Japan’s Highest Gold Award “Zenko Fried Chicken” Arrives in Taiwan & the Island’s Longest Fries

▲ The long-established store “Taikaku,” which has won the championship (highest gold award) twice at the Japan Fried Chicken Association, has officially opened its first branch brand “Zenko” store in Taiwan on July 16.

Reported & photographed by Huang Shiyuan, Taipei

The long-established store “Taikaku,” which has won the championship (highest gold award) twice at the Japan Fried Chicken Association, has officially opened its first branch brand “Zenko” store in Taiwan on July 16. The biggest feature of Taikaku fried chicken is its unique marinade sauce. The chicken is made by wrapping the meat with the skin, aiming to fully lock in the flavors of the sauce and juices.

Pan Kuo-kuan, chairman of Taiyuan International, which introduced “Zenko” to Taiwan, said that the original “Taikaku” store in Kyushu is the only one, and other branches operate under the “Zenko” brand. The Taiwan branch is the first overseas location. Pan noted that Zenko fried chicken in Taiwan is also marinated for 24 hours using a secret recipe sauce, and is manually flipped every six hours to ensure every part of the chicken absorbs the sauce. After marination, each piece of chicken is coated with a special thin flour to seal in the skin and meat, preventing juice from leaking out.




▲ Chicken thigh fried chicken, priced at NT$130 per serving.

Fried chicken flavors include chicken thigh, chicken breast, and mixed flavors, along with options such as chicken skin, chicken wings, chicken tail, as well as Japanese-style crispy fries and Biggie Fries. Among them, the Biggie Fries are an exclusive item for the Zenko Taiwan branch, claimed to be the longest fries in Taiwan. Pan Kuo-kuan said that the Biggie Fries are made by extruding mashed potatoes into fry shapes before frying, which allows them to be longer than regular fries cut from whole potatoes. He added that although they are made from mashed potatoes, the texture remains firm.


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Address: No. 27, Section 1, Kaifeng Street, Taipei City
Phone: 0701-0021967
Business Hours: 11:00–22:00
Prices: Chicken thigh NT$130, chicken breast NT$120, mixed NT$135, chicken wings NT$120, chicken skin NT$50, chicken tail NT$50, Japanese crispy fries NT$40, Biggie Fries NT$120