Wings – A Spinoff of Tony Cafe That Specialises in Chicken Wings in Alexandra

Folks who know of Tony Cafe, the caifan eatery in The Adelphi, and their wildly popular chicken wings will be happy to know that they can now get their fill of deep-fried chicken wings and honey chicken wings with chicken rice in a canteen in Fragrance Empire Building in Alexandra. The stall is very popular with office workers in the area, so just follow one of the longer lines around lunchtime and you’ll find Wings!

While their menu is more streamlined than Tony Cafe’s, owner Larry Gan still kept a bit of the caifan aspect by preparing a small range of side dishes that patrons can add to their chicken rice sets. 

Besides their signature chicken-wing-and-rice combos, Wings also offers two pieces of their delicious proteins with crinkle cut fries and classic coleslaw ($5.50), or stir-fried fusilli with roasted sesame sauce ($6). There’s also mee siam ($3.50) and lontong ($3.50).

I opted for a fried chicken and honey chicken wings set alongside their aromatic chicken rice and a side dish of Larry’s choice ($4.80). The set also comes with a bowl of refreshing clear cabbage soup that acted as the perfect palate cleanser.

The fried chicken wing, which is an adaptation of the carona fried chicken that was exceptionally popular during the 1980s, is highly raved about by many. There was a desirable amount of crunch from the golden batter that fully encased the piping hot chicken meat within. I would have preferred the chicken to be more seasoned, but this rendition is definitely something that most will enjoy.  

As someone who enjoys stronger flavours, my vote goes to the honey chicken wing. These addictive wings have been well marinated overnight with honey, soy sauce and a host of other ingredients to give it a savoury-sweet flavour that had even seeped into the chicken meat itself. 

The chicken rice was cooked with chicken broth, ginger and garlic. While Wings’ version is lighter in taste compared to what’s served at most chicken rice stalls, the fragrant Thai grains were a good match for the chicken wings and allowed them to take centrestage. 

The side dish of long beans and tofu puffs were kind of disappointing, unfortunately. The long beans were way too soft for my liking but on the bright side, the tofu puffs were adequately salty. I’d still say give it a miss, and go for their homemade pickled achar instead. 

The Nonya-style mee siam sees a generous portion of bee hoon doused in a thick, lime-accented gravy that is made with coconut milk, tamarind, blue ginger and preserved soy bean paste. The dish comes complete with a garnish of tofu puffs, a hard-boiled egg and a dollop of sambal chilli. There wasn’t much spiciness even though a slight lingering heat could be detected. Overall, it leaned more towards the sweet side, and would have fared better with me if the spiciness was more prominent. 

As for the lontong, the consistency of gravy was fairly thick, but the flavours were quite light. Once the chilli got mixed in, the gravy took on a slightly sweeter flavour profile but nothing really changed in terms of spiciness. While the vegetables had a natural sweetness that went well with the gravy, the rice cakes weren’t compressed enough and easily fell apart when pierced with a fork. 

In short, Wings is definitely deserving of its long lunchtime lines thanks to their chicken wings that are pretty addictive whether you choose to have them there, or take them away. You can enjoy them a la carte or with their value-for-money sets!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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