ChicKing Review
This fast food chain really doesn’t need an introduction if you live in Kochi but nevertheless, here’s one for those who need it, plus reviews of the most recent items added to the menu.
One of the first and most beloved fried chicken fast food
joints in the city, Chicking now has many branches all over the city, namely MG
Road, Palarivattom and at Edappaly in the Lulu mall. They also have plenty of
outlets in other districts in Kerala, like Calicut, Thrissur etc. The three
Kochi outlets have adequate parking arrangements. Offering great fried chicken,
burgers and wraps, Chicking is the place to go to if you love fried chicken,
which is what attracts most of the crowd.
I still remember going to the joint for the first time when it had just opened their first branch at MG Road Kochi. They gave us a balloon and a toy (I was pretty young then!!!) and we bought their chicken pieces and burgers. At that time, the chicken used to be Rs 30/- apiece and the Zinger burger [now known as Royal crunchy] was Rs 59/-. Now the number of branches and prices have gone up, a bit too much in some cases but the taste is usually as good as ever.
The best part about them is the fact that they occasionally add new items to their menu every now and then to keep things interesting. The flavours they currently have on the menu are the original, Mexican and more recently, Tandoori. Many more such joints have come up to follow suit and grab a bite of the success they had but ChicKing still has its own following in the hearts of Kochiites, and 'reigns' supreme. We have reviewed most of these other newer joints in this site too, so be sure to read about those too! Just click here!
I still remember going to the joint for the first time when it had just opened their first branch at MG Road Kochi. They gave us a balloon and a toy (I was pretty young then!!!) and we bought their chicken pieces and burgers. At that time, the chicken used to be Rs 30/- apiece and the Zinger burger [now known as Royal crunchy] was Rs 59/-. Now the number of branches and prices have gone up, a bit too much in some cases but the taste is usually as good as ever.
The best part about them is the fact that they occasionally add new items to their menu every now and then to keep things interesting. The flavours they currently have on the menu are the original, Mexican and more recently, Tandoori. Many more such joints have come up to follow suit and grab a bite of the success they had but ChicKing still has its own following in the hearts of Kochiites, and 'reigns' supreme. We have reviewed most of these other newer joints in this site too, so be sure to read about those too! Just click here!
Fried Chicken and Hot Chicken Strips
Taking inspiration from the typical American fried chicken,
this sees pieces of chicken with skin and bone intact marinated with spices and
coated with batter before being deep fried to a crispy, juicy tender serving.
One of the biggest reasons it is so popular is because of the spiciness. It has
been tuned for Indian taste buds: the spice mix is nice and spicy, without
having an Indian curry flavour in any way at all. This coupled with the textural
contrast of soft, juicy chicken and crisp, crunchy coating comes together for
an experience so good; it will have you coming back for more. Let me make this very clear: even if you can get fried Chicken at your local KFC etc. if you live outside India, you may want to consider trying some for yourself as the chicken has a spicy taste that you will not find anywhere else...!!! A few knock-offs that sprung up around town just could not get the balance right and closed down quickly.
If you would like to savour the flavour without having to worry about the excess fat from the skin or just want to avoid the bones, the spicy Hot Chicken Strips are exactly what you need. They do taste very slightly different since they don’t have the bone and skin on them, but is equally great stuff with the same spiciness and crunchiness as the chicken pieces. They have arguably the best strips in town. A small lament is that they are significantly more expensive than ever before, which is a disappointment.
If you would like to savour the flavour without having to worry about the excess fat from the skin or just want to avoid the bones, the spicy Hot Chicken Strips are exactly what you need. They do taste very slightly different since they don’t have the bone and skin on them, but is equally great stuff with the same spiciness and crunchiness as the chicken pieces. They have arguably the best strips in town. A small lament is that they are significantly more expensive than ever before, which is a disappointment.
Buckets and combos will beat the price down, at the expense
of not being able to choose your piece, most of the time.
Chicken nuggets
Thin cut chicken cubes breaded with a thin lightly spiced coating, makes
for a light and crispy treat. It may be a little too bland for some though.
Chicken Tandoori Bites
After Mexican stuff, ChicKing are now trying to incorporate
Indian flavours to their menu with their latest addition. KFC did this first,
with their rather delectable curry crunch. We tried this at the Calicut branch.
