As a Korean native, one of the foods I constantly miss is Korean fried chicken. I don’t know the sorcery behind the recipe, but somehow, fried chicken tastes better in Korea—at least for me. Naturally, I’m always looking to get the closest taste of home, so I visited K-Fry Urban Korean during a recent trip to Johor Bahru. This popular Malaysian chain has 10 outlets across the country; their Holiday Villa Johor Bahru City Centre branch has an impressive 4.8-star rating from over 16K Google reviews!
The current exchange rate is RM1 = ~S$0.30 as of 13 March 2025.
K-Fry is known for their cheesy fried chicken that’s warmed and prepared right in front of you. We got the Honey Mustard Cheesy Fried Chicken Bumbuk (RM74.20++) to try as we’re fans of the sweet-tangy sauce. This is great for three or four people as each pan comes with 12 pieces of boneless fried chicken coated with honey mustard sauce, with a generous serving of mozzarella cheese on the side.
Other flavours include the sweet-spicy Yangnyeom and the crowd-favourite Spicy Cheesy. You can also get it in Original without any condiments!
After ordering, the staff brought out an iron pan on a portable gas stove, and warmed up some mozzarella cheese till it became soft and stretchy. Then, each boneless fried chicken piece was blanketed in melted cheese for a burst of textures and flavours—sweet and crispy from the chicken, savoury and gooey from the mozzarella.
Tip: request a specific number of mozzarella-wrapped fried chicken if you don’t want every piece to be paired with cheese.
We also got the K’Fry Spicy Yangnyeom Wings (RM28.90++), a classic flavour that many will surely enjoy as long as you can handle spice.
Each basket stars four wings and four drumlets covered in sweet-spicy sauce, finished with sesame seeds and sliced green chilli. It leans spicy than sweet, so only get this if you can take the heat! Otherwise, you can get the Garlic Soya, Honey Butter, and the Snow Cheese flavours instead.
We visited the Holiday Villa branch, which was spacious with at least 50 seats, and we enjoyed the vibrant atmosphere accompanied by upbeat K-pop music. The restaurant is an easy 15-minute drive from the customs, making it a convenient lunch or dinner spot before heading back to Singapore.
For those planning a trip to JB, read our 1-day Johor Bahru food itinerary for loaded bagels and zi char feasts. We also have a guide to the best Johor Bahru cafes!
Website | Full list of locations
K-Fry Urban Korean is a halal-certified eatery.
Photos taken by Marcus Neo and edited by John Lery Villanueva.
This was an independent visit by Eatbook.sg
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