Kazakhstan's fast-food scene is about to get a Korean injection. Mom's Touch, one of South Korea's biggest homegrown burger chains, has signed a franchise deal with local food company Shin-Line Group to open at least 50 outlets across Kazakhstan over the next ten years, with the agreement also covering the Kyrgyz Republic.
The first restaurant is slated to open in the first half of 2027, and the rollout is expected to reach major cities beyond Almaty, including the capital, Astana. A company spokesperson told The Korea Herald that Kazakhstan is meant to become a key base for the brand's Central Asian operations. It's not the chain's first step into the region either — Mom's Touch entered Uzbekistan in 2025.
So what's actually on the menu? The chain built its reputation on chicken burgers made with whole chicken-thigh fillets rather than the usual ground meat patty — its signature Thigh Burger has made it a serious domestic rival to the global fast-food giants in South Korea since it was founded in 2004. Alongside the burgers, expect fried chicken and pizza, a combination that has kept the brand popular with Korean students and commuters for two decades.
The local partner is no rookie. Shin-Line Group runs a cold-chain logistics network serving around ten countries and operates more than 70 outlets of a South Korean convenience store chain, mostly in Almaty. That existing infrastructure should make the launch smoother than a typical foreign fast-food debut, and it signals how deep Korean food and retail culture has taken root in Kazakhstan in recent years.
For travellers, this is a small but telling marker of how much Almaty and Astana have changed. A trip to Kazakhstan once meant choosing between local staples like beshbarmak and laghman or generic international chains. Now the Korean fried chicken wave that swept through Seoul, New York and Southeast Asia is arriving on the steppe — good news for anyone who plans a city break around what's for dinner.
It's also a useful thread for anyone combining Kazakhstan with Kyrgyzstan, since the deal covers both. Almaty remains the natural entry point: it's the country's food capital, sits close to the mountains for day hikes, and already has the strongest Korean dining presence thanks to the country's long-established Korean community and Shin-Line's footprint there. By the time the first Mom's Touch doors open in 2027, the chain should feel like part of the city's routine rather than a novelty.
If you're the kind of traveller who enjoys spotting global food trends the moment they land somewhere new — or you just want a reliable, affordable fried chicken fix between museum visits and mountain trips — Kazakhstan's fast-food map is worth keeping an eye on over the next couple of years.
