Hot Star Large Fried Chicken – where the name says it all

Sydney's fried chicken obsession would seem to be in its infancy still. The fried chicken game has been upped recently with the opening of Hot Star Large Fried Chicken just over three weeks ago in Liverpool Street in CBD south, shortly after the Taiwanese franchise’s first two Australian stores opened in Melbourne.

Hot Star Large Fried Chicken is a Taiwanese chain with more than 40 stores in its home country and an increasing presence in south-east Asia and now Australia, where expansion in Sydney is on the cards.

Large Fried Chicken "Original" from Hot Star Large Fried Chicken, Liverpool Street, Sydney

Famous in Taipei's Shilin Night Market where it originated, Hot Star's signature product is an opened up chicken breast, on the rib bone, deep fried with a flour coating then seasoned to desired spice levels.

The chicken is served piping hot out of the deep fryer in a paper bag, then plastic-bagged by the customer for their taking-away and eating enjoyment.

They're not kidding when they say it's "Large Fried Chicken" – the breast makes for a formidably-sized cutlet that's described as "oversized" and "larger than palm-sized". Each serving portion is 250 grams of chicken breast, approximately 30 centimetres in length.

Chicken in the deep fryer

The fresh, never frozen chicken breast is cooked for 4.5 minutes in a deep fryer that can hold 20 large pieces per fry. The canola oil in each fryer is changed three times a day; ensuring a clean deep fry that tends to range from pale to golden.

Marinating chicken breasts

Flour coating the chicken

The chicken is 100% breast sourced from local suppliers – real chicken with real bones – and is marinated for at least 12 hours before being coated in flour immediately ahead of deep frying to order.

Sydney store front

The Sydney store has been averaging sales of about 700 portions of large fried chicken a day since opening in early March, with the "Original" being the most popular with a "medium spice" seasoning.

The seasoning sprinkled on each cooked chicken breast is imported from Taiwan and comprises salt, pepper and a special chilli powder.

Large fried chicken coating

As the chicken and other vegetable sides are all cooked to order, a small wait for deep fried goodness is inevitable. For the uninitiated, it's hard not to smile when you receive your first Large Fried Chicken: it's golden, it's huge and it's hot. Really hot.

The flour coating is undoubtedly crispy when fresh out of the fryer, though it does soften in the hot, steamy confines of its paper bag. I found the medium spice to be quite mild and would definitely consider increasing that next time.

Insides of Large Fried Chicken "Original"

The insides are probably the juiciest chicken breast you'll come across – definitely in fried chicken land, and perhaps in the breast cut generally. At the top boneless section, you can take big, glorious bites out of it while towards the bottom, it's a case of nibbling off the outer side of the rib bones.

The combination of crunch, seasoning and juicy insides makes for a very happy fried chicken experience. Utterly satisfying for cravings or a large snack, the Large Fried Chicken is actually positioned as a substantial meal unto itself, perhaps embellished with a few side options.

Chicken bites

The chicken bites give my chicken nuggets compulsion a good run for its money. Small chunks of chicken breast, two or three bites each, are coated in the same flour and seasoning and are tossed with fresh sweet basil leaves upon removal from the deep fryer, as is common for fried chicken in Taiwanese cuisine.

The breast meat in the bites weren't nearly as moist and juicy as the Large Fried Chicken, but the basil addition added an additional flavour dimension that's fresh and fragrant.

Sweet potato fries

Hot Star's sweet potato chips are definitely contenders for the best of their breed. Cooked from a fresh, raw state, they were super crunchy in their flour coat, and soft and sweet on the inside; blissful with a light seasoning.

King brown mushrooms

One of the more unusual sides options are the deep fried chunks of fresh King Brown mushrooms. Beware, they're possibly the hottest thing to come out of a deep fryer in terms of heat, given their moisture content, and they go soggy before reaching a bearable eating temperature.

But, they're completely worthwhile, if only as a noble vegetable/fungus side that you probably won't see elsewhere.

Curly potato fries with spicy mayonnaise

Last but not least of the sides are the curly potato fries that would make any kid's eyes light up.

The only processed product on the menu, they are offered with a spicy mayonnaise that's made in-house and only for the apparently mayo-loving Australian market. With a soft crunch, the potato curls are relatively pedestrian but naughtily pleasing nonetheless.

The Hot Star Large Fried Chicken menu

It's all in the name – the star of Hot Star Large Fried Chicken is the Large Fried Chicken. Open till midnight most nights and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, I foresee Hot Star Large Fried Chicken becoming a lunch/snack/dinner/late night name that I'm going to get to know intimately.

