KFC Outlet in Tampines Mall Allows Diners to Look At How Their Food is Cooked

Since young, I have always wondered one thing.

“Mum,” I would ask as I tucked into my Kentucky Fried Chicken. “How do they make these chicken pieces? They’re delish!”

In response, my mum would raise a finger to her lips. “Nobody knows, son. That’s what makes it Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s magical.”

And I’ll look at her with a look akin to reverence. “I see…”

“Are you guys idiots?” my dad would interject as he violated his chicken thigh. “They obviously bread and fry the chicken and add a whole load of spices and shit. How else would fried chicken be made?”

I looked at my mum. She looked at my dad. He started to flinch.

“I didn’t mean to call you an idiot, honey…” he whispered. “It just came out. This chicken thigh’s magic made me cuss, you know. I didn’t mean to- try to lay off the face honey that’s my only saving grace!”

And as my parents proceeded to re-enact 50 shades of grey in the middle of a public restaurant, I thought to myself:

“If only I can see how they make chicken for myself…”

Unbeknownst to me, my dream will come true.

A cool one year later.

The First KFC Open Concept Store in South-East Asia

If you, like the kid in the introductory paragraph, have always craved a time when you can watch how cooks in KFC prepare their chicken (without trespassing illegal boundaries), rejoice;

Your dream has come true.

This April, walk in the doors of The Tank @ KFC Tampines Mall, the fried chicken chain’s first-ever glass-enclosed kitchen in South-East Asia.

Located at level 1, this novelty has a seating capacity of 85 and will allow customers to see the live preparation of KFC’s famous chicken.

“The Tank @ KFC Tampines Mall is the first KFC restaurant in Singapore where the preparation of our chicken can be watched live. Through this, we wish to demonstrate Colonel Sanders’ passion and obsession in making great-tasting chicken that our cooks, till this very day, still follow diligently,” Ms Lee explains.

(Mr Writer, who’s Ms Lee? You lifted this from the press release again, didn’t you, without introducing Ms Lee?)

The “KFC OPEN KITCHEN” Programme

KFC Singapore will be officially kicking off its “KFC Open Kitchen” programme this April, where guests are brought inside the highly guarded kitchens, allowing them to become a #KFCInsider.

The “KFC Open Kitchen” programme will bring participants on a culinary journey, starting from the kitchen’s storage area, the breading and preparation stations, and to the final service counter area where food is served.

As a #KFCInsider, participants will be guided around by KFC restaurant managers to observe and be educated on how each piece of KFC chicken is freshly hand-breaded and cooked, and how burgers are freshly cooked and assembled.

There will also be opportunities for guests to get ‘up close and personal’ with the KFC cooks.

The “KFC Open Kitchen” programme will be available for online booking from 8 April 2019 and there will be a total of 36 tour sessions available monthly across selected KFC outlets that include KFC Kallang, Waterway Point, Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Jurong Point and Northpoint City.

Each #KFCInsider pass will be priced at $15 per head (we mean human head, not chicken head) for a 35-minute guided tour. Each pass also comes complete with a two-piece KFC chicken meal and a KFC goodie bag.

More details about the “KFC Open Kitchen” programme and ticketing information can be found here.

The Big Reveal Of A Big Secret

And if you’ve always fantasized about the recipe behind KFC’s flawless recipe, fantasise no longer.

It’s finally here.

One particular #KFCInsider secret to be revealed is the preparation of its signature Original Recipe chicken; how each piece of chicken is painstakingly breaded and fried to timed perfection in custom-made pressure-cookers.

Adhering strictly to KFC’s founder, Colonel Sanders’, unique “7-10-7” breading technique, all Original Recipe chickens are hand-breaded in an exact sequence with its secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices.

This is exactly how KFC chicken is freshly prepared in-store every day, the Colonel’s way.

Colonel Sander’s “7-10-7” unique breading technique:

• Chicken pieces are ‘rolled’ 7 times in a basket after being cleaned and rinsed, to remove any excess moisture.
• The chicken pieces are tossed in the breading flour 10 times, using a ‘scoop and lift’motion.
• Then, it is pressed into the breading flour 7 times, to ensure the ideal flour-to-chicken coating ratio on each piece.

(Wah!? So precise?!)

Thereafter, each piece of chicken is then placed onto layers of stainless steel clamshell baskets in a planned layout before being pressure-cooked to golden perfection.

The “racking” layout was a special design by Colonel Sander himself, after countless attempts, for frying a perfectly cooked KFC chicken. This special layout is to ensure no overlapping of chicken pieces and allow different parts of the chicken, such as breast meat and a drumstick, to be cooked evenly at the same time, retaining its juiciness.

The result is a perfectly succulent piece of Original Recipe chicken made with love, craft and science, as well as that unmistakable finger-licking’ good taste which is consistent across all KFC restaurants.

“To complement our guests’ curiosity about our brand and how their food is being made, we want to come forward and share our secrets and behind-the-scenes practices, so that our guests can learn all about our famous finger lickin’ good chicken” says Lynette Lee, General Manager, KFC Singapore.

(Oh, Mr Writer, I see what you did. Good job copying-and-pasting the press release. No wonder this article has over a thousand words.)

“As the leading chicken fast food brand, we want to encourage our guests to watch our cooks and hopefully learn new interesting facts about how their KFC meals are prepared fresh every day. We want to assure our guests that each piece of KFC chicken is crafted with passion and care and we use fresh chicken and quality ingredients.”

Always wanted to make your own Kentucky Fried Chicken?

Well, you can now. Though of course, as one might say;

Nothing beats the original.

Nevertheless, should you wish to see the whole preparation process, you can always head down to Tampines Mall for a closer look. Considering how a $15 entry ticket grants you a two-piece KFC chicken meal and a KFC goodie bag, we would say that even if you’re not satisfied with the whole open concept thing…

You’ll at least not be walking away hungry and empty-handed.