If you have watched the hit Korean Drama series “Business Proposal 사내 맞선” starring Ahn Hyo-seop, Kim Se-jeong, Kim Min-kyu, and Seol In-ah, you would not miss the Korean Fried Chicken store Goobne.
I mean, the shop appears in every episode.
In the drama, the female lead character Shin Hari’s family owns a fried chicken store, and therefore several scenes are filmed within the restaurant.
It is quite impossible not to take note of this frequent product placement, with characters sharing mouth-watering plates of Fried Chicken. There is just something about Korean dramas and how they make all the food look so appetising.
Perhaps you do not know there is a Goobne right in Singapore, located at Great World.
Looking at the longer waiting times, there is the effect of K-drama fans wanting to support the “Shin family chicken business”.
The local shop probably have not gotten used to the new-found fame, and therefore customers may have to wait quite a long time with little attention given to you. But you can see some of the staff are trying their best.
Goobne Chicken 굽네치킨 is one of the most popular oven-roasted chicken brands in Korea, and the brand was previously endorsed by Korean celebrity group EXO.
Not a single drop of oil added during the cooking process, and it is marketed as having less transfat, carbohydrates, sodium and calories.
After the chicken is roasted, there would supposedly be a crunchy outer layer with juicy meat.
The signature is the Goobne Original, coming in Wings ($13 for 8 pieces), Half ($17), Boneless ($25), and Whole ($30).
While I did not experience that “crunchiness”, this was good, well-marinated, moist, juicy chicken.
Yes, you get all those flavours of the chicken, without the guilt. I was glad I ordered the Original because other sauces would have marred the wholesome taste on a first try.
Other chicken dishes include the Soy Garlic, Deep Cheese, Volcano, Galbi, and Goobne UFO Fondue – that is chicken with melted mozzarella, cheddar, and grana Padano cheese.
I also tried the popular Soy Garlic Wings ($15 for 8pcs, $18 for half, $28 for boneless, $33) for whole, and thought that the sticky sauce was on the sweet side and thus covered the natural flavours of the chicken.
In contrast, I preferred the Goobne Pepper Crispy ($18 for half, $34 for whole) with slight spiciness of the pepper on the outer layer, and you could still experience the flavours and succulence of the chicken within.
Worthy of mention is the Seafood Jjamppong Noodles ($14) that came in a red hot soup base that packed in all the spiciness.
This was not toned down at all the first time I tried it, and possible one of the shiok Jjamppong I had in Singapore.
The Army Stew ($29.90) in contrast was disappointing mostly due to the lack of ingredients, plus the stew was on the diluted side.
It had chicken sausages, cut spam, canned baked beans, kimchi, lots of cabbage, but no rice cake, no ham and no ramyeon. I topped up $4 for the noodles.
Some of the dishes such as the Oven-Roasted Chicken, Bibimbap (fragrant and flavourful) and Jjamppong Noodle were really not bad in quality, though the queuing experience and waiting times could have been improved.
This “Business Proposal” big-break could be what this Singapore outlet had been waiting for (it opened just before the challenging COVID-19 period), and so hope they do not waste this golden opportunity.
Goobne Chicken
1 Kim Seng Promenade, Great World #01-115, Singapore 237994
Tel: +65 8879 5898
Opening Hours: 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9:30pm (Mon – Thurs), 11am – 9:30pm (Fri – Sun)
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