General Kai - CLOSED

Overview

General Kai is located on the humble roadside of Mount Roskill, next to long-standing tea shop J's Tea. A physical home to the food truck parked in central city is music to the ears of many students and Asian fusion lovers. As a big fan of Kai's milk tea and jumbo-sized fried chicken, I paid a visit to General Kai on a Sunday night for dinner.

At a glance, the menu at General Kai appears like your standard Chinese restaurant with classics like sweet and sour pork ($22) and kung pao chicken ($20) on offer. Most of the dishes are designed to share but there are also smaller morsels that you can enjoy by yourself. As a large table, we decided to try a variety of dishes. We started off with the fusion classic, pork belly bao ($10), which is a Taiwanese-style open bun with two or three slices of pork belly generously stuffed inside with pickles and crushed peanuts. It's delicious and the pork belly effortlessly melts in your mouth. Other options include the crispy chicken and crispy tofu buns.

We then had some Kai signature kumara fries ($9) and pork mince on rice ($5) — a pleasant change from your average bowl of white rice — while waiting for the main dishes. For anyone who hasn't tried the Taiwanese-style kumara fries, I'd strongly recommend that you give them a go. They're chunky and sprinkled with a plum-flavoured powder that adds an additional punch and makes it hard to stop once you start eating. The Malaysian-style crispy fried tofu ($13) comes drizzled with sweet chilli sauce and topped with sliced cucumbers. While the tofu could do with some extra sauce, the portion size is very generous for an entrée.

Kai has an extensive drinks menu and you will find everything from milk tea to slushies, juices, smoothies and a big selection of alcoholic beverages — we'll be coming back for the oolong whiskey sour and yuzu jasmine sour. For bubble tea, step outside your comfort zone by ordered toppings such as the white pearls, or even the glowing pearls if you are chasing after the perfect gram. The taro and honey milk tea ($7-9) is a delicious option.

It's wouldn't be a visit to Kai without ordering the signature fried chicken ($18/$28). Between the four of us, we ordered the large fried chicken which arrived as a selection of wings, thighs and drumsticks. The crispy and juicy cutlets are tasty by themselves or whether you dip them in the mayonnaise or sweet chilli sauce that come with the order. Judging by the speed that it was demolished, the fried chicken was definitely the highlight of the meal.

General Kai is a great place for casual dining and group hangouts. Fried chicken and milk tea is always a good combo.