Chicken – who would have predicted a few years ago that this would be a worthy challenger to sushi, the king of Burnaby restaurants in terms of sheer number?
We have new entrant in the local chicken wars as another global giant has designs on north and south Burnaby.
Chicko Chicken, a company that specializes in Korean-style fried chicken and already operates in Edmonds, is set to open soon at Market Crossing shopping centre in south Burnaby. But it’s also slapped up signage on Hastings Street in the Heights across from Anton’s Pasta between Carleton and Madison.
Chicko is known for how it imports authentic ingredients from Korea to ensure it gets those flavours just right.
The Hastings Chicko is just down the street from where bb.q is setting up west of Gilmore Avenue in the old Chez Meme location.
Bb.q, which will also be adding a location on Beresford in the Metrotown area, does fried chicken in sweet, savoury and spicy varieties that include a number of different dipping sauces. The company has more than 3,500 locations in 57 countries. bb.q has a menu that takes fried chicken to a different level. There’s the golden original signature crispy version, but there are also several hot and spicy versions, including gang-jeong, Jamaican, mala hot and gangnum style. One item that caught my eye was a cheesling chicken smothered in mascarpone and cheddar cheese powders. There’s also a black pepper chicken, soy garlic and honey and garlic. And you can get wings or other parts of the chicken.
This joins a long list of chicken restaurants in Burnaby.
Pelicana Chicken, another newcomer to the Burnaby quick service restaurant business scene next to Red Robin and Lougheed Town Centre, is on a big expansion in the hopes of tempting local taste buds with its "unique chicken flavours” and sweet and spicy sauces. In a video, Pelicana's cooking method is explained, along with the history of the global giant, that opened in 1981 and now has 3,000 stores around the world. Viewers are told Koreans didn't eat a lot of meat in those days and fried chicken was served as a treat for special occasions, such as sports tournaments or on field trips, where parents would pack it for lunch. Pelicana was Korea's first fast-food restaurant, according to the video featuring Lee Yunsoo, assistant director for the company, and interest in Pelicana chicken spread as celebrities were shown eating their fried chicken, which comes with a special pickle, and is often enjoyed with a refreshing beer.
Popeyes has officially opened its Louisiana-style chicken restaurant in Burnaby at 7855 Kingway right near 10th Avenue on the border with New Westminster.
Add these to Chirpyhut, Hi-Five and Hi Chicken Pot and you have a really crowded field of chicken restaurants.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