Food, booze and shoes sampled products from Hot Star Large Fried Chicken as a guest, with thanks to Harvey Publicity.

Willoughby Dumpling House: Dedication to dumplings

I will go far and wide, north and south-west for the humble dumpling. There’s just something about thin circles of dough filled with meat and vegetables that have a hold of me.

In a quiet section near the Willoughby Hotel, the dumplings at Willoughby Dumpling House and their little Taiwanese menu friends get along extremely well with a BYO bottle of wine.

Taiwanese style shallot pancake from Willoughby Dumpling House,
Penshurst Road, Willoughby

The space is small but kitted out in a modern, nostalgic fashion that hipsters wouldn’t be uncomfortable with. The laminated menu breaks down into a number of equally tempting sections but dumplings and pancakes are a good place to start.

The shallot pancake is not your normal pan-fried, shallot-dotted flat dough – it’s deep fried and it’s better. Golden and crunchy, there’s still a soft, chewiness to the middle section and the plate is polished off hastily among the group.

Taiwanese style pancake wrap with pork floss, fried egg and house sauce

The soft, rolled egg pancake was a revelation to me – typical Taiwanese breakfast and street food, these pancakes filled with pork floss and egg omelette were pure comfort with pops of flavour from the dried and flavoured pork floss and sweet brown sauce.

Hand made steamed pork dumplings with garlic chives and shallots

I could see the steam coming off the simply steamed pork and chive dumplings, served with a chilli sauce. However, I skipped them, waiting instead for the pan fried versions which have my heart.

Hand made pan fried pork dumplings with garlic chives and shallots

The pork and chive dumplings were about as good and fresh as they get, with a real home-made flavour. The pan fried versions had a paper-thin layer of crisp nothing-ness around the dumpling bottoms that still amazes me.

Hand made pan fried prawn dumplings with bamboo shoot and coriander

Filled with a soft, white filling of minced prawn and bamboo shoot, the prawn dumplings were a lighter option than the pork but full of flavour and superb with the slow-burning chilli sauce.

Granny's rice dumpling with pork and shitake mushroom, wrapped in bamboo leaf

The glutinous rice 'Granny's rice dumpling' is one not something often seen on restaurant menus, despite its popularity in Chinese and Vietnamese cuisines around festive times of the year.

Expertly pyramid-shaped and wrapped in lotus leaves, the sticky rice package is filled with pork pieces and shitake mushrooms, and seemed to have a delightful, five spice flavour through the rice. The sweet sauce and crushed peanuts atop were essentially the icing and decoration on the cake.

Steamed bun burger with pork belly, pickled mustard, coriander and peanut powder

The Chinese-style steamed man tou bun continues to have its time in the spotlight, and with winning filling combinations – like flavour-packed braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens, sweet hoi sin sauce and crushed peanuts for texture – I see no reason for it to recede.

I thought the chopped pickled mustard greens really lifted the bun to enviable heights amid a city currently awash in pork buns.

Steamed bun burger with roast duck, shallot, cucumber and hoi sin sauce

There was also a version of the bun filled with roast duck, hoi sin sauce and shallots – Peking duck style with the fluffy white buns replacing the usual thin pancakes. By all accounts, it was better.

Taiwanese fried fish cake

There were double-takes as what looked like thick-cut potato chips arrived to the table. The fried fish cake that fooled us all had a decent, firm texture and was best had with the chilli.

Spicy beef noodle soup

The best spicy beef noodle places always seem to be Taiwanese. The broth in this rendition had great depth of flavour and a very noticeable spice kick, while the super-soft beef (brisket, I think) rather outshone the long white noodles.

Sung choi bao with roast duck, mushroom, onion and crispy wonton pastry

I rarely order sung choi bao when I’m eating out as they seem easily achievable in the home kitchen. But the finely diced filling here, with roast duck meat and bits of fried wonton pastry adding crispness, was spectacularly well-seasoned, giving me serious doubt that I could do similarly.

Fried rice

The Taiwanese style fried rice seemed a little more complex and substantial than the Chinese version I'm accustomed to. Tossed with dark soy sauce, egg and vegetables, the fried rice was an easy and satisfying dish to finish on.

We'd managed to completely clear a table covered in food: snack-sized plates, full-blown rice and noodle dishes, and of course, dear dumplings as the obsession continues.

Disclosure: Food, booze and shoes is acquainted with staff at Willoughby Dumpling House.