The Unvegan

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Flat Chicken at Hot Star

Object in photo is larger than it appears.

When I found out that a Taiwanese fried chicken place had opened next door to my office, I knew I had to stop by, especially because I would soon be paying a visit to Taiwan. It’s called Hot Star, and for some reason it specializes in flattening the fried chicken to make it look massive. I don’t know if this is meant to make it taste or look better, but I was ready to find out.

If your face is smaller than your chicken…

I ordered my chicken spicy which, in this case, is spicy with powder and not a sauce. I was then handed a giant piece of chicken along with a single glove to hold the thing. I dug in and found one juicy, tender and crispy chicken. Clearly, Hot Star had perfected this concept at some point or else they would not have grown from the Shilin Night Market to a global footprint. Plus, the spicy flavor was tasty without overwhelming.

However, things got kind of weird down towards the bottom of the piece of chicken because the bones were still in there. This probably helped for the juiciness, but was strange and made it harder to eat than your typical bone-in chicken breast. Moreover, it seemed a bit pricey for just a fried chicken breast.

But, it was tasty and a unique spin on fried chicken, and I would highly recommend paying a visit. It’s a whole lot easier then heading to Taiwan.