Korean Fried Chicken in Hurstville. Friday night, looking for a fun place to eat. Spoiler alert this one turned into a winner. Cliché alert winner, winner chicken dinner.
Okay that's clearly a dubious start to a post. Let's get this back on track. Friday night saw Pinkie and I looking for an inexpensive meal before a night in to watch the first NRL semi final. At least one of us had the idea that he would be home in time to see the footy. Korean fried chicken has been on my radar for some time and this restaurant with a smallish menu was worth a try. With the new normal rules in action we signed in at the door and got a table for 2 by the window to Forest Road. This restaurant is in the part of Forest road that leads up to the Ritz Hotel. There are probably 10 little places on this small stretch of road many with unusual elements to their type of cuisine that set them out from the crowd and entice the adventurous eater to give them a go. That was the case with Chi Koko.
Korean fried chicken suggests that this is not a dieters paradise unless it is cheat day. With a somewhat limited menu that took a bit of bravery and let's just give it try and if we order wrongly we'll know for next time approach we ordered. We asked the waitress for a bit of help and she was friendly in her advice and her English was close to perfect so that wasn't a problem but at the end of the brief interaction I wasn't much wiser. The main issue was had I ordered enough food. Turns out we had.
We went with the Mad Red Koko boneless fried chicken ½ serving size which had a 2 out of 3 chilli rating for spiciness. As well we got a serve of Tteokbokki pronounced tok-bOk-gii. At least that's my understanding and 6 dumplings.
In hindsight I think we guessed our way to success. As they say "fortune favours the brave" or should it be "hunger satisfaction favours the brave". Maybe the original slides off the tongue a little better.
The dishes all came together and I also grabbed a Korean beer because it was there, it was Friday night and I had heard that beer and fried chicken go well together. In fact the menu contains a few nice offerings from a beverage viewpoint. There are 6 beers on offer, 2 of them Korean, as well as Soju which Wikipedia describes as clear, colourless distilled beverage of Korean origin with an alcohol content between 16.8 and 53% alcohol. That's quite a difference. There were also a number of flavoured Soju's on the menu and Korean Rice wine and Raspberry wine as well. Maybe another time.
After a short wait we received our dishes and didn't they look great. Tasted fantastic too. Where to start? Let's go with the Dumplings. The dumplings were pan fried similar style to a Gyoza. Truthfulness is important when blogging right? I have no idea what was in the dumpling. Possibly vegetarian. The menu didn't give a clue. Just said Dumplings 6 or 12. They do make a good point I think without making a point. Do you want dumplings? how many? That's all you need to know. And weren't they tasty. Fantastic texture. As I noted earlier, similar to a Gyoza. That also made me think, is it politically wrong to to describe a Korean Dumpling as being similar to a Japanese dumpling? Is this the kind of think that could cause an international incident? I plead ignorance and onto the Tteokbokki.
No surprise that the spellcheck doesn't consider that a word. Let's go through it again ... Tok-bOk-gii. Turns out to be another delicious mystery food. Quick google search describes it as spicy stir fried rice cakes. So it comes in a red sauce that I assume is made with Gochujung chilli spice paste and then liquified to make it a saucy stir fry. The rice cakes come in 2cm cylinders and flat triangles which reminded me of squid. There was a hidden spice to the dish and there is the option, which we didn't take, to top it with cheese. Doesn't topped with cheese really add some magic to any dish? Lactose intolerant eater at the table so not for us. And ....
The star of the show. The one and only Korean Fried chicken. Beautifully cooked. Didn't have the greasiness of the chicken of Kentucky and had some genuine heat that was fantastic. I love it when the heat is just right, it gives mouth filling joy that compels you to want more. This was the case on this occasion. Crispy, Juicy, flavourful and just plain yum.
In summing up, the meal was great and would highly recommend everyone in Southern Sydney check it out. Not all at once as we have this pandemic thing going around. Have you heard about it?
Have to note that there was a notice on the blackboard in the restaurant saying that a new menu is on the way. Will have to return to check it out.
I would have to give them an 8 out of 10. Great value for money and nothing bad to say about the delicious food.
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