Posts tagged franchise

Deep Fried Chicken Skin is the new Crack

Fried Chicken Skin, PappaRich: Sydney Food Blog Review

Guys, we need to talk about chicken skin.

Ever since moving to Australia, it seems that chicken skin has been relegated to the “unhealthy” territory, so much so that to get chicken meat with the skin on requires you to buy the whole chicken or make special requests!

Well there’s one place(s) in Sydney that’s rebelling in the most delicious way: serving up a whole plate of crispy, piping hot, deep fried chicken skin for your eating pleasure. PappaRich.

A photo posted by Tammi Kwok (@teafortammi) on

This is something that brings back memories of my humid, SouthEast Asian childhood, where comfort eating gets elevated to an art form. An art form that has most doctors in a tizzy, sure, but a scrumptious, luxurious beautiful thing nonetheless.

Crispy Chicken Skin: PappaRich Bankstown. Sydney Food Blog Review

Of course, that’s not the only thing that you can order (the Assam Laksa, Roti and Satay is pretty legit)

PappaRich Assam Laksa

Roti Telur Bawang with Curry Chicken: PappaRich Bankstown. Sydney Food Blog Review

Satay Chicken and Beef: PappaRich Bankstown. Sydney Food Blog Review

And of course, the Hainan chicken with rice noodles is also worth getting.

Dry Kway Teow with Steamed Chicken

But really, with chicken skin on the menu, why would you look at anything else?

Fried Chicken Skins

BRB, got chicken skin to eat!

Wondering where else you can get your chicken skin fix? Well, you can read more about our other PappaRich adventures at Parramatta, Macquarie and in Melbourne!

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of PappaRich Bankstown.
PappaRich Bankstown
Little Saigon Plaza, G13-G14/462 Chapel Rd
Bankstown NSW 2200, Australia
Phone: +61 2 9709 4147
Website: http://www.papparich.net.au/location/papparich-bankstown/

PappaRich Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sponsored Review: Soul Origin, Rhodes

Smoked Salmon Benedict, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog Review

What IS fast food, really? Is it any good that’s just fast? Or does it have to be a food that’s bad for you? For me, it’s always been more of the latter. It doesn’t matter how the Food Giants spin it, it’s always been bad for me, and I like it.

What can I say? I’m a sadist like that.

In the more recent times though (omg I feel so old!) there’s been a shift in the perception of fast food. No longer a shorthand for greasy artery-clogging food, it’s now more about light, healthy, and that eastern-suburb-coffee lifestyle. Well, like Soul Origin is offering up with its many kiosks popping up around Sydney.

I went to the newest one in Rhodes, greeted by the effervescent Loula, who’s the franchisee. Staff swarming around her, looking to her for direction..all classic signs of first-day-training for a brand new food outlet. We select a range of food – Sam happily has Soul Origin for breakfast, so it’ll be interesting to compare the consistency across outlets – and take our little brown bags away to unwrap our brunch.

Smoked Salmon Benedict, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog ReviewSmoked Salmon Benedict

On the breakfast front, we chose the Smoked Salmon Benedict and the Chorizo and egg wrap. The eggs in the Benedict are cooked all the way through – an unfortunate by-product of health and safety rules for pre-cooking eggs – and the bread is soft. I’m not a big fan of the hollandaise: if it can’t be made fresh, hollandaise can come off as a tepid, slightly tasteless cousin of mayonnaise. In these cases, I say, just use Mayo and call it something else, and your life will be much better for it. There was an adequate amount of smoked salmon though, which is much better than many takeaway breakfasts out there.

Chorizo and Egg Wrap, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog ReviewChorizo and Egg Wrap

The Chorizo and Egg wrap was a much MUCH better option, especially when eaten warm. The cheese melts around the salty chorizo, and the soft wrap just holds it all together. Sam says that the wrap isn’t as generous here as his usual order at Town Hall, but I still think that flavour-wise it’s very balanced, and a pleasure to eat.

Achiote Chicken Panini, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog ReviewGrilled Chicken Panini

The Grilled Chicken Panini is flavoured with an achiote paste: a Mexican marinade made with citrus, annato (also called achiote) paste, a touch of chilli, garlic and herbs. As far as a chicken sandwich goes, it’s pretty good, but not quite as good a filling to bread ratio as the wraps. Now if only you can just get the filling on its own…

Variety of Salads, Soul Origin, Rhodes: Sydney Food Blog Review

Oh wait, you can! Soul Origin serves up a selection of salads, with many of the ingredients overlapping with the wraps and paninis, in case you want the low carb option. The individual components – roasted veg, beans, beef, chicken – are made in a satellite kitchen off site, and delivered to outlets all over Sydney and assembled on the day.

We got to try a little bit of everything available, and the chicken schnitzel was actually a favourite, followed by the roast veg. Usually, cooked chicken breast doesn’t hold up so well in terms of texture, but they’ve done well with the schnitzel, keeping the crust crisp, around a thin layer of chicken.

At its core, Soul Origin doesn’t pretend to be anything fancier than it is: it’s providing an alternative to the fast food that we love to hate, and maybe give you something a little different for a weekday lunch. Does it have the most amazing sandwiches in Sydney? No, but it does pretty well in the takeaway category.

Oh, and one last thing: if you’re looking for a little afternoon pick-me-up that’s not your normal coffee, try a suggestion from Loula – a dirty chai is a shot of coffee in a chai latte, and it’s pretty darn good. Soul Origin already has a reputation for its coffee, and hopefully now, a little something different.

Insatiable Munchies dined as a sponsored guest of Soul Origin, Rhodes.
Soul Origin
Kiosk 5, Rhodes Waterside
1 Rider Boulevard
Rhodes NSW 2138
Phone: 02 8765 1162
Website: http://www.soulorigin.com.au