#FastFoodFriday: KFC New Mala Chicken Review: Tastes More Like Maggi Curry Powder Chicken

A wise man once said, if you eat good food, you’ll grow fat.

He’s…not totally wrong.

But another wise old man has come forward and said that there exist some food that’ll make you slim down instead.

Things like 麻辣 (direct translation: numb + spicy).

The #mala trend is still going crazy in Singapore.

So much so that even KFC is jumping on the bandwagon.

And given KFC’s track record with infusing flavours into a chicken, chances are, this time, the chicken’s going to be hot stuff.

So we stole the boss’s wallet while he’s out (probably for yet another mid-morning snack) and ordered ourselves some of this goodness.

How it Looks

I’ll be honest.

The chicken doesn’t look or smell awe-inspiring when it arrived.

Unlike the Truffle Parmesan chicken which left a stench of truffle so strong we thought the boss was bingeing on KFC for three days straight, the mala chicken smells like curry Maggi Mee.

Yes, the 3-minute one.

But as the wise fat man once said, it’s not about how something looks, it’s about how it tastes.

So we tried it for ourselves.

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How it Tastes

When we first heard about KFC having mala chicken, we wondered if it’s the same one as the Sze Chuan mala chicken from KFC a while back.

So we were pretty excited about it.

We took a bite…

And had all our expectations crashed and burn like Hyflux.

It’s crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside with slightly more kick than their usual crispy chicken.

The spiciness only kicked in after we were almost done with the chicken.

But the taste is probably the dealbreaker.

Instead of tasting like mala, it simply tastes like Maggi 3-minute curry noodles.

In a nutshell? That is the most non-mala spicy chicken I’ve ever eaten.

A wise old man said that mala should be spicy, so I’m guessing KFC isn’t Facebook friend with the wise old man.

Should You Buy It?

So, the question of the day: should you try it at least once?

To be fair, it’s not a bad chicken. In fact, if KFC hadn’t market the chicken as #mala, you’ll probably enjoy it.

So if you’re in the market for good crispy chicken with a slight spicy kick, this is for you.

But if you’re here because you love mala, then I’m afraid this chicken is simply going to leave you feeling disappointed and a huge craving for real authentic mala.

Rating: 1.5/5

Prices:

Prices start at S$8.95 for a Mala Chicken two-piece meal, which also includes sides (whipped potato and coleslaw) and a Sjora Mango Peach drink. (shown in pic)

They also have the buddy option at $19.55 and a box meal at $10.95.