Ji Chicken: the Taiwanese chicken shop on Guildford High Street

Guildford has been talking about fried chicken all week, and most of it has been about the American chain that has just opened its first Surrey branch in the town centre. So we walked a little further along the same street, to the shop that has been frying chicken a different way.

Ji Chicken sits at 176 High Street. We called in to meet Jim and ask the obvious question: what makes the chicken here different?

Taiwanese, not American

Ji Chicken is the Guildford branch of Ji Chickens, a chain that traces itself back to its founder, Roger Jen, missing the night markets of Taiwan after moving to the UK, and deciding to bring that style of fried chicken with him. The company runs from a headquarters in London’s Chinatown and has been expanding across the country since.

The house dish is the one the night markets are known for: a whole chicken breast, flattened out wide and thin and fried in a coating that stays crisp rather than heavy. Alongside it comes popcorn chicken — the 雄米花 painted across the Guildford window — and the chain’s volcanic chicken, plus a seasoning bar the company says runs to as many as twelve different flavoured powders.

The details

• Where — Ji Chicken, 176 High Street, Guildford, GU1 3HW.
• Open — midday to 8.30pm, seven days a week, according to the Experience Guildford town directory.
• Hygiene rating — 5, the top score, at its last inspection on 16 July 2026.
• Delivery — the shop is listed on both Uber Eats and Deliveroo as well as serving over the counter.

Watch the full video

Our visit, and what Jim told us about the chicken, is on YouTube:

Been in? Tell us what you made of it on Instagram.