Small pieces of chicken fillet marinated, coated in a dry batter, and fried until each piece has an ultra-crispy shell. Served in a paper bag with wooden skewers for picking. Food bloggers who have eaten in Taiwan say this is the closest you'll get to authentic night market popcorn chicken in London — the seasoning blend has a savoury umami quality that makes them very moreish.
Tips from diners
This is the more manageable order if you're walking around Chinatown. The bag format makes it proper street food. Ask for extra seasoning sprinkled on top if you like it salty.
Get the popcorn chicken as a snack and the King Fillet as your main — they use different cuts so you get two textures. The popcorn chicken is more seasoning-forward.
This is the dish Monga is famous for in Taiwan. A whole chicken breast is marinated in honey, hand-dipped in homemade batter, and fried until the outside is shattering-crispy while the inside stays juicy. The original salt and pepper version lets you taste the technique — the honey marinade creates a sweetness that balances the salt. Reviewers consistently say the size is startling, bigger than your face, and it comes on a stick in a paper bag.
Tips from diners
Start with the original salt and pepper King Fillet before trying flavoured versions. The chicken is on the bone despite being called a fillet — don't be surprised.
Eat this immediately while hot. The coating loses its crunch fast once it cools, and the whole point is that crispy-juicy contrast. There are seats upstairs — use them.
Unlike the breast-based fillets, the nuggets use thigh meat, which stays juicier and has more flavour. Each piece is marinated and fried to a golden brown. They work well as a side order or a lighter alternative if the giant fillet feels like too much food. The thigh meat means these are less likely to dry out than the breast fillets.
Tips from diners
The nuggets use thigh instead of breast, so they're juicier than the big fillets. Good option if you want something smaller or are sharing a few items between friends.
Same honey-marinated, hand-battered technique as the King Fillet but dusted with a chilli spice mix after frying. The heat is moderate — more warmth than burn. For anyone who finds the original too mild, this is the step up. The chilli doesn't overpower the honey-savoury base flavour that makes Monga's chicken distinctive.
Tips from diners
The chilli version is more of a warm tingle than real heat. If you want proper spice, go for the Spicy & Numbing (mala) version instead — that one uses Sichuan peppercorn.
The seaweed powder gives this fillet a savoury, slightly sweet umami taste that is distinctly Taiwanese. It's the version that most closely resembles what you'd eat from a night market stall in Taipei. Reviewers note the first few bites are the best when the seaweed coating is freshest, though some find the sweetness can become cloying by the end of a full fillet.
Tips from diners
If you've had Taiwanese fried chicken in Taiwan, this seaweed version is the closest to the real thing. Best eaten with the popcorn chicken to compare flavours.
Monga is Taiwan's biggest fried chicken chain, with hundreds of locations across Asia. The Chinatown branch on Macclesfield Street was the first in Europe when it opened in 2019. The chicken fillets are marinated in honey before battering and frying, a technique that gives the coating its signature sweet-savoury crunch. Seating for about 30 upstairs with traditional wooden tables.
Monga is on Macclesfield Street, opposite Rasa Sayang. Easy to miss as the shopfront is narrow. There are about 30 seats upstairs — go up rather than eating on the street if you want to sit.
Closed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is only open until 5pm. The best days to visit are Thursday to Sunday when full hours apply. Weekend lunchtimes get a queue.
Budget around £10-15 per person. A King Fillet and a drink is a full meal. The combo deals with chips and a drink cost around £12-13 but the chips are not the highlight — skip them and get popcorn chicken instead.
This is walk-up street food, not a sit-down restaurant. Order at the counter, wait for your number. Everything is cooked to order so expect 5-10 minutes wait, longer at weekends.
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