I
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don’t know about you,
but even as a born Kuching-ite, there are mainstream areas that even I have to
admit that constantly elude me; Green Road being one of them. From its old
streets to how easy it is to get lost in the maze that they call a housing
area, it is a place I try not to drive to – only to avoid getting lost as I so
often do, even on a normal basis anyway.
Usually I’d have no reason to attempt not getting lost there,
but for a while now I have been hearing tales of fried chicken that is worth
getting lost for. I was sceptical no doubt, but when your heart craves comfort food in the form of fried chicken in the middle of the night, you
answer. And you answer without question. In this particular instance, the Siren
singing the song of fried chicken in our story is called “Taiwan Fried Chicken”.
Who knows how long this establishment has set up its roots
here. One can only guess after a gentleman has had his question rejected by the
owner. I cannot deny that I was disappointed that she did not wish to share,
but I suppose that it was partly due to my broken Hokkien. Lord knows if I even
asked the right question.
The selection here is vast, but we’ll be looking
specifically at the fried goods.
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| This spread including drinks and two 200g extra of sweet potato fries came up to approx RM30 |
What makes Taiwanese Fried Chicken, so distinctly Taiwanese?
Not being adept at these flavours is understandable, as Kuching-ites rarely
have the chance to experience such things apart from having it Shihlin.
Firstly, the most obvious thing that one will recognise immediately which is a
staple in Taiwanese fried foods, is the inclusion of Five Spice powder. The distinct features of what this seasoning does, is create a light sweetness from the inclusion of cinnamon and round body of flavour from the presence of peppercorns and black pepper.
Secondly is the distinct light crispiness in the coating of
Taiwanese fried foods. Traditionally, this is achieved by the presence of sweet
potato starch in the dredge and there is a wonderful article that you can find
HERE on the experiments a fellow blogger had on the wonders of using it for fried
chicken.
Among
all of the items tried, unfortunately the fish was the most lacklustre as
dori was the fish of choice here. It is understandably cheaper but other than
the light crisp skin, the fish lacked any real flavour and texture.
The chicken feet are fried very lightly, so the skin has the
lightest crispness among the others sampled, while it is as fatty and springy
as it looks. The complaints one will have that the feet lack any meat is moot,
as now you know what you are getting into.
Traditionally, the cut of choice for stall vendors in Taiwan
is the chicken breast. In this instance, the chicken breast is cut up into
tiny popcorn shaped bits that are tasty, firm and soft. Some of the cuts are
understandably cooked more than the others as they are fried irregularly.
The highlight of eating these cuts of chicken this way, is
being able to have a higher surface area of crunch that is wrapped around the
juicy bite sized cut of breast.
The surprise finger food of tonight had to be the sweet
potato fries. In Taiwan Fried Chicken, the sweet potatoes manage to still be
soft in the inside. A feat that many places fail to do as dry and hard to
swallow textures are commonplace.
The savoury seasoning and crispness of the
batter complement how soft and creamy the sweet potato is on the inside.
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| The handsome photographer, Julian Sim once again makes an appearance |
The chicken wings and drums are where Taiwan Fried Chicken
shines, as the use of tenderer meats rather than breast meat has paid off.
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| The right way to eat a chicken wing. De-boning it before eating #JustChefJohnThings |
As you can see, the
sweet and savoury five spice sprinkled over the light crisp batter that coats
the tender juicy meat is a tasty wonder to behold.
A subtle feature like how the batter sticks to the meat is
an example of how attention to detail for the little things are what makes
experiences like these all the better.
Overall, this is worth making the trip for especially if you
consider the affordable prices coupled with how well Taiwan Fried Chicken
reminds you of how comfort food can be oh so comforting.
Taiwan Fried Chicken is open daily except on Sundays from
4:30pm to 1:00am. And yes. This is Halal <3
