Chicken Up at Parkway Parade (Outlet Closed)

Two trends – the infatuation with Korean food and restaurant interior decor conceived with Instagram in mind – seem to come together in Chicken Up 치킨업. The restaurant is bright and colourful; has different types of light bulbs and walls lined with decorative bottles with fruit and vegetables. It has a bar and different sections of the restaurant have different looks – each could serve as a great backdrop for Instagram photos. The casual diner offers a variety of Korean fried chicken, japchae, ginseng soup as well as a range of fruit-infused Soju.

We dropped by Chicken Up at Parkway Parade recently and ordered the Ganjang (Soya) Chicken Wings ($12 for 4 pieces), Haemul Pajeon or Seafood Pancake ($14), Ginseng Chicken Soup ($30) and Topokki with Cheese and Seafood ($20). GST and service charge would be added to the bill.

The wait for the food was short. Water was served while we waited. The service staff were friendly, attentive and efficient.

The best dish of the day was definitely the deep fried chicken wings. They were well marinated with a sweet, savoury garlic-soya based blend. The skin was thin and crusty and the meat inside was moist and tender.

The seafood pancake of seafood, onions and savoury batter needed to be eaten with the sauces provided because it was a bit bland on its own.

The Ginseng Chicken Soup and Topokki were served in large pots. Each could easily be shared by 4 persons or more. Ginseng Chicken Soup is supposed to be a nutritious  dish that revitalizes the body and boosts the immune system; so perhaps a generous helping is good.

The Ginseng Chicken was served steaming hot with a whole small chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng, garlic and other ingredients. The chicken was very tender, the meat came off the bones easily, and had a subtle sweetness. The light soup was aromatic and delicious. The tones of ginseng was subtle but clearly discernible.

Topokki with Cheese and Seafood had a thick sweetish red chili sauce soup with soft rice cake, fish cake, mussels, prawns, squids and other ingredients in the large metal pot. It was topped with plenty of cheese. The soup became thicker and richer when the cheese melted. This popular Korean street food dish was really spicy. It was nice but just too spicy for us. We only consumed a small portion of the soup but we finished off the whole jar of water left on our table.

We did not really have room for dessert but after the hot topokki we thought we should have something cold and sweet – plus we were just plain greedy. However, we managed some to show some restraint – we ordered a Mini Oreo Bingsu ($7) instead of the normal size bingsu! The cup bingsu was good with lots of ingredients but just too little shaved ice.

Chicken Up at Parkway Parade is a good venue for a full meal, snacks or just deserts and drinks. The fried chicken there is very good. The service we experienced from the crew of young staff members were excellent. We enjoyed our dinner at Chicken up. We left the place stuffed and happy.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 4
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs    

치킨업 Chicken Up at Parkway Parade
#01-10 Parkway Parade
80 Marine Parade Road
Singapore 449269

Tel : +65 6563 0337

Opening Hours: 11:30 – 23:00

The Ordinary Patrons
a Singapore food blog by ordinary people looking for places to eat