Taiwanese Fried Chicken in Singapore: What Makes It Different
Taiwanese fried chicken — known in Mandarin as xian su ji (鹹酥雞) — is a distinct style of fried chicken that originated in Taiwan's night markets. It's coated in a light, crispy sweet potato starch batter, seasoned with basil and five-spice, and served in generous pieces. In Singapore, I Love Taimei has been the go-to spot for this style since 2009, with 14 outlets across the island bringing authentic Taiwan night market flavour to your neighbourhood.
What Is Taiwanese Fried Chicken?
Xian su ji literally means "salty crispy chicken" — and the name is honest. The batter uses sweet potato starch rather than plain wheat flour, which gives it a lighter, more shattering crunch than most fried chicken you'll find elsewhere. The seasoning leans on five-spice powder, white pepper, and garlic, and the key finishing touch is fresh Thai basil — fried fresh alongside the chicken for every order, so you get aromatic, slightly crisp herb with every bite. The basil isn't mixed into the batter; it's fried separately and served on top.
In Taiwan, xian su ji is night market food. It's sold at stalls, eaten standing up, wrapped in a paper bag. The pieces are small and irregular — bone-in chunks or boneless slabs — not drumsticks or wings sorted by cut. That irregularity is part of the appeal. You get a mix of textures: some pieces crunchier, some juicier, depending on where on the bird they came from.
The cooking process is a single fresh fry — the chicken is cooked through in one pass, straight to order. No pre-cooking under a lamp. What gives the crust its staying power is the sweet potato starch batter itself, which seals more effectively than wheat flour and holds its crunch even after a few minutes in a bag.
If you want to understand the full xian su ji style, our deep dive on Taiwanese popcorn chicken in Singapore covers it in more detail — including the differences between popcorn chicken (yan su ji, 鹽酥雞) and the larger xian su ji style.
How It Differs from Korean Fried Chicken
Korean fried chicken (yangnyeom or kkanpunggi) has had a huge moment in Singapore, and it's worth knowing what makes the Taiwanese style a different experience entirely.
The batter. Korean fried chicken uses a thin, almost translucent batter that fries up into a tight shell. Taiwanese uses sweet potato starch, which creates a rougher, craggier crust — more surface area, more crunch per bite.
The seasoning. Korean fried chicken often comes in sweet-spicy glazes: gochujang, honey, soy garlic. Taiwanese keeps it dry and aromatic — five-spice, white pepper, garlic powder applied before frying, not a sauce applied after.
The basil. This is the most distinctive thing about xian su ji. Fresh Thai basil is fried separately and served alongside the chicken — non-negotiable in the authentic version. It wilts and crisps into something aromatic and slightly anise-y. It's not part of the batter or marinade; it's its own thing, fried fresh per order. Korean fried chicken doesn't do this.
Serving size and format. Korean fried chicken tends to come as whole pieces — half a bird, full wings. Taiwanese fried chicken is usually sold by weight or as a single large slab. The XXL format — one enormous piece — is particularly associated with Taiwan and Taiwanese food culture in Singapore.
Price point. Taiwanese fried chicken at a stall format tends to be more wallet-friendly than the Korean fried chicken restaurant experience. It's street food pricing for street food quality.
I Love Taimei's Signature: XXL Taiwan Fried Chicken
The item that put I Love Taimei on the map is the XXL Taiwan Fried Chicken. It's the size that makes people stop and stare — a single piece of chicken, battered and fried until it's bigger than your face. This is the xian su ji format taken to its logical extreme: maximum surface area, maximum crunch, maximum impact on the tray.
The crust is seasoned with the five-spice and white pepper blend you'd expect from a proper Taiwanese fried chicken stall. The inside stays juicy because the chicken is cooked fresh to order in a single fry — no pre-cooking, no holding under a lamp. And it's served with the basil, the way it should be.
You can find the XXL Taiwan Fried Chicken at all 14 I Love Taimei outlets. If you're looking for a central location, the Bugis Junction outlet is one of the most accessible: 230 Victoria St, #B1-K11 to 11A, Singapore 188024, open daily 11:00-22:00.
Order ahead online at https://go.momos.com/ilovetaimei if you want to skip the queue.
This is the kind of thing you'd find at a Taiwan night market food stall in Singapore — and ILTM has been recreating that experience since 2009. For the full story of how the brand got started, read The Story Behind I Love Taimei.
What Else to Order with Your Fried Chicken
The smart move is to turn the XXL Taiwan Fried Chicken into a full Taiwan street food spread.
Bubble tea. Brown Sugar Bubble Tea is the natural pairing. The earthy sweetness of the brown sugar syrup balances the savoury, five-spice crust on the chicken. It's a combination that Taiwanese stall culture figured out a long time ago, and ILTM does both well.
Taiwan Tempura. This is another night market staple — a different texture from fried chicken (chewier, fishier), but it works alongside it. The I Love Taimei tempura uses a similar seasoning profile to the fried chicken, so the flavours don't clash.
Lu Ji Fan (滷雞飯). I Love Taimei's braised rice takes inspiration from the classic Taiwanese 滷肉飯 (lu rou fan), but is made entirely with chicken — every element of the braise. The result is the same deep, savoury, five-spice-forward flavour you'd expect from the Taiwanese original, completely pork-free. It turns the fried chicken into a proper sit-down meal. All ILTM food is prepared with no pork and no lard.
For the full menu, visit https://ilovetaimei.com/menu/.
FAQ
Is Taiwanese fried chicken different from regular fried chicken?
Yes, significantly. Taiwanese fried chicken (xian su ji) uses sweet potato starch batter instead of wheat flour, is seasoned with five-spice and white pepper, and is finished with fresh deep-fried Thai basil. The result is a lighter, craggier crust with a distinctly aromatic flavour profile you won't find in Western or Korean fried chicken styles.
Where can I get the best Taiwanese fried chicken in Singapore?
I Love Taimei has been serving authentic Taiwanese fried chicken since 2009 across 14 outlets island-wide. The XXL Taiwan Fried Chicken is their signature item. The Bugis Junction outlet (230 Victoria St, #B1-K11 to 11A) is centrally located and open daily. You can also order online at https://go.momos.com/ilovetaimei.
Is I Love Taimei's fried chicken halal?
I Love Taimei is not halal-certified. All food is prepared with no pork and no lard, which makes it more inclusive than many fried chicken options, but it does not carry a halal certification. For full details on dietary information, read our article on I Love Taimei's halal status.
Singapore's food media is clearly in a fried chicken moment right now — Google Trends showed "taiwan fried chicken Singapore" hitting a peak interest score of 100 on 9 May 2026, and food publications have been deep in fried chicken coverage all week. If you've been meaning to try the Taiwanese style, now's the time.
Find your nearest outlet at https://ilovetaimei.com/places/.