While you can’t travel to Japan (or anywhere else, for that matter) anytime soon, it hasn’t stopped KFC from bringing Japan to you. Sort of. The fast food chain launched its new Japanese-inspired Shoyu Crunch fried chicken today (Nov 25). While soy sauce-marinated fried chicken isn’t new — KFC introduced a similar version with sansho (pepper) in 2017 — this time it’s amped up the heat with paprika. We dig in and give you the low-down.

As soon as we opened the box, we were instantly hit with the savoury aroma of soy sauce. The chicken breast and thigh are coated with fiery red breading, which gets its hue from “natural colouring from hibiscus and paprika”, and topped with a sprinkling of fragrant seaweed bits and sesame seeds.

Despite the intimidating colour, the fried chicken isn’t as spicy as it looks. In fact, the spice level is pretty mild, like a Zinger burger patty. The gently spicy shoyu marinade gives the chook an umami and robust flavour similar to chicken karaage. Meanwhile, the seaweed and sesame seed topping adds a toasty flavour. And though it’s been sitting out for a while, the bird remains crunchy and juicy. We hoover everything down — crispy skin, fats and all — in double quick time.

To elevate the dining experience, KFC has set up “immersive booths” at selected outlets so customers can dine with a “view” of Mount Fuji. Pretty Instagrammable and we like that the cardboard booths double up as safe-distancing barriers a la the acrylic shields at some food courts. The immersive dining experience is available at 10 selected KFC restaurants including Ang Mo Kio Hub, Funan Mall, NEX, and Jurong Point.

Dine with a view

This is simply KFC’s popular Chocolate Hazelnut Egg Tart, but with a topping of marshmallow and cocoa dusting. While we liked the original egg tart, it’s a bit too sweet with the additional frills.

Pretty yummy! The chook is surprisingly moreish with a Japanese flavour profile somewhat similar to karaage fried chicken.

KFC’s Shoyu Crunch is available for dine-in, takeaway & delivery at most KFC outlets, while stocks last. https://www.kfc.com.sg/whats-new/shoyu-crunch