And say a word
for Ginger Brown
Walks with his head down
to the ground
Took the shoes
right off his feet
Threw the poor boy
right out in the street
And this is what he said
Another Tuesday.... another Taste! The pleasant summer months are sadly behind us now as we cling to the very end of September, but the taste buds haven't shifted into the autumn season yet as once again the flavour of this week is some sweet fried chicken.
While last week's review was a chicken wing import from Texas, our subject this week has traveled a much farther distance to reach Toronto. According to their (Canadian) website, Pelicana Chicken was born in the early 1980s in Daejeon, South Korea (Daejeon is one of South Korea's largest cities, located in the central portion of the country and with a population roughly equivalent to Montreal. Geography! It's quite fun). In the decades since its inception, Pelicana has grown to thousands of locations throughout South Korea, and more recently have set their sights on expansion into North America... opening their first Canadian location in downtown Toronto earlier this year.
Which is where I come in. It was a very wet and cloudy Monday when I adventured back into my old, old neighbourhood of Yonge and Bloor. While I've spent the majority of my adult life in Toronto's east end now (never saw that coming, honestly), my Toronto roots are right in that very centre of town. Though I was a kid/teenager for most of these, I can vividly remember the Uptown Theatre, Stollery's clothing shop, the Hakim Optical (and the Harvey's beside it!), Roy Square (and the perpetual construction around it), House of Lords, the Duke of Gloucester (RIP)... this was my old hood for a long time! Going back there now fills me with an off-kilter nostalgia, since almost all of this area has become unrecognizable to me now. At least the Brass Rail is still there! Hah hah.... sigh.
Also, it was extremely weird seeing Yonge/Bloor station completely plastered with adverts aggressively (like, very aggressively) suggesting a move to Alberta. Just bizarre stuff going on. Yeah, Toronto is expensive but I'm good, thanks.
Turns out Pelicana Chicken opened in the spot right on the north-west corner of Charles and Yonge (beside the strip mall I bought many SNES games in), a building I remember used to be occupied by Green Mango, a Thai (I think) restaurant my mum liked. I couldn't get much of a grasp of Pelicana's menu online, so I went in blind and unsurprisingly took an extremely long time to order (despite the extreme simplicity of the options). Eventually I settled on their "Signature Fried Chicken" dish, as I wanted to sample their sauce but not a spicy one (despite the temptation) since this was my first ever visit. After twenty minutes of wandering the Manulife Centre (that's a story for another day soon) I returned and my food was ready.
We'll start off with those white cubes you see in the clear container: I had no idea what they were! Sampling one, the texture reminded me of melon... except the flavour had a slight sweet bitterness to it. Well, turns out they were pickled radishes. I genuinely had no clue... the last time I'd tasted a radish could've possibly been never. 'Radish' is one of those words that are extremely fun to say, though. Try it yourself: radish. See?
Onto the main attraction! The fried chicken. First of all, those two tube-like things you see there... once again I had no clue what they were. My knowledge of Korean cuisine is rather woeful, it seems. Anyhow, texture-wise these were like stretchy dough tubes with a bit of chewiness to them... now watch me be completely incorrect and find out they were fried carrots or something.
As for the chicken... the batter around it is extremely light, airy and crispy... reminding of a tempura type of layer except without that kind of flakiness. The crunchiness isn't overbearing or difficult on the jaw/roof of your mouth either (as you'll find with cheap chicken fingers, for instance), instead the texture is simultaneously delicate and firm enough to encompass the entirety of these chicken pieces. There's still enough of a pleasant crunch, and the batter itself tastes lightly of soy and pepper. Tasty stuff.
The chicken within is juicy and tender also... even the pieces that are completely white meat without any bones. Each bite is easily completed and there isn't a moment of dryness or stringy bits anywhere throughout. This isn't a greasy fried chicken either, as you don't get any of that oil seeping into your fingertips. Nope, that's the job of the signature sauce that you see all over this bird. It's a very sticky, very messy ordeal (especially for somebody with a beard like myself) eating this stuff, though the sauce itself is certainly enjoyable periodically. It tastes somewhat like a mix between plum sauce and honey, but with quite a bit of garlic or ginger (or both) blended lightly in for some rooty sting. Regardless what the secret recipe is (maybe mango instead of plum?) it made for both an effective covering for the crispy outer layer and a fine sweet dip for the chicken within.
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Overall! I do believe I would recommend Pelicana Chicken. It's not as heavy as your typical fried chicken thanks to the lighter batter, and the chicken within is nicely cooked, tender and tasty. I will say as a mild criticism, the strong sweetness of this sauce does get to be too much after a while and started bugging my stomach (and there was a lot of it pooled at the bottom of the box). If/when I go again, I'll definitely listen to my heart on that occasion and go for one of the spicier options. Hopefully I also know a bit more about what the heck I'm ordering also...
Burnt Ends -- Hey I actually wrote something on 'Not a Tuesday' for a change! Last week I checked out and reviewed Halal pizza joint 6ix Pizzas here in the Beaches (they also have a location near Bathurst, for you west-siders). As for future endeavors, I've got another pizza review potentially coming very soon (hey, I had to do something during the 20 minutes I was waiting for my fried chicken). Don't look now, but in these autumn months Another Pizza Quest might just be coming fast and furious.
Say Cheese -- Stumbled upon this read from a cheese expert, basically discussing (and dismissing) various myths surrounding cheese. It's a fun, short and cheesy read (couldn't resist) if you are inclined towards le fromage.
Also, while on the topic of cheese: this classic. How often do I get an excuse to share that one?
Taking Flight -- A really cool article from Alex Wong (who you might know more for his basketball work) taking a behind the scenes look at the folks who run the Toronto Blue Jays social media accounts, from the lead photographer, caption writer and director etc. Definitely worth a read if you're a fan of the team.
Tuesday Tune -- This time of year is always somewhat of a sadder time in these parts and this year fits that description. The baseball seasons are over, jacket weather is creeping in, tonight (Tuesday) is the last outdoor concert I'll be working until next Spring... it's a transitional time. Considering that, it seems a good time to share this particular song that happens to be the final song on the final album of a legendary group (nobody is counting Squeeze... come on). It's a melancholy tune and a good one.
That's all for this week! We'll have some more fun stuff coming up soon.. but until then stay safe out there and don't spill that mustard.
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