Chicken Maru - Hurstville, NSW

Lately, I've been feeling a bit tubby...which is to be expected since as you may know, I've had a LOT of fried chicken lately. Fried chicken of the korean variety...with abundant cheese powder. But can you really blame me? I mean, it's so succulent and crispy that you just can't resist eating it again and again. The only reason I've managed to keep my waistline relatively in check is that KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) wasn't exactly the most accessible item...until now.

It seems as though in the short time I've been staying away from Hurstville, it's evolved to encompass so many more cuisines than I last remember it having. One of the new additions is Chicken Maru, Hurstville's first Korean Fried Chicken establishment (which we believe is also a chain in Korea as indicated by the packaging they provide for takeaway). When I first learned of this place, I legitimately had a moment of internal conflict. My heart said no but my stomach said "gimme gimme gimme". Alas I was able to stave off my appetite until last night when the family wanted to go give it a try. From that moment on, I realised that I was doomed.

If you know Hurstville, you'll know that parking is an absolute nightmare. Luckily, if you're willing to pay for it (and keep it to an hour) you can park up at the train station for $2...or just go shopping for groceries and validate your ticket. You really wouldn't normally expect a place to be packed on a Sunday night but it was. Tables of friends, students, families all devouring piece after piece of delicious fried chicken. The smell wafting through from the kitchen was maddeningly irresistible, like an olfactory siren song.

You do get your usual banchan (korean side dishes) to which in my opinion was ever so slightly disappointing in flavour but obviously, not a major detriment as you don't really come here for legitimate Korean food. That said, we still found it obligatory to order a seafood pancake and soft tofu hotpot for comparison. In my humble opinion, the seafood pancake was only satisfactory as it was definitely not the worst I've had but far from the best. The outside rim was rather crisp but it got a little doughy in the middle which might float some boats but I personally have a preference for crispy all the way through.

I was definitely more impressed with the soft tofu hot pot though as the soup was tummy warming and had a decent amount of heat to get the tastebuds racing. Packed with soft tofu and delicious vegetables, the soup really made me happy to be dining at Chicken Maru that night as I had just woken up from a nap and needed a bit of a pick me up on a slightly colder night. I also really appreciated the fact that there were clams and bits of cuttlefish to go with the soup.

As the kitchen was supremely busy with the amount of orders it had to cook, the last items to arrive on our table were our orders of fried chicken. No issue though as this was primarily why we decided to visit and we were all rather excited to dig in. For those of you who share my love of Kentucky Fried Chicken Hot & Spicy flavour (and get equally distraught every time they take it away) I say to you, fear no longer! We now have a suitable and permanent replacement in the Chicken Maru original flavour! I really didn't expect it to be spicy but it was...and it was so much more delicious for it. The crunchy, batter covered exterior housed the most moist and succulent flesh and as you continued to devour your piece of fried chicken, the appetising heat builds up to a crescendo of gustatory elation. Worth. Every. Bite.

Our second order of chicken came shortly after and although it did give me an equivalent amount of joy, I also found my mouth a bit burnt out from all fried chicken. Mind you it was delicious to have cheese powder dusted on top of the chicken but alas, it didn't mask the fact that it was still the same kind of chicken we had just previously had. I believe that if we didn't order the original chicken and instead had opted for a saucy kind, I would have enjoyed the snow cheese chicken MUCH much more. For this, I have to regrettably admit that I didn't do the snow cheese chicken justice but I know better for next time. Lesson learnt: half sauce & half Cheese makes for a happy dining experience.

On the one hand, I'm really glad to see the area that I grew up in develop into such a thriving foodie hub but on the other, I'm also filled with sadness as I've only just discovered this place just as I'm imminently about to pack up and move to another area of Sydney. Hopefully, the Mrs and I will be able to enjoy coming here with our friends and family whenever we do come and visit. I know for a fact that if I'm ever craving snow cheese chicken, this is the first place I'll be hitting up.