We got 6 boneless pieces which were roughly half the size of the strips and
bigger than the popcorn. It is loaded with spice powder, and is therefore a
fair bit hotter than the normal strips. We liked the taste; the typical Indian
spices complemented the crunchy coating rather well. We may still prefer to
stick with the usual strips instead, but for someone who likes a certain Indian
flavour in their food, this will be the one to order.
Delite Burger and Royal Crunchy
Delite burgers are the smallest burger available, it makes for a good snack
with the carbohydrates from the bun and fiber from the lettuce. It has chicken
strips with lettuce and mayonnaise. Ideal for takeaway as it is made very
quickly unlike the bigger burgers but should be consumed as quickly as possible
to retain the crunch. The Royal Burgers are bigger burgers using much larger
fillets. There are veg and fish [tuna] options also available for both the
Delite and Royal versions.
Chicken Mexi-Crunchy Supreme
This burger starts with a 6 inch long hot dog roll cut in
half. In between, you have the crispy, juicy and spicy breaded chicken fillet
accompanied by lettuce, tangy Mexican red sauce and sliced Jalapenos and
usually cheese. The creamy soft cheese slice and mayonnaise contrasts
beautifully with the crunchy and spicy chicken fillet and the tang from the
jalapenos and sauce rounds things off perfectly. This is a great thing to have
for lunch, as it is reasonably heavy.
Royal Wrap
The same crunchy and spicy chicken fillet, lettuce and
mayonnaise wrapped with a flour tortilla or maida roti. There is also a tuna and
veg wrap, though we have not tried it recently since they usually use frozen
tuna.
Chicken Mexita Supreme
This is a more Mexican version of the Mexi-Crunchy. It has a
tangier sauce and jalapenos. What is different though is that they add red
chili flakes to it as well. This makes for one really spicy sandwich! It is
probably the spiciest one they offer. The chicken is also not the crunchy type of
fillet they usually serve in a Mexi-Crunchy either; it is soft, non-breaded
chicken grilled fillet marinated with a rather tangy reddish violet sauce which
helps cut down some of the spice from the chili flakes.
Chicken Tandoori Burger
ChicKing has pretty much stood the test of time, it has been around for a while and they have aged fine. That being said, they have a few loopholes which we have occasionally noticed. Nothing that should usually detract from the overall experience but worth a mention nonetheless. Sometimes, we feel that the quality control across the branches is not as solid as international brands. We are basing this review off the branch at Palarivattom which is our go-to location. We have also had stuff several times from the MG Road, LuLu Mall, Aluva/Alwaye, Calicut branches and even the erstwhile Bangalore branch; which used to be at Garuda Mall.
They sometimes falter in consistency of ingredients in the burgers like Mexi-Crunchy [This only happened once] and served up something really sour instead of the jalapeños.
Sometimes, the fried chicken would taste a little different at different branches; sometimes a tad bit too brown or oily and so on, but we never really thought too much about it.
Apart from the minor occasional issues with consistency and the ever increasing prices, ChicKing still comes across as a reliable bet for good (spicy!) fried chicken.
Type of Cuisine: Fast Food, Burgers and Fried Chicken
Locations:
Multiple, Please refer their website link below, they have a full list if you scroll down.
Parking:
Mall parking at LuLu [chargeable] is fine except on very busy days and weekends when it may get full and you might have to wait to find a spot. All restaurant branches generally have good parking facilities in front or nearby.
Multiple, Please refer their website link below, they have a full list if you scroll down.
Parking:
Mall parking at LuLu [chargeable] is fine except on very busy days and weekends when it may get full and you might have to wait to find a spot. All restaurant branches generally have good parking facilities in front or nearby.
Ambience:
Typical mall ambience, love it or hate it! Restaurants are fine, even when crowded.
Typical mall ambience, love it or hate it! Restaurants are fine, even when crowded.
Service:
Usually good, depends on how crowded they get.
Potential Shortcomings:
Taxes: Included in price, fat tax applicable.Usually good, depends on how crowded they get.
What we liked/Recommended for:
- An Indian twist on fried chicken.
- Best. Chicken. Strips. Ever. Always.
- Good option for spice junkies.
- Good burgers with decent variety.
- Decent staff
- Ambiance fine for families.
- Prawn-based items [used to be] frozen.
- Occasional lapses in quality [details above].
- Chicken Strips are becoming OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE.
Phone Numbers:
+91 484 3262233, 3262233, 2332211, 7736067812
Website: http://www.chickingindia.in/
On Zomato:
Did you have royally crispy fried chicken at ChicKing? What did you order? Tell us what you think about the food in the comments below!
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