets across the
country, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Singapore.
Pronounced
“Chi-ruh Chi-ruh”, Chir Chir derives its name from the
tantalizing sounds of bubbling oil when the chicken is placed in the
deep-fryer. It’s also a sound that denotes a good indication of a lip-smacking
crispy fried chicken.
The
term Chimaek, combination of “chi”
for chicken and “maek” for beer, only really took off on our shores after the
Korean drama My Love From The Star became a worldwide hit series. True
enough, I did learn of Chimaek
through that movie though fried chicken and beer has long been a big hit on
their own everywhere else.
What
makes Chir Chir one of the leading Chimaek in South Korea is that this
fusion restaurant prides themselves for their signature freshly cooked chicken
dishes that are fried only upon order; it’s not pre-fried and neither is it
frozen! Each dish is paired with proprietary sauces and marinade from Seoul to
ensure consistent quality and flavours in all of Chir Chir outlets.
The
first outlet in Malaysia, Chir Chir
in Pavilion has a modern and eclectic ambiance that denotes casual dining.
Aiming for industrial design meets Korean chic, there’s plenty of chicken and
beer knick-knacks everywhere to remind you of its signatures.
The
menu is made for easy ordering with plenty of pictures of the dishes as well as
the beverages. Solid with plenty of choices besides just fried chicken, Chir Chir even offers roasted versions
as well as other Korean dishes to please diners of all ages.
First
up, drinks made headline with Passion
Yellow Tok! Tok! (RM24.90 non alcoholic | RM32.90 alcoholic). Served at
table side, the infusion is fizzed right before your eyes with a soda charger.
We certainly enjoyed the fruity tang of the passion fruit, even without the
soju.
The
Aqua Double Smoothie (RM32.90 with
Soju) was even better. We couldn’t resist ordering the Soju version added to
the slushy ice blended mango puree topped with tropical fruit slush and
finished with plenty of whipped cream. There also the virgin version as well as
other flavours like Raspberry and Mojito. We also enjoyed the Lady Killer (RM32.90), a whole beer
gets tipped into a slush of citrus ice blend. Refreshing and very enjoyable way
to a lady’s heart!
Chir Cream Beer (RM24.90 – 350ml | RM34.90 – 650ml)
is simply a must! Beer topped with a crowning glory of whipped cream served
chilled certainly goes so well with fried chicken and all the other Korean
dishes. The trickiest part of this is trying to drink the beer without getting
whipped cream all over your mouth or nose… but then again, that could be a cute
one for a photo opt!
Our
first dish up of Topokki & Cheese
(RM15.90) had me falling cheesy in love with the dish. Korean rice cake, soft
and lightly chewy is gloriously smothered in a pool of lightly bubbling pale
cheese sauce. The thick and luscious cheese sauce is stringy and very
delicious. It’s not overpowering with cheese but rather a right balance of
cheesy goodness that one can enjoy a lot with the rice cakes. Let’s call this
the Korean mac and cheese that all cheese lovers will love.
It
was a big debate when it came to ordering the salad but Honey Grape Salad (RM29.90) won our votes. My photo didn’t do
justice to the size of this salad cos it feeds at least 3 people. Served in a
large wooden bowl, it was full of chilled crunchy green grapes, walnuts,
almonds, raisins, pine nuts and finished with a scoop of housemade ricotta
cheese and whipped cream with lemon and tortilla toast. Mixing it all up, the
salad was superb. One of the best fruit salad I have ever had. A must order
when you’re at Chir Chir!!
When
the plate of Crispy Fried Chicken &
Spicy Fried Chicken (RM49.90 + RM7) arrived, I was practically salivating
at sight. We opted to top up RM7 to change half portion of Fried Chicken to
Spicy Fried Chicken so we get best of both flavours.
Chir Chir thinks of everything, downright to
this little contraption of a mini tong that one can use to pick up their
chicken without getting your fingers dirty… to cute for words but I can
understand if the Koreans prefer to enjoy their chicken the dainty way. Me, I
just go straight for the fried chicken with my fingers to enjoy my
finger-licking moment…
Biting
into the Crispy Fried Chicken, the
crunch factor was literally music to my ears. It was super crispy and yet the
flesh was tender and so juicy. Well-seasoned, the fried chicken was perfect.
