Overview
There's perhaps no better food pairing than fried chicken and beer. In Korea, chimaek restaurants (literally translating to chicken and beer) can be found on every street corner, each presenting their own take on the foolproof combo.
From Paul Anakakul, the owner of Ponsonby's Po' Brothers and Kingsland's Bangkok, comes a new eatery specialising in the art of chimaek with a focus on flavours from the wider far east.
The chicken comes in several varieties; from the crispy Original Chicka which comes with three ever-changing dipping sauces, to a traditional Korean-style covered in yangnyeom sauce, the Chicka Zapp which is fried with lamb larb and accompanied with rice and Thai herbs, and the Chicka Wow Wow which arrives covered in Thai curry. All can be ordered as wings, drumsticks, boneless thighs or a mix of the former.
The eatery's '80s-inspired pop art concept stems from the time when Korea's fried chicken craze took off. There are three generations of chimaek; all spanning different stages between the '80s and '90s.
Chicka features both old school and notes of the "millennial chimaek" movement, which in this occasion sidesteps chicken all together. A little bit of backstory: with the mid-1990s financial crisis came more spicy food, with more spicy food came drinking, and with more drinking came an increase in the use of cheese — a trend which ultimately effected US dairy prices. Chicka's ultimate millennial drinking dish involves marinated pork ribs and seven-spiced lamb ribs served with corn cob in a cheesy fondue — a dish made in financial crisis heaven.
For those not on the chicken wagon, the new opening also offers handmade dumplings, kimchi soup, wrap-your-own bulgogi and a Caesar salad. To wash it all down you'll find Orion draft beer on tap for $8 and soju.
Find Chicka at 509 New North Road, Kingsland. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, 12-10pm.
Image: Chicka