Taufik Batisah heats up local food scene with Chix Hot Chicken
Singer-actor Taufik opens Nashville-style fried chicken eatery at Jalan Pisang
The first Nashville-style fried chicken restaurant on the local food scene is co-owned by Singapore Idol winner Taufik Batisah.
Chix Hot Chicken, which opened during Hari Raya at Jalan Pisang, near Bugis, serves Nashville Hot Chicken as its signature dish, alongside chicken sliders and milkshakes.
His business partner Bober Ismail, former executive chef at Life Is Beautiful Kitchen & Bar, helms the kitchen.
Of his maiden F&B venture, the local singer-actor told The New Paper: "There are too many fried chicken places in Singapore, so we have to be different.
"We took a long time looking for a location and sourcing good ingredients. Being a Muslim-owned business, it's our responsibility to make sure all the ingredients are organic and halal-certified, especially when they are from the US."
The 36-year-old, who invested $300,000, hopes his star power can boost business.
He said: "I'm very lucky to have people supporting me over the years and I'll be honest, I am banking on that. But the thing is, they may like my music, but that doesn't mean they will like my food. With good food and service, I'm hoping people will come back. If they hate the food, that can easily backfire. If anything else, business takes over - the food has to be good, and the service and experience, too."
At Chix Hot Chicken, diners can choose from three levels of spiciness: Mild Hotness, Extra Hotness and Insane Hotness.
The chicken, dry rubbed with ghost peppers, is not for the faint-hearted.
Even though Taufik said he loves chilli padi, the maximum he can tolerate is Extra Hotness.
He said: "I will start perspiring and crying, I really cannot tahan... I have to eat and stop, eat and stop.
"The story behind Nashville fried chicken is about an angry wife whose husband was cheating on her. She wanted to punish him so she put the hottest peppers into the food. But in the end, he liked it so much he made a business out of it."
Taufik said he would like more outlets in Singapore but admitted that it would be tough.
He said: "The problem with branching out too fast when you don't have the operation in proper (shape) is keeping the food quality consistent."
Taufik was even involved in the construction of the eatery, drawing inspiration from his interior designer dad.
He said: "All the fixtures were put up by me and the toilet was my special project... I had my wife in mind... I wanted to make it nice and comfortable for the ladies.
"At the end of the day, when you do it yourself, you have more passion and more ownership. Everything is a learning process, you can only try to keep improving."
He also wants to start a family with his wife of three years.
Taufik, who just finished filming Channel 5 drama Tanglin and Suria series Gunting, said: "I love kids, but at the moment, we don't have rezeki (Malay for blessings from God)."
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