XXXIII: Deep fried happiness

 No. 530, Beian Road,
Zhongshan District,
Taipei City, Taiwan 104
https://www.facebook.com/TaiWanYanSuJi

 If milk tea is Taiwan's unofficial national drink, fried chicken would be its food counterpart; both of which are my favorite. Had I been staying there full time, not only would my cholesterol shoot up, my glucose level would probably be over the roof. This on top of a burgeoning waistline.
But still, got my fried chicken and sweet tea. Die of happiness.

Seriously, you don't need a man when you got them good fried chicken. Ok, maybe you do. To pay for the chicken. 

It was the end of our first day and also happened to be my birthday. While it wasn't something fancy, fried chicken is something dear to me so we popped by this shop for some dinner. Unromantic, kinda sad too if you think of it but as a leftover woman, one shouldn't complain so much. Or at all. Especially since someone is feeding you.

The place wasn't packed and we managed to secure a table. You place your order by ticking it on an order chit and pay at the counter. Wait for your number to be called as the food is fried to order. Yes, everything is deep fried. Tummy was happy. Liver/kidney was dying. Brain conflicted.  Anyhow, it was evident that the place was the place for fried chicken as a line soon formed up while we enjoyed our dinner.

 Deep fried chicken fillet. Unfortunately, this wasn't boneless so it's rather difficult to eat using wooden sticks. It wasn't oily and slightly salty. Not too dry on the inside but when all you're eating is fried food, the mouth tends to feel dry.

Deep fried squid and chicken popcorn.
Apart from chicken, they have an assortment of other stuff that they'll deep fry. I wasn't expecting kangkung with my squid but that they do and that too was deep fried. Having only tried deep fried curry leaves, this was a rather new territory. It doesn't taste much like kangkung but its stem still retain some of its crunchy texture. Maybe it was just the deep frying.

The pop corn fared better than the fillet as it's easier to eat (pop it in your mouth). Even the squid was more manageable. Although their famous dish is the chicken popcorn, I like their squid better. It wasn't too rubbery nor was it coated with a thick batter.

This is just one of the many fried chicken shops that you can find all over Taipei. Obviously, the night markets would have stalls of them too but this provides you with a more relaxed environment to enjoy it without having to make way for pedestrians or eat hurriedly. J&G is one chain that has opened up a shop in Da:Men mall. Maybe I'll go try it one of these days as they are definitely cheaper than the Korean version.