Today, I wanted to make a food review of Bad Bird (or Lowbrow’s) Umami Fried Chicken Cook-at-Home Kit and their Crispy Wings Cook-at-Home Pack.

Disclaimer: This post is NOT a paid ad. I bought these kits at full price, and I’m posting about it because I’m super happy with my purchase.

Bad Bird arguably serves up one of the best fried chicken in the metro, and I’ve been craving it for the past few months. However, because of COVID, I haven’t had the chance to dine there again. Thankfully, they came out with these cook-at-home kits. Very nifty, and super timely as my dad strictly does not allow cooked food to enter the home, in fear of COVID.

Without further ado, let’s dive in!

VERDICT: DEFINITELY RECOMMEND

 

Packaging

Let’s discuss the packaging and the kit itself.

The Umami Fried Chicken Cook-at-Home Kit comes with the following:

✔️ 6pcs Brined Chicken Leg & Thigh
✔️ Batter Mix (white powder)
✔️ Breading Mix (brown powder)
✔️ Gravy
✔️ BB Seasoning Powder

On the other hand, the Crispy Wings Cook-at-Home Pack comes with the following:

✔️ 12pcs Brined Chicken Wings
✔️ Batter Mix (white powder)
✔️ Breading Mix (brown powder)
✔️ Your choice of glaze

Each ingredient’s carefully vacuum sealed, and can supposedly be kept in the freezer up to 2 months. Honestly, I wouldn’t know if that’s true because I cooked it as soon as I got it LOL.

Having said that, I do wish they had packed the stuff for each kit together (e.g. in a box/small pouch), or at least labeled better. I bought three cook-at-home kits and spent some time trying to figure out which mixes went with which kit (they all used the same ingredients, but I didn’t know that at first! So, I was confused for a few seconds)

 

Cooking Instructions

I was a bit worried because one of the things I hate the most when purchasing cook-at-home kits / ready-to-eat kits from restaurants is that when I cook it myself, it just doesn’t taste the same! It’s incredibly frustrating and I feel cheated, especially because they’re often priced similarly to the restaurant meal (but I have to do most of the work!!)

In this case though, Bad Bird gave INCREDIBLY DETAILED instructions. You can check out the cooking guides here:

• Umami Fried Chicken Cook-at-Home Kit
• Crispy Wings Cook-at-Home Pack

Honestly, I thought they overcomplicated things a bit actually by making it too detailed. Overall, it’s incredibly easy to do if a bit tedious. Essentially:

• Step 1: Thaw the chicken at room temperature, then pat the chicken dry. If it’s too cold, your cold chicken might bring the oil temperature down (when frying), resulting in soggy chicken. Yuck!
• Step 2: Create your batter mix (that’s the white powder), by pouring 2/3 cup of water per batter mix. I bought three packs in total and just mixed it all together
• Step 3: Pour out the breading powder

 

• Step 4: (This is my own step) Knife the chicken to allow the oil to reach inside when frying so you’re sure the chicken will be cooked completely
• Step 5: Coat the chicken fully into the batter mix first (this creates a layer between the chicken meat and the skin), then dredge in the breading mix (this makes the crispy skin yum!) Don’t put too much breading – a thin layer is fine
• Step 6: Fry the chicken. Don’t worry if it looks really dark really quickly (has to do with their spices), just check and make sure the insides are cooked. Once done, let it drip a bit on the cooling rack
• Step 7: Season the chicken while it’s hot so it’ll stick to the chicken

Value for Money

It’s great. Don’t believe me? Because I’m such a nerd, I’ve created a table so you can visualize how much you’re saving. The Umami Fried Chicken Cook-at-Home Kit is way more sulit. While you do save on the Crispy Wings, the savings aren’t as noticeable.

 

The best part? The batter mix, breading mix, and gravy they provide is waaay more than what you actually need. I have so many left over – I plan to purchase additional chicken legs, thighs, and wings from the supermart and remake this given all my leftover ingredients! (Unfortunately, none of the seasoning and glaze were left, so I’ll have to make do).

Pro tip: Check the website regularly to see if they’re on sale. You can also try checking out popular food blogs and Instagram food influencers to see if they have promo codes. Last weekend, they were selling at 20% OFF!!!! Unfortunately, I had purchased before then. Ughhh!

 

Taste

SO GOOD. Even though I was skeptical about it, once I got a taste of the finished product, I felt sooo proud – it tastes just like Bad Bird! Coming from someone who has zero cooking experience (I only started cooking during ECQ because I was forced into it), you should know by now that it’s hella easy to cook.

Having said that, some advice:

• Umami Fried Chicken:
  • Safe flavor: So good – has this seaweed-y taste that I like. I think this is their original flavor
  • Spicy: SO SPICY. HOMG. This takes it to a whole different level. I had to keep drinking buko juice after each bite. If you do choose to go down this route, apply the spicy powder sparingly
• Crispy Wings
  • Black Honey: Essentially similar to sweet and sour sauce but less cloying. I really like this
  • Gochujang Buffalo: Spicy & sour. I’ve never tried this actually, but it’s supposed to be pretty popular
  • Garlic & Butter: I think this is pretty normal. You can make this yourself!
  • P4P (Prepare for Pain): ‘Nuff said. Get this only if you’re confident in your spicy threshold.

Ok, that’s it! ENJOOOY!