Mr. Chicken

So what is the latest thing to hit the Lower Mainland?  If you said rain, you are completely right, but let's focus on eats.  Just like how the poke trend descended on the city about 5 years ago, we are witnessing a new trend - KFC.  No, not Kentucky Fried Chicken...  Rather Korean Fried Chicken!  There seems to be one in every neighbourhood now and it really is a great takeaway treat.  Think of it, fried chicken in either bone-in or bite sized pieces sauced with delicious flavours that can be shared with a group of people (or eaten by yourself too...).  We were recently invited to try out Mr. Chicken in Langley which boasts flavours from around the world.  One thing that struck me right away was the pricing - it ranged from around $17.00 to $20.00 for a full order.  That is considerably less expensive than most other KFC joints in town.  

To get a taste of the menu, we had the whole thing including the Korean flavour that was sweet & spicy with a thick glaze.  All of our orders were 9 pieces of bone-in chicken.   They ranged from drumsticks to cut-up thighs as well as wing portions.  I found the deep hue of the glaze to be appetizing and indeed it was delicious.  There was a rich sweetness that was accented by enough saltiness to keep it from tasting too sugary.  At the very end, I found a bit of heat.

One of the most interesting flavours was the Mexican where it looked to be oversauced while emitting a very strong smell.  One bite into the chicken and it turned out to be one of the best of the bunch where we really got some of the Mexican spices as well as a good amount of heat.  So while I thought there might've been too much sauce to begin with, it was actually a good thing as it was necessary to get the desired impact.  Furthermore, the sauce didn't seem to impact the crunchiness of the batter very much as it wasn't soggy.

Staying with something more familiar, we tried the Japanese with the classic sweet soy marinade.  With a little less sauce or glaze on this one, the batter was noticeably more crunchy.  The flavours here were a bit more subtle than the previous 2, but still had enough for impact.  I found this one to be less sweet than other versions I've had and that is a good thing since some can get pretty syrupy.  The chicken itself was juicy and since it was on the bone, there was more natural chicken flavour as well.

One of the most surprising flavours was the English with house-made cheddar cheese powder.  I guess this was classified as English due to our love of mac n' cheese in North America?  Whatever the case, this has to be the best cheese-flavoured KFC I've had in town.  The difference is that instead of using store-bought cheese powder (that has all kinds of non-cheese ingredients), this one looked and tasted like cheddar.  No strange aftertaste and not overly sweet powder.  I recommend that you try this one for sure.

I would say the French flavour was definitely the most subtle tasting of them all.  Well, it certainly was not very discernible from the regular fried chicken (Canadian Flavour) due to its plain appearance.  However, it did ultimately taste good though.  The honey butter did not hit me in the face like the spice of the Mexican or the sweet glaze of the Korean.  Yet, the aromatic nuttiness of the butter and the natural sweetness of honey made for a very pleasant taste.  This would be perfect for those who were wanting something less powerful.  Also, it meant the batter was crunchier too.

Another interesting flavour was the Italian where the spices adhered to the batter after the toss.  So this had a distinctive aroma of the usual oregano, basil and thyme where it stood out from the others.  I would say it was trending towards the other KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) territory where we were dealing with herbs and spices on the batter.  Now that would not be very interesting, so their twist was to make it into a vinaigrette.  So yes, we had the Italian herbs in there, but also some background acidity for good measure.

So the award for "most out-there" KFC was the Thai flavour.  So one would think that tossing the fried chicken in Thai sweet chili would be the thing to do here right?  Well only for a place being lazy and not creative...  The chef decided to take the Canadian (just regular fried chicken on the menu) and add a side of coconut chili dip on the side.  I enjoyed the creamy and lightly spicy dip so much, I started dipping the other flavoured chicken into it as well.

We also tried all of their sides including Crackling, Milk Balls and Wedges.  The fried chicken skin was crunchy and the fat had mostly been rendered.  It came with a ranch dipping sauce.  With a crunchy breading, the thickened milk balls were quite good, reminded me of the Chinese version.  Rarely seen, the breaded wedges ensured that the outside was crispy while the inside was soft and potatoey.  Even though it was merely a Cabbage Slaw, I really enjoyed it because it was fresh and completely dressed.  Good compliment to the rest of the fried menu items.  Lastly, we tried the Mr. Tiramisu which was their version that didn't included mascarpone and any coffee.  Hence, it was mostly creamy with soft sponge and chocolate.  I have to say this was the most interesting KFC joints in the Lower Mainland.  Not only are their prices super reasonable, the flavours are uniquely different.  Definitely one of the better options.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- Resonable pricing

- Unique flavours

- Well-executed

The Bad:

- Parking in the area is challenging