A chicken pie lab blog from Singapore
The Don chicken pie lab.
We cut it open, reheat it every way, freeze it and bake our own. Tasting notes, experiments and recipes, all in Celsius.
- EXP-01 We Reheated One Chicken Pie Five Ways
- EXP-02 Air Fryer Chicken Pie: Two Stages Beat One Blast
- EXP-03 Can You Freeze a Chicken Pie? We Froze, Thawed and Reheated
- EXP-04 Microwave Chicken Pie Rescue: From Soggy to Crisp in Two Steps
- EXP-05 How to Keep a Chicken Pie's Base Crisp for a Picnic
- EXP-06 What Goes With Chicken Pie? Our Sauce and Drink Line-Up
- EXP-07 Day-Two Chicken Pie: Six Ways to Eat Yesterday's Pie
- EXP-08 Serving Chicken Pies Warm for a Crowd
What is a Don chicken pie?
A Don chicken pie is DonChef's Original Chicken Pie: a golden, flaky pie packed with chunky chicken, potato, vegetables, a spice blend and half a hard-boiled egg. It follows the recipe Chef Don Lim created in 1983; he founded Don Pie and co-founded the kitchen that bakes it today.
Today the pies are baked under the DonChef name at Chicken Pie Kitchen & Don Signature Crab, with a flagship on Tyrwhitt Road in Jalan Besar and takeaway kiosks around Singapore. We are the people who could not stop asking questions about it. Why is the egg there? Why does the base go soft? What happens in an air fryer at 150C? This site is the answers.
Read the complete guide- RecipeSince 1983Chef Don Lim's own dating
- InsideHalf an eggplus chicken, potato, veg
- PersonalFeeds 1$6.80 on the Feb 2026 menu
- WholeFeeds 4-6$33.80 on the Feb 2026 menu
- Halal?No pork, no lardnot Halal-certified
Prices from the printed menu dated February 2026, as of October 2026. Check the official site before you go.
Pick a rabbit hole
InteractiveChicken pie anatomy: nine layers, one cross-sectionTap the lid, the base, the egg and the gravy to see what each one does and what to look for.
Original vs Black Pepper vs Curry
Chicken pie or curry puff? Flip it.
Old-school vs pot pie vs British vs AussieResponsiblyChicken pie calories, without the made-up numbersWhat drives the calories in any chicken pie, and why we will not guess the Don pie's.Kitchen experiments, freshly stamped
All 8 experimentsHypothesis, method, what happened. Then flip the card for the verdict, which is our opinion and proudly arguable.
EXP-01: We Reheated One Chicken Pie Five Ways
Hypothesis: Dry heat from an oven, air fryer or toaster oven will re-crisp the pastry the fridge softened, while the microwave will heat the filling fastest and wreck the crust. A microwave start with a short dry-heat finish might get the best of both.
Verdict, EXP-01
Oven wins the crust
Our pick for the best-tasting pie is the oven, if you have the time. On a weekday we happily take the air fryer, and the microwave-then-crisp combo is our favourite move in an office pantry that has both machines.
EXP-02: Air Fryer Chicken Pie: Two Stages Beat One Blast
Hypothesis: A single blast at 200C will brown the lid before the centre warms, and a long low setting will heat through without crisping. Splitting the job into a gentle stage and a hot stage, as the maker suggests, should do both.
Verdict, EXP-02
Two stages, every time
We think the maker's two-stage setting is the one to beat. Add a foil collar if your crimp browns fast, lift the pie on a rack, and save whole pies for the oven.
EXP-04: Microwave Chicken Pie Rescue: From Soggy to Crisp in Two Steps
Hypothesis: Microwaving will heat the filling but steam the pastry from the inside. A short dry-heat finish straight after the microwave should drive that steam back out and bring the crust back.
Verdict, EXP-04
Zap, then crisp
In our opinion, a microwave should start a pie's reheat, never finish it. Bursts for the heat, then a dry pan or air fryer for the crust, is the best fast pie we know.
EXP-05: How to Keep a Chicken Pie's Base Crisp for a Picnic
Hypothesis: Most soggy picnic pies are made soggy by their packaging, not by time. Trapped steam and condensation, more than the filling itself, should be the main culprit.
Verdict, EXP-05
Cool it, paper it
In our opinion the biggest win is patience: a fully cooled pie in paper or a vented box beats any clever gadget. If you want a hot pie at lunch, reheat it at the office rather than packing it hot.
Reheat calculator
Pick your appliance, where the pie is starting from and how big it is. You get a temperature, a time range, the method, and a label telling you whether the setting is the maker's own advice or general kitchen practice.
Want the reasoning, the frozen-pie rules and the full table? Read how to reheat chicken pie.
Bake your own (labelled honestly)
Grams, Celsius, a servings scaler and a step checklist on every recipe. Our Don-style pie is a home recreation; the real recipe is not public.
Home recreationDon-Style Chicken Pie: Our Home Recreation
Party foodMini Party Chicken Pies (Freeze Now, Bake From Frozen)
MainPuff Pastry Shortcut Chicken Pies (Muffin-Tin Weeknight Version)
PastryAll-Butter Shortcrust Pastry From Scratch (Tropical Kitchen Edition)
MainCreamy Chicken Pie Filling (Make It a Day Ahead)
MainLeftover Chicken Pie Fried Rice (With Crispy Pastry Shards)
Latest notes from the blog
- Buying noteIs There a Don Chicken Pie in Toa Payoh? Where to Go InsteadThere is no Don chicken pie outlet in Toa Payoh today.
- Buying notePersonal or Whole Don Chicken Pie: Which Should You Buy?Buy personal Don chicken pies when people are eating at different times or want different flavours; each feeds one and reheats fast.
- OpinionWhat to Drink With Chicken Pie: Kopi, Teh or Something Cold?Our pick for a chicken pie is a hot kopi or teh-c: the sweet, milky bitterness cuts through buttery pastry and peppery gravy.
- Field noteHow to Pack Chicken Pie in a Lunchbox (School, Office, Picnic)Pack chicken pie either piping hot in a preheated insulated food jar, or fully chilled with an ice pack in an insulated bag.
Who is behind this?
A small crew of Singapore home cooks who treat chicken pie like a research subject. The pies are real. The opinions are ours, and the About page explains how we test.