Kaarage Torifuku

Got to learn about the existence of Karaage Torifuku on a day that we were actually headed towards the favourite place for coffee — we were actually passing by the 153 Brew Cafe coffeeshop that is situated at the crossroads of Foch Road and Tyrwhitt Road when we thought that the sights weren’t quite as familiar as what we recall it to be. Karaage Torifuku is a fairly new stall situated in the 153 Brew Cafe Coffeeshop being situated a Vietnamese stall named Non La Vietnamese Kitchen; the stall shouldn’t be too difficult to locate considering how it sports a bright blue signboard that not only has photos of its offerings illustrated on it, but also features a pretty cute-looking chicken that is dressed in a Squid Games-like attire for its logo as well. One thing that intrigued us quite a fair bit about Karaage Torifuku is the use of Japanese language in its printed notices all around the store — something that isn’t particularly common in the local setting that we are in; equally interesting would be how the establishment seems to specialise in the serving of Tori Karaage. Whilst not an entirely new concept to the local F&B scene in the way that the idea is being conceived, Karaage Torifuku has certainly stood out for being one of the rare few that had decided to go in this direction. The food menu at Karaage Torifuku is split into two (2) sections; one dedicated to Karaage (Ala-carte), while the other would be for their Karaage Don. There is also an “Others” section, though the only items listed in that section would be Rice and Soup.

The Yuzu Pepper Don was the Karaage Don that caught our attention whilst skimming through the menu when we visited Karaage Torifuku on a weekday evening for dinner. Per what the menu describes for their Karaage Don offerings, all Karaage Dons including the Yuzu Pepper Don would come with rice and soup. It can also be observed that the Karaage Dons would come with three (3) pieces of Tori Karaage as well. All the Tori Karaage are freshly-fried upon order — this also means that there will be some waiting time involved for those whom intend to dine here; patrons would be passed an electronic buzzer after making payment for their order at the cashier, and the electronic buzzer would be used to page the patron to collect the order once it is ready for collection. The Yuzu Pepper Karaage sits atop the bed of rice here; sinking our teeth into the piping hot fried chicken, this felt exactly how an authentically Japanese Tori Karaage should be — the fried chicken comes with a golden brown exterior where the batter wasn’t overly thick. This results in a crisp batter that wasn’t heavy and felt integral to the chicken flesh — all that without feeling in any way greasy as well. Inside, one can still feel the fibres of the chicken flesh being torn apart as one chews through the chicken chunk; the flesh being especially juicy and tender without much effort to chew through. The notes of yuzu pepper are particularly prominent; there is a slightly tangy zing that it carries — all that whilst carrying a saltish note that seems to add on just nicely to it. The consistency of the short-grain rice here is sticky just like how Japanese grains should be with a mild fragrance; it also comes with Beni shōga (i.e. red pickled ginger) that refreshes the tastebuds.

We probably didn’t need it but we got tempted enough when we noticed how they have mentioned on the printed menu that they are also offering Nanban Karaage / Nanban Karaage Don — we found ourselves ordering the Nanban Karaage which comes in a portion size of three (3) pieces per serving. These did carry the same consistency as the Yuzu Pepper Karaage in our order of the Yuzu Pepper Don; that being said, these would come with the “tartar sauce” as what one would expect with the standard Nanban Chicken offering that other Japanese dining establishments would serve up. A dish that is said to be prepared using an “award-winning recipe”, the “tartar sauce” does come with chopped up bits of egg that provided some flavour to that creamy, mayonnaise-like base note — we also liked how it carried a bit of crunch from some bits of chopped onion from within that proceed a good contrast of textures. In comparison with the Yuzu Pepper Karaage from the Yuzu Pepper Don though, the chicken chunks here do feel like it came with a “cleaner” flavour profile without the saltishness that was mostly induced by the infusion of yuzu pepper into the dish.

Eateries specialising in Tori Karaage are actually a rare find in Singapore, and that in itself does make Karaage Torifuku quite a bit of a rarity in the local F&B scene. We were honestly not expecting much from the establishment — partially also due to how it has chosen to operate within a coffeeshop setting where Japanese fare isn’t usually served at its best. That being said, we left Karaage Torifuku being impressed by what it has to offer; the standard of its offerings surpassing what one would typically expect even for some commercially-run establishments — our favourite being the Yuzu Pepper Karaage between the two (2) that we had tried. The price of its Karaage Don offerings are within the range of $6.50 to $7.50; the cheapest being the Thigh Karaage Don and Breast Karaage Don, while the priciest would be the Nanban Karaage Don — the prices still being rather reasonable for a stall served up Japanese cuisine in a coffeeshop. With the demographics of those whom visit this coffeeshop being middle-aged men whom are noticed to be consuming beer, Karaage Torifuku definitely works as a great bar snack to accompany their drinks — as much as it would for those looking for good Tori Karaage to check out around the island.