Gullible Travels

Kko Kko Nara

POSTED ON Sunday, October 12, 2014 AT 6:15 PM \ leave a comment (0)

as i was queuing for 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken the other day amid throngs of people, it suddenly struck me that KFC has taken Singapore by storm - by that i meant Korean fried chicken (KFC). quite a number of similar concepts have sprouted out at shopping malls lately, each drawing their own stream of followers, but if you ask us, the really good Korean fried chicken is still best found at your conservation shophouse-type Korean restaurants.

Kko Kko Nara, despite being a full-fledged Korean restaurant, have somehow earned the reputation of being a popular fried chicken joint. while chicken is undoubtedly their specialty, the place actually comes with the full works; very traditionally Korean from their fit-out to their dishes. when you step in, you'd find a pretty small seating area against a Korean-looking bar counter playing Korean MTV videos. the tables come with the metal chopsticks, a wooden tissue box and a metal container for bones - made to imply that everyone comes here for chicken wings & drumsticks..

as with other typical Korean restaurants, the mains come with Banchan or side dishes. the selection here is pretty limited so i guess that is not their emphasis. we ordered Makgeolli, the rice wine that came in a very traditional bowl with a ladle, and two smaller bowls for you to scoop the wine in - think Korean period dramas where people take a oath over wine. i actually liked the wine, it was sweet and refreshing, certainly went well with the spicy-food.

check out their version of traditional Korean rice. served in a mess-tin with egg, luncheon meat and sticky rice, very authentic. in fact, before we move on to the chicken, we would like to highlight that there were other popular dishes on the menu, from the typical choice of army stew hotpot, to Topokki (stir-fried rice cake with noodle) to Ginseng chicken soup. their pork belly was another favourite amongst regular guests.

alright, cut to the chase.. for a first time visit, trying their fried chicken is a must. there are actually 4 styles of preparing their signature fried chicken: hot & spicy, sweet & spicy, deep fried and soy garlic. to simplify matters, their menu includes an introductory chicken combo set, which comes with pieces of the latter 3 types. i'm not implying that the chicken from fast-food chains are genetically induced, but those served at Kko Kko Nara really have more meat on the inside. we liked the deep fried and soy garlic versions, very juicy and well marinated. the sweet & spicy was a tad too sweet, and rather sticky..

those who didn't know better (like us) would probably think chicken alone would not be enough to fill our stomachs, for us, we really wanted to drink some Korean kimchi soup, so we ordered this spicy beancurd soup. the kimchi base was spicy and sweet, with a hearty serving of beancurd, green chilli and veg. the soup could have been a meal in itself, came in a huge-ass pot; and that's how we over ate.

in all, Kko Kko Nara is your typical Korean family restaurant, specialising in fried chicken. to us, the chicken was certainly juicier and meatier than most others we've tried. the marination was adequate and the variety ensured we didn't get sick of the taste (try finishing a family feast bucket on your own). we've read reviews of people saying that the chicken turned cold really fast, i guess the consistency varies with the peak hour crowds. although there are no mad queues, reservations are still recommended as there could be a long waiting list for dinner and peak hours. Nevertheless, if you're looking for some traditional Korean dishes, good rice wine and cap it off with some "KFC", then this is the place to go.

Kko Kko Nara
57 Tras Street #01-01
Singapore 078996

Opening Hours
Lunch: 11 am to 5 pm (daily)
Dinner: 5 pm to 4 am (daily)

Kko Kko is how the rooster crows in Korea..