Gami - Chicken and Beer

It's no secret I love fried chicken.  I hold it in utmost regard as one of the ultimate comfort foods to have ever existed.  So when I first noticed Gami - Chicken and Beer and realised they served Korean fried chicken, I said 'Yee-haw!  I gotta get me some crispy chicken!'  Of course, food is best with company and joining me tonight was ready-to-eat Spu, Gami-neighbours Tina, Shazza and Glenda and Dr. R who just happened to be in town.

The sign doesn't lie and yes, I can confirm that Gami sell chicken and beer but they also serve other Korean dishes if you've (weirdly) decided to come here not wanting to sample the namesake food.  We ordered a few on the side to supplement our plates of chicken.

Beer is available in a mini four litre keg which is their own 'famous house beer' ($42).  I had a small glass.  It was nice but I'm not sure how it compares to any other beer given that I'm not a beer drinker.

 Oktoberfest has distorted my view of steins.  Any stein not holding a litre's worth of beer looks abnormal to me now. 

Shazza and I shared some Korean raspberry sweet wine ($25).  Tastes like ribena!

We were given some complimentary nibbles with our drinks - prawn chips and pickled daikon cubes.  Acid helps wash out the chicken fat.

Our entree/side dishes:

Mandoo (fried dumplings, $12) with cabbage...doused in thousand island dressing and tomato sauce!?!  Cheese and corn ($9). 

I'd read many favourable reviews about this unconventional marriage of vegetable and dairy.  The sweet corn is mixed with mayonnaise, given a layer of supermarket grated cheddar and then grilled until a slight cheese crusts forms.  It weirdly kinda works but not really.  Then you wonder how drunk a person must have to be when they decide to mix the three together.

Onto the chicken.  You have the choice of original, sweet chilli (I think it's covered in gochujang) or sweet soy garlic flavours.  We of course, had to eat all three.

Half sweet soy garlic, half sweet chilli ($30).  It's a whole chicken. 

Full plate of original flavour ($27).  Again, a whole chicken.  We demolished both plates.  Not a single piece survived.  

What can I say.  It's fried chicken.  The meat was super moist with a crispy external batter.  That takes super-frying skillz.  You'd think maybe some of the pieces may be unevenly cooked but the chef in the back has portioned the chicken in such a way that allow all pieces to be cooked perfectly.  Not a cold bit of chickie in sight.

Is it better than KFC?  Probably not.  Is it worse than KFC?  Definitely not.  Can I eat this as alternative to KFC?  Damn straight I can.  Having different flavours is a bonus.  If I want plain fried chicken, well it's a tough choice between KFC and Gami.  Maybe the Colonel's 11 secret herbs and spices just have the edge.  If I wanted any other flavour of chicken, Gami is where it's at.  The chicken I enjoyed most?  Sweet chilli.  Much like other Asians, I do enjoy KFC hot and spicy.  Gami's is a nice, sticky, sweet alternative.

For those not wanting a full chicken, Gami also offer half chickens, boneless pieces and wings starting from a six pack.  Gami is the place to go when you want to eat your fried chicken in a more civil manner.  I realise that 'civil' and 'fried chicken' do not really belong in the same sentence but hey, if a place serves fried chicken on a plate and not a box, then it's civil to me.

I'll be back for sure!  *licks fingers*  Oh and Gami has two CBD locations just in case you're at the other end of town.