Being used to the fried chicken from fast food places, I honestly never knew
how fresh and not frozen fried chicken can make such a difference. It’s
definitely harder now to go back to those fast food chains after savoring Chir
Chir’s Crispy Fried Chicken.
The
Spicy Fried Chicken is also yummy
with a solid kick of heat from the lightly sweet and very spicy sauce coating
the fried chicken. What I also like was the fact that they sprinkled almond
flakes on this one which added a lovely nutty and more crunch factor. The fried
chicken comes with a side of honey mustard sauce and a fruit salsa.
For
my next round, I am already planning to order their Garlicky Chicken that has their signature fried chicken with
special soy sauce and crunchy garlic flakes… drools at the thought of this…
Just
when I didn’t think any other chicken could top their Crispy Fried Chicken, the
Spicy BBQ Roasted Chicken (RM62.90)
had me at Hello!! If that fried chicken was superb, this was sublime. The texture
of the roasted chicken is amazingly firm yet tender. I opted for a breast piece
and it was soft and smooth, unlike most where the meat tends to be fairly tough
as it is very lean. It was also very juicy, making the chicken utterly
delicious.
What
makes this chicken so darn yummy is also the heat factor and flavour from the
sauce. The sticky and lightly sweet sauce is robust and full of luscious heat.
There is also a bold smoky note that smelled so tempting from the moment the
hotplate of chicken was placed on our table. I also like the fact that they
added pieces of Korean rice cake that was baked together with the chicken. The
baked rice cake had such a wonderful chewy factor. The whole plate comes with
baked egg, baked potato with sour cream and fruit salsa. Can’t take heat?
There’s also a baked version of Rosemary Chicken. I am so going back to Chir
Chir for the spicy one…
We
couldn’t resist ordering the Honey
Butter Chicken (RM56.90). One of the hottest flavours in Korea, they now
practically flavour everything with honey butter nowadays. This one features
boneless chicken chunks that is lightly battered and fried to golden crispy
chicken, tossed in Chir Chir’s honey butter sauce and seasoning, served with a
side of creamy honey mayo garlic sauce. There is also battered rice cakes,
potato wedges, dried cranberries and almond flakes. It’s lightly sweet and
buttery with a sandy texture but I really enjoyed it together with the rest of
the accompaniments. Another dish worth trying if you never had honey butter
flavour before.
This one goes exceptionally well with the Chir Cream Beer…
Pasta
fans will enjoy Chir Chir Mi Chir
(RM62.90). Oven roasted Cajun fried chicken tenders is buried under a pile of
pasta dressed in creamy cheesy sauce and covered with more mozzarella cheese.
This one is a tad too heavy for my palate but it would make a very filling meal
for two at least.
There’s
more than just chicken at Chir Chir. Spicy
Seafood Soup (RM54.90) offers a piquant seafood broth loaded with squid,
prawn, mussels, crayfish, vegetables and Korean sweet potato noodles. The broth
is a little spicy with lots of seafood oomph while the seafood is fresh and
cooked well. Makes a nice change if you’re looking for more than just chicken.
The
Spicy Topokki (RM29.90) is decent
but nothing to shout about compared to all the other dishes. The thick sweet
and spicy classic topokki sauce with chewy rice cakes, soft fishcakes, crispy
Cajun fried squid and deep fried hard-boiled egg is one of Korean’s popular
street food. The version here is faultless but didn’t impress us as much as
their chicken dishes.
There’s
one dish that I haven’t seen in our Korean restaurants here and it’s a dish
with chicken feet. Cheese Fire Chicken Feet (RM34.90) has chicken feet coated
with a fiery spicy sauce paired with a pool of melted cheese sauce, boiled egg
and seaweed rice balls. The chicken feet is not as soft so there is a good bite
to this. The cheese sauce does tone down the heat on the chicken feet and the
seaweed rice ball is very tasty.
Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory has really nailed their chicken
dishes to near perfectness. Prices are on the higher end but that’s justifiable
for the quality and portion they served. All of their dishes we tried is larger
in portion than a lot of places and feeds at least 2 to 3 people. Go for their
chicken dishes because they do those really well and their drinks are very good
too. Now I am wishing for more Chir Chir
outlets to open nearer to me so I can get my fix of fried chicken more often.
CHIR
CHIR FUSION CHICKEN FACTORY
Pavilion Elite Kuala
Lumpur,
168, Jalan Raja Chulan,
Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +60 3-2110 4867
