Is it cheaper to buy a whole chicken or just the parts alone? I feel that buying a whole chicken might be more worth because the bones/fats can be used for stock making purposes. Anyone can advice? TIA
It depends on the dish you're preparing. If soup, then whole chicken, even with head and feet, is traditionally considered better in Asia. The collagen and bones will brew real stock that is delicious. But in supermarkets like Cold Storage, they sell you a pack that is the whole chicken cut into parts, this is mostly the same thing, just more expensive. It's just that there's usually no head or feet. This is basically just more convenient then having to cut up a full chicken. However, again, if you're doing soup, then the chicken will break into parts after simmering anyway.
If you're doing some stir fry or baking/grilling, then buying the parts you need will save you the time needed to cut the whole chicken into parts. For consistent marinade, cook time, presentation or similar reasons, buying a big bag of the same parts would be your choice. On the other hand, you might just want to roast a whole chicken because that's your recipe, then obviously you need to buy whole one.