Daily Beer Korean Fried Chicken, CHIJMES: Free Frozen Glass

Daily Beer, at 30 Victoria Street, #01-04 CHIJMES, Singapore 187996, is the Singapore outpost of a South Korean chain built around one idea: crisp fried chicken and cold beer at the same table, the pairing Koreans call chimaek. It sits in the courtyard of CHIJMES, the restored convent complex beside City Hall, opens from 11:30 am every day and stays open until 12:30 am on Fridays, public holidays and their eves. If you want Korean fried chicken with a proper beer list rather than a soft drink, this is the most atmospheric place in the city to order it.

Daily Beer was founded in South Korea in 2014 and now has more than 370 outlets there, according to its Singapore website, which also notes the celebrity following the brand built at home. Singapore was its first international market, opened by the local restaurant company Katrina Group, which also runs the family-oriented spin-off Daily Chicken. The Korean name on the menus, Saenghwal Maekju, translates roughly as daily-life beer, and the house motto printed on the plates is No Beer, No Work.

The CHIJMES branch is the more scenic of the two Singapore outlets. CHIJMES was built as the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, and the white colonial buildings and Gothic chapel now surround a sunken courtyard of restaurants and bars. Daily Beer's outdoor tables put a tray of chicken under the arches of a nineteenth century convent, which is about as far from a Seoul side street as chimaek can travel.

The fried chicken here is the Angry Bird family, sold three ways: a 16-piece whole chicken, 600g of boneless pieces or 600g of wings. Plain Angry Bird, the original fried chicken, costs S$32 whole, S$29 boneless or S$28 for wings. Angry Bird Red is tossed in a spicy sauce, Black in sweet garlic soy, and Crunch is extra crispy with cornflakes and garlic, sweet and spicy seasoning. Each of those costs S$34 whole, S$31 boneless or S$30 for wings.

Two newer flavours sit on a separate card at the same prices. Angry Bird Sriracha is tossed in a sour and spicy sriracha sauce with a creamy drizzle, and Angry Bird Honey Golden coats extra crispy chicken in a sweet and savoury honey glaze. Half and half is available on everything: S$35 for a whole bird, S$32 for boneless and S$31 for wings. For a first visit, order a half-and-half whole of Crunch and Black so you get both the craggiest crust and the classic soy glaze.

The drinks card at CHIJMES is labelled Korean craft beer only available at Daily Beer, and several taps exist only at this branch. K-Red Lager, an amber lager imported from Korea at 4.5% ABV, costs S$14 for 420ml, and K-Ginseng Lager, brewed with whole Korean ginseng, costs S$13. The CHIJMES exclusives are Chijmes Pale Ale at S$14 and Chijmes Hazy IPA, hopped with Galaxy, Motueka, Citra and Mosaic, at S$15. If you cannot choose, the beer flight of five 200ml glasses costs S$35.

The best deal on the card is printed at the bottom: the first 50 customers each day can upgrade any craft beer to a 500ml frozen glass for free. Non-drinkers are looked after with Korean ades, including omija and green plum at S$4 and a herbal hangover remedy called Wake Up Ade at S$5. Soju fans can order Real K-Somaek, soju mixed with K-Red Lager, at S$17 for 500ml.

Groups usually add one of the stews. Daily Budae Tteokbokki, an army stew of rice cakes, sausages and noodles, costs S$30, and Daily Tteokbokki with chicken tenders and fish cakes is S$28. The bar snacks are built for beer: grilled dried pollack with sweet soy and mayonnaise at S$28, Spam fries at S$16 and kimchi fries at S$16. Original gimbap with spicy stir-fried kimchi costs S$16, and Hangang Ramyun is S$9.

Skip the S$9 chewy doughnuts and the pastry desserts if you are already sharing a whole bird and a stew. Portions are generous, and a whole chicken plus one stew comfortably feeds four. Skip the Coca-Cola too and order an omija ade at the same S$4 price for something you cannot get everywhere.

Hours at CHIJMES vary by day. On Sunday and Monday the bar is open 11:30 am to 10 pm with last order at 9:30 pm. Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday it is open 11:30 am to 11 pm with last order at 10:30 pm. On Friday, public holidays and the eve of public holidays it is open 11:30 am to 12:30 am with last order at 11:30 pm. Prices are in Singapore dollars and are subject to a 10% service charge and GST.

The courtyard fills fast after office hours from Thursday to Saturday, so book through the reservations page on the website for groups. Arrive before 6 pm if you want both a courtyard table and a shot at the free frozen glass, which goes to the first 50 customers. Daily Beer also runs trivia nights with K-pop and Squid Game themes, announced on its website.

Start inside CHIJMES itself and look into CHIJMES Hall, the former convent chapel, with its stained glass and carved columns. Across Bras Basah Road, Raffles Hotel's white facade and arcade shops are a short walk away. St Andrew's Cathedral, with its pale spire and lawns, sits a few minutes south toward City Hall MRT.

For a longer loop, walk up Victoria Street to Bras Basah Complex for its bookshops, then cut across to the temples and street stalls of Waterloo Street. After dark, the floodlit CHIJMES courtyard is the natural place to finish, with a second round of wings and one last frozen glass.

Address: Daily Beer, 30 Victoria Street, #01-04 CHIJMES, Singapore 187996. Nearest MRT: City Hall on the East-West and North-South lines, or Esplanade and Bras Basah on the Circle Line. Hours: Sunday and Monday 11:30 am to 10 pm; Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday 11:30 am to 11 pm; Friday, public holidays and their eves 11:30 am to 12:30 am.

Budget: a half-and-half whole chicken at S$35, a Daily Tteokbokki at S$28 and four K-Red Lagers at S$14 each come to S$119 before service charge and GST, enough for four people. For more chimaek spots around the Civic District, ask Karpo in the Karpo APP which Korean bar near City Hall has courtyard seats free right now.