Eager to try something familiar yet new, we visited Flying Chook in Rhodes for some Korean Fried Chicken.
This is the Half/Half ($37.00) with Rose and Korean Sweet Chilli.
The chicken was as crisp as one would expect of Korean fried chicken, but the meat itself did not taste marinated — unlike the chicken at Gami Chicken & Beer — and seemed to rely exclusively on the sauce for flavour. The rose sauce was a mix of Korean chilli sauce and powder that’s been toned back with cream. Here, it tasted creamy with a tomato twist and an enjoyable level of heat that lingered. In comparison, the sweet chilli was a sticky-sweet sauce that was without any heat, but our preferred of the two sauces.
This is the Seafood Pancake ($17.00).
We were sorely disappointed by this pancake. There was far too much batter for structural integrity and not nearly enough seafood and innards to redeem itself. We preferred the version from Mirac Korean Restaurant that was crammed with seafood and spring onion that was held together with just enough batter and easily torn with just chopsticks. Here, every bite of this mattress-like pancake was a challenge.
Nene Chicken remains our overall favourite place for Korean fried chicken due to its consistently good food, accessibility and affordability. Seocho-Dong Incredible Chicken is a close second, with superior chicken but steeper prices. We’re unlikely to return to Flying Chook and would soon revisit Gami Chicken & Beer.
Flying Chook is located at Level 1 Rhodes Waterside, 1 Rider Blvd, Rhodes NSW 2138.