Food Blog | Fryday Korean Fried Chicken Taman Pelangi

I’m a sucker for Korean fried chicken, I’m a big fan of the way it tastes more healthy than a KFC, but packs so much flavour inside of it. That’s why me and my girlfriend headed over to Fryday Johor Bahru for a nice dinner.

(EDIT: Chi Mac changed its name to Fryday Johor Bahru, so title and opening sentence changed)

Is it Halal?

This place is NOT halal certified, but I think that is more due to the drinks if you are concerned about it (soju, beers and all that jazz). They say that there is no pork, no lard, so if you’re a bit more open that, then this place is suitable for you!

Really delicious seafood pancake! Should definitely try.

Where it Is

It is in a pretty happening place in Taman Pelangi. More specifically, the landmarks you want to look for will include Alliance Bank and SDS. Basically, you want to turn in at the narrow lane with Alliance Bank (assuming you’re coming from the main road) and go further down. You’ll see a SDS, and you can pretty much park when you see the SDS.

It is pretty hard to find Chi Mac, because beside it you have a few OTHER Korean restaurants (don’t go in unless you really change your mind) and the fact that it isn’t actually on the ground floor (you have to go up a flight of steps).

I recommend you just double check where it is by stepping out onto the road if you aren’t sure where it is, because that will help you immensely. If it helps, the staircase feels almost exactly like another Korean fried chicken store in K-Fry, also in Johor Bahru, but I’m not going to be talking about that today.

Address: Chi Mac Korean Frie Chicken, 39, Jalan Perang, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor

The Spicy Korean chicken wings from Chi Mac!

What it Costs

I think that it is kind of what you expect in price for a Korean meal. In many ways, I would say it is slightly cheaper than if you go to a Korean BBQ, for example. If you read my blog often, you know that me and my girlfriend have the tendency to both overorder and overeat (2 different things which make each other worse), but I think we ordered just enough for out stomachs here.

What we basically had was 2 servings of fried chicken (in total 8 pieces, 4 of which are chicken wings, 2 are thigh and 2 are drumsticks), and we added a seafood pancake (Haemul Pajeon) in order to finish the meal off. As you can see from the portions, in general, you are getting a pretty big portion for whatever you order.

If you order the chicken wing (no matter what the sauce), it sells for RM16, the Drumsticks for RM18 (pictured at the top picture for this post) and the seafood pancake is sold for RM22. 10% service charge and we ended up paying RM61.60 for our dinner.

How it Tastes

Honestly, really good. The chicken wings we had it in their Hot, Spicy yangyum sauce. The chicken drumsticks + thigh mix we had it in the Ganjang sauce. Both are the recommended sauces, and you can kind of see why when you bite into it. For both me and my girlfriend, we liked the Ganjang Chicken better because the flavour was really nice and the chicken was REALLY crunchy.

The spicy chicken variation is pretty spicy, so if you have a low spice tolerance, don’t go ahead and order that. It is okay, but I think the crunch from the Ganjang chicken is just so much better, so I just highly recommend that.

The seafood pancake is actually my girlfriend and arguably my favourite part of the meal. It is really good because you can really get that seafood flavour coming out from the pancake, which makes it really delicious!

Other things a few friends have recommended would be the fries (didn’t really see in the menu) and they also serve Toppoki (rice cake) and dessert (Bingsu), but we didn’t really try it when we were there.

Really Similar To…

K-Fry. I think no other real comparison if I were to tell you what it was similar to. I personally think I PREFER Chi Mac. K-Fry has the cheese elements, but I think Chi-Mac makes a better fried chicken, which is why it is the winner for me.

A mark of a good meal, empty plates and full stomachs.

Suitable For …

Maybe not too much for older family members, but in general, I think most people would like this place. Young kids will like the fact that it is basically fried chicken, and most young people will enjoy the taste. Just be careful, because it comes piping hot from the cooking oil.

Also suitable for having together with alcoholic beverages. Beer + Chicken is a REALLY popular combination in Korea.

Star Rating

7.5/10. A really nice fried chicken place with a very cozy environment. Good food at a really good price point for customers, so I would definitely recommend it for people who want to get the Korean Fried Chicken fix!

My girlfriend gave it a 8/10, so take it how you will, and judge the place for yourself! I’m a pretty harsh critic myself, and I don’t even think I’ve given out too many 8 or higher ratings in my blog.