[Halal ingredients] We finally tried BHC Chicken Malaysia in 163 Retail Park.
We first ate BHC Chicken in Myeongdong, Seoul during our last trip in September 2022 (see our post here). We enjoyed it so much and were quite excited to learn that it opened an outlet here in Malaysia.
So it is as good as the one in Seoul? Read on to find out.
BHC Chicken Malaysia in 163 Retail Park
BHC Chicken is one of four top fried chicken franchises in Korea – the others being BBQ Chicken, KyoChon, and Goobne.
Among the four, Kyochon had established quite a strong franchise here in Malaysia.
During our Seoul trip, we actually tried BHC and BBQ Chicken and prefer the former.
Hence, we had bookmarked BHC Chicken Malaysia in our list when it opened its first outlet in 163 Retail Park, Mont Kiara in November 2022.
BHC Chicken Malaysia – what is it?
BHC means “Better & Happier Choice”, and is one of the most popular KFC chains in South Korea with 1,000 stores nationwide.
BHC is particularly known for the RetroFried Chicken (known as Sunflower Fried Chicken on the Malaysian menu) – fried chicken coated in classic batter and double-fried in sunflower oil, and the Bburinkle (Sweet and Sour Chicken in Korea) – fried chicken topped with sweet-and-sour powder seasoning.
Here at the Malaysian branch, BHC also serves spicy versions of the Retro and Bburinkle.
Apart from that, BHC also serves Gold King (chicken glazed with soy sauce, sweet honey, and garlic), Sweet and Sour (thick sweet & sour sauce), Macho King (aged soy sauce and Oriental honey sauce), and Red King (red hot chilli peppers and garlic).
No beer? No matter
In South Korea, KFC (Korean fried chicken) is typically enjoyed with beer – a pairing known as chimaek 치맥.
For good reasons, the BHC here does not serve any beer. But this is not an issue as BHC also serves carbonated drinks and Barley Tea.
The chicken here was served with pickled radish and the Bburing and Sweet & Sour dips – similar to the ones in Seoul.
Cheaper than Seoul
When we were here, BHC Chicken Malaysia was running the Trio Promotion – which comprises three half chickens (in your choice of flavours) for RM99.
As a half chicken (comprising seven pieces of chicken) is priced at RM49.50 on the regular menu, we essentially got a free half chicken with the Trio Promotion.
In any case, the RM49.50 price tag for half chicken is also cheaper than the one we paid for in Myeongdong as it cost KRW20,000 (or RM68.50) then.
Yay for value! Hence, we decided to order the Trio Promotion and opted for Bburinkle, Retro and Red King flavours.
Retro – not as good as the one in Seoul
The Retro (or Sunflower Fried Chicken) was our favourite when we ate in Seoul.
The batter for the chicken was light and crunchy, and the meat was incredibly tender and juicy. In fact, the breast meat was one of the most juiciest and tender pieces we’ve eaten anywhere (see our post here).
Unfortunately, while the Retro chicken here in 163 still had a lovely light and crunchy batter, we found the chicken a bit dry and not as juicy as the one we had in Seoul.
Bburing – better than the one in Seoul
On the flip side, we really enjoyed the Bburing chicken here.
The Bburing is essentially fried chicken topped with cheese and vegetable flavouring powder and is one of BHC’s signature dishes. We didn’t enjoy this dish as much in Seoul as we thought the seasoning was too overpowering.
However, the Bburing here is actually quite well-seasoned (meaning to say – it’s not too heavy-handed) and the fried chicken pieces were curiously more juicy and tender that the Retro.
Red King – very flavourful and tender
We also enjoyed the Red King – fried chicken tossed in red hot chilli peppers and garlic.
Similar to the Bburinkle, the chicken still retained its tender, juicy meat – but the sauce was quite a hit.
It had a good amount of spicy kick from the chilli peppers but was nicely complemented with sweetness from onions and hints of garlic.
The sauce does remind us of a Chinese chicken dish similar to Kung Pow chicken.
Summary
Overall, we really enjoyed the fried chicken here. We recommend the Bburinkle and Red King as the flavours were on point, and the chicken was really tender and juicy.
We were slightly disappointed by the dry Retro chicken (good crispy batter though), but it could be an “off-day” as the other two chicken dishes were juicy.
If you’re looking for good KFC, we recommend BHC as we prefer it to Kyochon (our recent visit did not impress us), and Richeese Factory (an Indonesian franchise take on KFC, but the chicken was too dry with artificial-tasting sauces).
However, do prepare to queue during peak hours. We arrived here at 6pm on a Saturday evening and got a table immediately but a queue had built up right after.
RECOMMENDED!
BHC Chicken Malaysia
Address: 1F-06, 8, Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 11am-9.30pm (Mon-Thurs)
11am-10.30pm (Fri-Sun)
Phone: 017-635 5998
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