8 Chicken and Beer - Sunnybank

Being quite a fan of Korean Fried Chicken (despite suffering so many breakouts after) I was keen to hit up most of the popular joints in Brisbane to find a favourite. Having read some limited reviews on 8 Chicken and Beer, I was curious to try it out. However given my recent diet, it required considerable reason for me to break my vow and indulge, so when a friend went through a slight life crisis, I decided that there is nothing more comforting and loving than a dish of fried chicken (any excuse to break the vow), so off we went. 

Arriving at 12 on Saturday, I was surprised to be the only table in the store. Only after sitting down did I notice the constant stream of customers coming in and out getting their chicken take away. 

The menu was short for a Korean restaurant and contained the obvious fried chicken, some dumplings, soup and hotpot as well as sides. 

Complimentary sides were provided after ordering and portions were generous. That day we had fresh and pickled radish as well as kimchi. I liked the kimchi which was much stronger seasoned and saucy than I had been used to, making for a strong flavoursome starter.

 After a short wait our food arrived. 

The main event was of course the fried chicken. We ordered a whole portion, boneless and original. My companion said he considers the chicken to be on the bland side since it wasn't strongly seasoned, but I found it to have enough so that I could appreciate the freshness of the chicken. Being freshly fried, it was HOT and crispy whilst maintaining an element of juiciness inside, although it wasn't as tasty as the one I had in Momo. This came with a side serve of chips which were also only lightly seasoned with salt and wasn't too exciting. 

To accompany the chicken, we had a bowl of dumpling soup. Expecting the usual dumplings with rice cake in beef bone broth, I was surprised to receive a bowl of clear soup with four giant dumplings and no rice cake. The soup was warm and nourishing, garnished with nori and enoki mushrooms. The dumplings were an interesting experience, similar in shape to Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, it was roughly double the size and filled with pork, greens, carrot and egg. The pastry wasn't too thick and it was elastic enough to hold the delectable parcel together. I quite enjoyed it. 

Price range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10