LDNReview
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Tongdak New Malden
Included In
It’s not that it’s hard to find some fried chicken in this city. Anyone that’s been here for longer than 30 seconds has seen a Chicken Cottage or two already. It’s that it’s hard to find fried chicken as excellently crunchy and deliciously seasoned as the fried chicken at Tongdak. This Korean spot in New Malden is raising the bar for deep-fried poultry.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
The menu has seven different chicken seasonings, from honey butter and garlic soya to yangnyeom and white spices. But the star of the show here is the fried original. Made to order, you’ll get a mix of drums, flats, and wings, hand-battered and fried to golden, crispy perfection, which is well worth the 20-30 minute wait (on a quiet day) for them to be freshly prepared. While the crunch quality is high across the board, some of the seasonings can be a little hit or miss. Take the garlic soya, which falls a little short on the garlic front, or the honey butter, which is so sweet we thought dessert came early. With that being said, if you come here and order correctly (see the rundown below), you’ll leave having had some of the best fried chicken around.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
It’s also one of the rare spots that maintains the same quality whether you’re dining in or getting it delivered. But if you don’t live within their delivery zone, the chicken’s crunchy exterior with delicious juicy meat inside and no grease in sight means that although there may only be a handful of tables and it feels more like a takeaway spot, don’t let that stop you from making a trip here.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Fried Original
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Yangnyeom
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Dak Gangjeon (Boneless)