Didn’t set out to imitate Jollibee
Roy tells 8days.sg that his stall’s similarity to Jollibee was unplanned. “Personally, I love pasta, so I guess it was subconscious!” he says.
He says customers have not compared OMG Fried Chicken to Jollibee, though he understands why some might see a resemblance. “It’s not the worst comparison, is it?” he jokes.
Asked which brand serves better fried chicken, he laughs: “Oh dear, let me be diplomatic here. I think both are good, but obviously I’m biased, so I think ours is just a bit better?”
Former granite mining boss
A political science graduate from the National University of Singapore, Roy previously owned a granite mining company, which he declined to name, before Covid-19.
According to Roy, the pandemic affected the industry as China reduced its granite imports at the time. He subsequently left the mining industry and transitioned into business consulting including F&B clients, which was how he met one of his eventual partners at OMG Fried Chicken.
He opened an eatery simply because an opportunity arose. “I just wanted to try it out,” he tells 8days.sg.
Roy is not involved in developing the recipes or cooking, which is handled by the stall’s chef. He is not at the stalls daily and mostly handles the business’s administrative and marketing matters. When help is needed at the stall, he works at the counter, taking orders and handling payments.
Despite spending much of his time behind the scenes, Roy considers himself a hawker. “I’m a hawker and I’m proud to be one!” he says with a laugh.
OMG Fried Chicken was founded in March 2025, when its first stall opened in MacPherson. A second stall, run by one of Roy’s partners, followed in Serangoon North in January 2026. The business is co-owned by Roy and two other partners. The team is working towards applying for halal certification for both stalls.
There are plans to open more outlets. He says the team intends to expand “in a responsible manner” and is leaning towards franchising the brand.
‘OMG’ doesn’t mean ‘Oh my god’
Strangely enough, despite what its name might suggest, the brand is actually short for “O My Goal”. A football-inspired name that Roy described as an “inside joke”.
It came about partly because Roy is a football fan, and also because one of his biz partner’s ex-spouse was a professional footballer.
“We thought that it was catchy,” he explains.
Marinated with three Chinese herbs
OMG uses locally sourced chicken marinated with three types of Chinese herbs. Roy declined to reveal the specific herbs or what goes into the batter, cheekily saying: “Now, that’s a mystery, isn’t it?”
“Our marinade is different. It’s infused with some Chinese herbs, but it’s not spicy,” he explains.
Taste test
Our colleague, who tried OMG’s Three-Piece Fried Chicken ($8), found it more lightly seasoned than Jollibee’s robust Chickenjoy. As a rough comparison, three pieces of Chickenjoy with one side cost $9.95. No surprises it’s cheaper here, since this is a kopitiam setting.
Still, she enjoyed OMG chicken’s subtle herbal notes, which added more depth than the usual flavours one might expect from hawker stall fried chook.
Texture-wise, she found OMG’s chicken a smidgen crispier and juicier than Jollibee’s, though she preferred the Filipino fast food chain’s punchier seasoning.
Two fried chicken wings and spaghetti for $6.50
The Two Wings & Spaghetti ($6.50) is the stall’s subconscious take on the Filipino fried chicken-and-pasta pairing. The pasta is noticeably less sweet than Jollibee’s, tossed in a tomato-based sauce infused with Chinese herbs. Our colleague likened OMG’s rendition to the simple tomato pasta commonly found at heartland western food stalls, with a mild herbal lilt accompanying its tangy, slightly sweet sauce, which she enjoyed.
Hainanese-style chicken rice with fried chicken
Customers who prefer rice can opt for the Two Wings With Hainanese Chicken Rice ($5), served with Hainanese-style chilli sauce.
“You can get Hainanese chicken rice everywhere, but paired with fried chicken wings and Hainanese chilli sauce, it gives us that little bit of X-factor,” he adds.
Our colleague found the rice more flavourful than your typical chicken rice, adding that its fragrance complemented the crunchy bird’s herbaceous notes well. She preferred this pairing to the spaghetti.
Fried chicken gizzards
There’s also Fried Chicken Gizzard ($3 for 100g), a dish inspired by one of Roy’s Malaysian partners.
“Chicken gizzard is a pretty popular snack in Malaysia. We don’t really see many fried gizzards in Singapore,” says Roy.
The fried offal was crisp, savoury and not at all gamey, declared our colleague.
OMG Fried Chicken is located at 560 MacPherson Rd, S368233, and Blk 542B Serangoon North Ave 3, S552542. Open daily, 11am–8.30pm. More info via Instagram.
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