Hot Star Large Fried Chicken
233 Swanston Street, Melbourne
0481 134 291
Fast Food, Taiwanese
$
Food
- Original Fried Chicken with Chicken Salt
The Good
While it was a freshly fried, big piece of chicken, not much else was good.
The Mediocre
The batter was rather disappointing. The breading tasted slightly sweet without a hint of saltiness, which was in stark contrast to the original one from Taiwan.
Additionally, the batter didn’t have much of a crunch despite seeing it fished straight out of the fryer. I would argue it had been under-fried.
The seasoning did little to add to the weird flavour profile, with the only saviour being the chicken itself which proved to be unadulterated, juicy piece of chicken breast.
The Bad
The wait. Damn was it long. Even though we were third in line, we waited a good 10-15 minutes as the guy fried it piece by piece.
The Verdict
Honestly, the only resemblance of this and the original Taiwanese version is the packaging.
Both the critical components of fried chicken, namely the batter and seasoning, were a big miss. How disappointing.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
No. Not again. KFC offers much better value and taste. The only time I would return is when I find myself back in Taiwan and at their flagship original store.