Arnold's Fried Chicken

Arnold's Fried Chicken
810 Geylang Road
#02-99 City Plaza

51 Yishun Central 1
#01-04 Yishun 10 Cineplex

21 Hougang Street 51
#01-49 Hougang Green Shopping Mall

60 Jurong West Central 3
#01-05 The Frontier Community Club

215 Bedok North Street 1 #01-83

https://arnoldsfriedchicken.com/

Hey, Arnold's! A Singaporean Fried Chicken Legacy

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 5
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 3
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $9 / $14 per person.

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Arnold's Fried Chicken is a home grown, Singaporean legacy brand that specialises in 1 thing, and 1 thing only; excellent fried chicken. For over 30 years, this halal certified fast food joint has been pulling in crowds day after day, getting even more popular each year. Queues at Arnold's Fried Chicken during peak period meal times can still take up to 1 hour! I first dined at Arnold's Fried Chicken way back in 2007, but have only recently realised that I never got around to blogging about it!

Ambience at Arnold's Fried Chicken still remains more or less the same after all this time. Functional, wide tables laid out neatly within the small, cramped interior, whose walls are a garish mix of white against primary colours. It's usually noisy here, and there is also usually some minor uncleanliness similar to other fast food franchises, with tiny bits of food on the tables or floors.

Service at Arnold's Fried Chicken resembles other fast food franchises as well, it's all self-service. Ordering and payment is done outside the shop, and then you take your place in the queue. Once you get a table, a buzzer will let you know when you can collect your order. And while you're encouraged to clear your own table, staff do assist in this regard. Possibly the only interaction you'll have with staff is when placing, or collecting, your order.

Food at Arnold's Fried Chicken is focused, with the only main dish on the menu being fried chicken. The fried chicken is fantastic, with a thin, crisp, savoury skin, and juicy, tender chicken meat, served piping hot. Arnold's Fried Chicken uses fresh chickens, never frozen, which is evident in the taste. They also offer a range of side dishes and drinks. Portions are nicely sized, and prices are similar, or slightly lower, than other fast food places, budget about SGD $9 per person for a meal here.

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The place looks just as garish after all these years, and the almost constant queue outside is a testament to its tasty food and good value for money.

Arnold's Fried Chicken Exterior

Arnold's Fried Chicken Interior

Arnold's Fried Chicken Menu

The Bandung (SGD $2.10) is well mixed, not too sweet or too milky, you can still taste the floral rose syrup and the smooth creamy condensed milk.

Bandung

A standard 2 Piece Meal (SGD $6.60) is served with coleslaw, fries, and 2 pieces of fried chicken. The coleslaw here differs from elsewhere because it's lighter on sauce, thus, you actually get more of the freshness and crunch of the diced vegetables. The thick cut fries have solid potato flavour, and aren't salty. The fried chicken is the star here, no matter which part you get, the meat is always juicy, tender, and piping hot. The skin is thin but crisp, pulling off easily, though the chicken fat is still present. Extremely satisfiying!

2 Piece Meal (SGD $6.60)

2 Piece Meal

2 Piece Meal

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Update Jun-2018: Having dined at Arnold's Fried Chicken several more times over the years, I'm glad to say they've maintained a consistent standard, even as they've expanded across Singapore with more outlets. Ambience remains plain, simple and functional, the harsh fluorescent lighting illuminating the primary colours of the sturdy furniture. Service is still self-service, though staff do sometimes interact with diners, and are efficient at clearing empty / dirty tables. Food is still of consistently good standard, their fried chicken is still among the best in Singapore, and the quality of the side dishes have improved slightly. Prices have risen though, budget about SGD $14 per person for a meal here.

Platter Of Fried Chicken

The 3 Person Combo Meal (SGD $41.20) is a good choice when dining in a group, and is sufficient even for the hungry (or the hangry). Good value for money with this meal. It includes a regular drink, such as Apple Soda; a vegetal sweet sour Coleslaw consisting of fresh, crunchy cabbage, carrots, and mayonnaise; a creamy smooth Mashed Potato covered in salty savoury chicken gravy; a soft and chewy Fried Bun with delicate bready flavour; thick cut Fries with good potato flavour; and a variety of Fried Chicken parts, such as Fried Chicken Wing, sufficient enough for each person to have 3 pieces. The chicken remains delicious and yummy, served piping hot, juicy and tender chicken meat with sweet savoury flavour, crispy salty savoury chicken skin that crunches lightly. Not too greasy or oily, just nice. Shiok.