Finger-licking fabulous: A field guide to Melbourne s best fried chicken
Emma Breheny
Photo: Courtesy Gami
Melbourne is no stranger to chicken breaded and crisped up by oil. But the parma that s so ubiquitous to pub menus has been joined more recently by a kaleidoscope of fried chook spanning Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan and especially Korea.
Korean fried chicken (the other KFC) can now be found from Williams Landing to Clayton. One of the first Korean fried chicken restaurants to open in Melbourne was Gami, landing in the city in 2009. There are now 20 Gami stores across Victoria and more outposts planned.
Dozens of competitors have launched in Gami s wake too, sporting names such as I Love Chicken, Chickilia and the no-nonsense Korean Chicken. The appeal, says Gami co-founder Jun Lee, lies in the mix of novelty and familiarity.
From ayam goreng to Hot Star and KFC: a field guide to fried chicken in Sydney
David Matthews
Photo: James Brickwood
They say that those who burn twice as bright burn half as long, but in the case of fried chicken, a trend locally since the first Kentucky Fried opened in Guildford in 1968, this is a long, slow burn with many flavours and textures.
In the midst of a pandemic, however, with delivery a necessity, a dish with myriad variations is finding a wider audience as fried chicken shops reveal themselves as one of the more resilient restaurant models in the face of COVID