Hot Star Large Fried Chicken

Everybody stay cool: you’re about to get really, really fat. But that’s OK. You’re eating Hot Star – the largest Taiwanese-style fried chicken served in a paper bag on Liverpool Street. What started off as a popular Taipei night market staple has now hit the inner city and it’s as close Sydney’s ever come to actually having street food.

No, there’s nowhere to sit – it’s really just a tiny neon-lit shopfront – and yes, you have to queue. They fry to order here, which pretty much guarantees a fatty food pavement party. But here’s how it works: you place your order, you get your receipt with your number on it and two bags: one paper, one plastic. It seems kind of excessive. What climate change, right?

The fry cooks in their paper hygiene masks (just like the ones at Din Tai Fung) slide your huge (and we mean huge – it’s basically an entire hen’s chest, flattened and battered) piece of fried chicken into the little paper bag you’ll helpfully hold out for them. Then it goes into the little plastic shopping bag. Most people are just fanging into it on the spot, though we’re guessing if you’re travelling any great distance with it, the plastic probably keeps the chicken hot.

Order your spackled, lumpy, crunchy Asian schnitzel in either spicy or original. The former’s got an allspice, chilli and paprika warmth to it, though it’s by no means panic stations on the hotness front – we could very comfortably step it up on the spice. The original version is more of a white pepper and salt hit. Both are incredibly juicy. It’s also worth noting the chicken is served bone-in for maximum flavour. The guys at Hot Star recommend leaving the bone end till last.

There are other things on the menu – curly fries, deep-fried mushrooms, sweet potato chips – but these are more extras than essentials. Stick to the program and hammer the chicken for maximum bang for very few bucks.