Taiwanese comedian Nono to open his first Monga fried chicken outlet in Singapore, but it's all the way in the West

Just like bubble tea, Singaporeans can't seem to get enough of another Taiwanese import — fried chicken fillets.

Taiwanese fried chicken chain Monga will be opening its first Singapore outpost on Sept 28 at Jurong's Jem shopping mall (too bad, Easties).

The chain is the brainchild of Taiwanese comedian Nono and his partner Liu Mingdao, who's been declared as the King of Taiwanese fried chicken.

In case you find the name familiar, Monga happens to be the name of Taiwan's oldest district, which also spawned a movie of the same name.

So, what's the difference between Monga and the bevvy of other popular Taiwanese fried chicken outlets already established on our shores?

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At Monga, the chicken fillets are sliced into extra-thick slices of at least 2cm to retain a "firm and satisfyingly juicy" bite after being deep-fried.

Prepared exactly as they do in Taiwan, the recipe boasts a "golden flour-to-meat ratio", and calls for the use of honey instead of granulated sugar to marinate the chicken meat, which supposedly helps to tenderise the meat even further.

There will be three flavours of fried chicken fillet: The King is dusted with salt and pepper seasoning; Hot Chick is covered in chilli paprika powder hand-made from Anaheim peppers; and The Taiker, slathered with Japanese sauce before being dusted in seaweed powder imported from Okinawa.

We haven't tried it ourselves, but Monga already has more than 45 outlets in Taiwan as well as outlets in the US, UK, Philippines and Malaysia, which may attest to its popularity (or smart business strategising).

Guess we'll soon find out.

candicecai@asiaone.com