La Porpo is a humble fried chicken shop in Newton Food Centre with bold flavours to offer. While the menu may seem overwhelming at first glance, it all revolves around a crispy foundation of ayam goreng, or fried chicken. Touted as one of Artichoke’s Bjorn Shen’s favourite fried chicken joints in Singapore, La Porpo does not have a secret batter recipe. Instead, chef-owner Wandi simply mixes salt, pepper, turmeric powder, cornstarch, egg, and water to coat his chickens.
What comes out of the oil-filled wok are juicy yet flavourful chickens with a well-seasoned exterior that delivers a satisfying crunch with each bite – all made with plenty of heart and soul. Depending on your preference, you can enjoy these fried chickens with a Kelantan-style nasi kerabu (from $8, pictured above), ayam penyet or ayam geprek (from $7). Chef Wandi recommended trying the best-selling nasi kerabu which comes with a melody of aromatic blue butterfly pea flower rice, dried beef strips, salted egg and pickled vegetables to pair.
The fiery sambal is also worthy of a shout, made with red chilli padi rendered down with onion, garlic, ginger and belacan. Other sambals include the sambal loca, made from green chilli and anchovy, and the scorching sweet yet umami chilli blend of sambal geprek. If they ever get too hot to handle, seek respite with slurps of comforting chicken soup.
