Craving some good ol’ American comfort food? Bird Bird swaps its Thai-style fried chicken for a new Southern American-inspired menu
With Bird Bird’s new location in Frankel Avenue comes a brand new concept. No longer a “House of Thai Fried Chicken”, dude-Sin pioneer Bjorn Shen (also of Artichoke) has sent Bird Bird down South, concept-wise, and put out a brand new menu featuring Southern American-style comfort food. The star of the show is a classic dish that’s every bit as American as apple pie and baseball – buttermilk fried chicken and cornbread waffles.
It’s no surprise that I just had to start off with the buttermilk fried chicken. Available as a single portion, half bird or the “whole damn bird”, the dish comes with waffles and gravy with a choice of add-ons like curly fries, mash, cornbread waffles, and chunky mash. I kept things simple and opted for the spicy chicken with the waffles, a pot of gravy, and a bit of Bird Bird’s house-smoked maple syrup.
My verdict? The buttermilk fried chicken here is superb and undoubtedly my favourite rendition of the dish so far. It’s not overly greasy, the chicken hasn’t had all the moisture fried out of it, and the mildly spiced crust is the cherry on top. While I don’t advocate drowning the chicken in the gravy (less is more in this case) the smoked maple syrup is definitely an intriguing addition to the dish. The cornbread waffles might polarise some people because it lacks the crispness of a regular waffle, but I was quite taken by the rich corniness of it.
But Bird Bird is so much more than Southern fried chicken. As the brainchild of Bjorn Shen, this place dishes out some rather unorthodox creations. Sure enough, I found a wagyu “Big Mac” fried rice dish on the menu. The dish deconstructs the quintessential fast food burger, offering wagyu beef, sliced American cheddar, Bird Bird’s own sauce, kale, corn, and cherry tomatoes on a mound of fried rice topped with egg. It’s a messy affair that’s definitely reminiscent of its namesake. Try this if you like your bibimbap.
Another dish worth trying is Bird Bird’s crawfish mac and cheese. You get a huge portion of creamy mac ‘n’ cheese elevated by ample chunks of fresh crawfish. You might want to share this dish, because you want to save room for desserts, right?
With the mains sorted, I turned towards the rather slim dessert menu featuring a selection of four softie pies – essentially a generous serving of either yoghurt soft serve or toasted milk soft serve with a variety of toppings and sauces. I picked out the ‘rhuppleberry’ softie pie, a colourful dessert of toasted milk soft serve with a base of rhubarb, apple, and strawberry cobbler topped with candied pecans and a delightful sprinkling of kataifi pastry. While the crumble was superb, the magic of the dish is in the toasted milk soft serve – rich, creamy, and only subtly sweet so as not to overpower the rest of the ingredients. Made with toasted milk powder, it’s a unique flavour unlike any other.
While Bird Bird’s offerings are a completely different beast from Bjorn Shen’s Artichoke, this casual restaurant soars in its own way. If you’re after a rustic, hearty feed in the East, grab your posse and pay these fried chicken mavens a visit.
Bird Bird, 97 Frankel Avenue, Singapore 458222. p. 6694 8270. Open Wed-Sun 11.30am-3.30pm 6pm-10pm. Closed Mon-Tue.
Fancy fried chicken Korean style instead? Take a gander at our guide to the best Korean Fried Chicken in Singapore or find out more about the best American restaurants in Singapore.