Telok Ayer Korean Fried Chicken at OFC: $37 Rice-Flour Bird

Oven & Fried Chicken, which most regulars shorten to OFC, sits at 182 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068630, in a shophouse on the old waterfront street that now runs between the glass towers of the Central Business District and the lanes of Ann Siang Hill. It is a Korean chicken restaurant with a split personality: one half of the menu is fried in a patented Korean rice-flour coating, the other half is baked in an oven with no oil at all. Both arrive whole or half, built for sharing over beer.

The restaurant is the Singapore marriage of two Korean chains. SSALDAK, whose name roughly means rice chicken, coats its pieces in rice flour instead of wheat, which gives a thinner, sandier, almost biscuit-like crust that stays crisp as it cools. OKKUDAK built its following in Korea on chicken roasted in the oven without frying. OFC put the two under one name and opened in Singapore in October 2014. The company behind it, Dark Soul Pte Ltd, also lists outlets near Beauty World in Bukit Timah and on Tanjong Katong Road.

According to the restaurant, its powders and sauces are made at the OFC factory in Korea, shipped to a warehouse in Singapore and then sent out to each outlet, so the seasoning matches what you would eat in Seoul. The Korean-language notes on the menu, written alongside the English ones, are a small clue that the kitchen still cooks with the home crowd in mind. Office workers, expats and visiting Koreans all turn up after work.

The Fried Mixture is the dish to judge the place by: a bone-in mix of parts in that rice-flour crust, S$37 for a whole bird or S$20 for a half. If you prefer to skip bones, Fried Boneless Thighs cost S$45 whole and S$24 half, and Fried Wings, which the menu sells as collagen rich, are S$39 whole and S$21 half. The Yogurt Salad Chicken is a quirkier order at S$51 whole or S$27 half, crisp boneless pieces with a sweet yogurt dressing, salad greens and ice cream.

For something saucy, the Yang Nyeom section tosses the rice-flour chicken in four coatings: the classic sweet and spicy yang nyeom, a sweet soy, a sweet-sour chilli the menu calls Jambalaya, and Padi Garlic, a garlic sauce with chopped chilli padi for local heat. Half portions of the sauced chicken come as seven mixed pieces, eight boneless pieces or ten wings, a useful guide when you are working out how much to order for a table.

The roasted chicken is what sets OFC apart from the many fryers around the CBD. The Roasted Mixture is S$35 whole and S$19 half, Roasted Boneless Thighs are S$43 and S$23, and Roasted Wings are S$37 and S$20. Because nothing is fried, the skin turns bronze and blistered rather than crunchy, and the meat stays juicy. It is the order for anyone who wants Korean chicken flavour on a weeknight without the heaviness of batter.

Two roasted dishes take things further. The Stir-fried Chicken comes on a griddle in either a spicy hot sauce or the Jambalaya sauce, S$49 whole or S$26 half. The Onion Chicken, known in Korea as papadak, piles roasted chicken under a heap of shredded Welsh onion salad in a tangy vinegar dressing for the same price. Extra Welsh onion is S$5, worth adding if you like the sharp, fresh crunch against the warm chicken.

OFC also cooks the bubbling stews that Korean groups order alongside chicken and drinks. Army Stew, the ham, sausage and ramyeon hotpot, is S$40, and an extra portion of noodles is S$5. Kimchi Stew is S$20 with your choice of saury, tuna or pork. Jjam Ppong Tang, a spicy seafood soup, is S$35, Al Tang, the fish roe soup, is S$25, and an Assorted Fish Cake Soup costs S$20 small or S$35 large. Steamed rice is S$2 a bowl.

The kitchen cooks every order fresh. For the oven-baked dishes, the menu warns that cooking can take up to 30 minutes, because the chicken only goes into the oven once you order, so this is not the place for a rushed fifteen-minute lunch. Order the roasted chicken first and add fried pieces or a stew while you wait. Groups should reserve ahead: the restaurant takes advance bookings by phone or through the Telok Ayer outlet's email.

Food blog Middleclass has written about the snaking queues at the Telok Ayer and Beauty World outlets, and the after-work rush from nearby offices is the reason, so arriving early in the evening gives you the best choice of tables. Calling ahead for a large party also gives the kitchen a head start on roasting several birds at once. The OFC team also invites feedback through the same contact details, which is the quickest route for any special requests.

Telok Ayer MRT station on the Downtown Line is a short walk away, and Telok Ayer Street is one of the best strolls in the CBD. Thian Hock Keng, the Hokkien temple completed in 1842, stands a short walk along the same street, its carved roof ridges and granite pillars dwarfed by the towers behind. Telok Ayer Green, a small park with sculptures of early immigrants, sits next to it.

Climb the stairs off Club Street and Ann Siang Road to Ann Siang Hill Park for a short green walk above the rooftops, or head to nearby Amoy Street Food Centre, one of the CBD's busiest hawker centres, if anyone in your group wants dessert or kopi after the chicken. On weekends the area is calmer, and the shophouse facades along Telok Ayer are easier to photograph.

Address: 182 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068630. Email: telok_ayer@ofcsingapore.com. Fried Mixture S$37 whole or S$20 half. Roasted Mixture S$35 whole or S$19 half. Oven-baked dishes can take up to 30 minutes because they are cooked to order. Advance reservations are taken by phone or email. The Telok Ayer outlet's own email is the best channel for group bookings and feedback.