Hot Star Large Fried Chicken

I’ve always wanted to try this place having seen bulk photos of it flying around, and endeavoured to seek it out next time it was viable. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea, and should’ve been left as a pipe dream.
The service was pretty bad, with only one staff member up the back scrubbing grease off something. It took a good few minutes for him to even notice me. I opted for the original, and it took a fair while to cook — about 5 – 10 minutes.
The chicken itself was succulent and juicy, with a nice crunch and some good spice, and the piece was huge. About four mouthfuls in, though, I’d had enough. It’s literally just a big schnitzel, and it got boring real quick. I’d recommend finding someone to split it with, as on it’s own, it’s barely a meal — it’s just an ingredient.
Definitely worth checking out if you like having your expectations crushed by brutal, deep fried reality.

The ‘hero dish’ (how I hate that phrase), at Hot Star is a gigantic slab of juicy chicken crumbed and fried and stuck in a bag. Just be warned that the slogan ‘real chicken, real bones’ rings true. This is not a fillet, this chicken comes with some internal infrastructure so watch your teeth. You can pick from a list of seasonings to add — spicy, chicken salt, plum (!) etc, and these can also be added to the fries. I usually get the sweet potato fries, which are chunky and sometimes a bit undercooked. They are also serving fried squid now, which I am yet to sample. Some people have complained about the wait time, but considering things are cooked to order, I am happy to wait a few extra minutes for hot well-​cooked chicken.

Great import from Taiwan.
A small takeout store with basically a window that takes your orders. You can almost always find a line outside. The chicken schnitzel is to die for. A huge piece of tender juicy deep friend white meat with crispy batter. It’s rare to find a place outside Asia that can serve such tender fried chicken.
They have a special running from Monday to Wednesday in conjunction with the bubble tea place next door.
Definitely is addictive, a lot of self Discipline is required!

What can go wrong with a large oversized chicken steak? Nothing! My husband and I love to buy this as a snack while roaming the city or if my husband is still hungry after dinner. The chicken is super tender and juicy and the batter on the outside is really crunchy with chilli powder flavouring. So delicious and have been recommending all friends trying it out

Feel like a large piece of chicken in a bag? Of course you do, has anyone ever not wanted that? No!!!
Chicken schnitzel is the best and these folks basically do schnitzel in bag. Live the dream my friends! LIVE IT!
Service was quick, reasonably priced and SCHNITZEL IN A BAG.

The portions are humongous… the chicken will literally be the size of your head, though maybe a quarter of it will be bones. They just take a huge slab of chicken and deep fry it in front of you, which explains the low prices since everything is so easy to prepare. They recommended the salt and pepper and applied a little more generously than I had wanted, but the chicken was juicy and overall pretty good!
It’s a walk-​up restaurant with a few employees, and the line stands outside. The wait is longer than I expected, but I guess the slab of chicken is pretty big… so get some bubble tea next door while you’re waiting!

I have discovered Hot Star is an amazing diversionary tactic when people are trying to take you to the Dirty Bird (KFC) or the… I don’t know… possibly Dirty Burger? (Maccas) especially if those people have never tried a Large Fried Chicken. It’s so intriguing that soon all thoughts of 80s and 90s staple junk food are forgotten.
Melbourne Hot Star doesn’t seem to have the process down like Sydney. There are some process flaws that the Sydney crew would definitely frown at in their disapproving Taiwanese way. This results in much slower service but this is drunk people food and at 7pm there aren’t so many around so the wait is not unbearable.
As well as the Large Fried Chicken we had mushrooms and sweet potato chips for sides. This time I got the plum flavour on the chips. This makes them taste exactly like Krispy Kreme Original Glaze. Weird.
I am glad that my mum is now among the knowing, growing crowd who don’t bother with KFC anymore. I feel I have done my duty as a daughter.

this thing is the crystal meth of fast food
Honest to god, they take a big, flat, bashed out chicken breast, crumb it and then fry it in front of you. Then cover the whole thing in a sprinkle that tastes like chilli & PCP. Also, the sweet potato fries taste like cinnamon sugar mixed with MSG.
i liked this chicken a little more than is safe

This is the first Hot-​Star location in the entire Southern Hemisphere (and Australia). Also one of the best fried chicken too.
There’s not too much different between this and Sydney, except that there is a Gong Cha right next door (protip: The fried chicken goes down well with milk tea), and there is also some outdoor public seating right in front (although it’s not part of the actual business).

Now, by clicking the fourth star for this review Unilocal has kindly given me a gauge on what a 4-​star rating really meant, and that is «Yay! I’m a fan». This sentence could not be closer to the absolute truth as I am *definitely* A FAN – without any form of exaggeration.
Hot Star Large Fried Chicken is one of those side shops that many people often walk past without even the slight interest. It isn’t that flash nor fancy and it surely doesn’t give you the opportunity to walk in, sit and view their menu. However, don’t let the aesthetic fool you as Hot Star Large Fried Chicken (or HSLFC herein) is probably the best muchies killer in the face of Melbourne. Why? Because Chicken, that’s why.
HSLFC doesn’t offer much in terms of variations and range but what it does offer is both delicious and fantastic. There are, if I recall correctly, only around 4 – 5 main choices that you can purchase and about 3 – 4 sides that could accompany those mains. However, with these limitations, one may assume that this is bad but these limitations is the BEST thing that could possibly happen for a store like this, and let me explain why.
Having a small pool of choices makes it easier for people who have never tried it. They can literary walk up and make up their minds in half a minute. Imagine having someone walk into a strip shop (no, you dirty mind you, a shop on the strip of road) and be bombarded with ONE HUNDRED different options! That person would be 1) overwhelmed and 2) probably get so overwhelmed by the choices and decide to leave. Who would want that? Bad business.
The food itself is actually quite yum! The chicken is very tasty and is definitely one of the comfort foods that I crave every once in awhile. They cook it for a decent amount of time but the outcome of said long cooking is an amazing handful of deep fried chicken, not to mention the other handful of sides which makes it two handfuls, which makes it even better because now you need to decide which hand to eat out from first!
Overall, I think HSLFC is a go to shop when you have the muchies – or drunk, hey I don’t judge. They serve great quality food for a great price, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes for the chicken to go from raw to de-​freakin-​licious. HSLFC has earned its ranks with me. I think you should give them a go haha

Ah hot star, when I first noticed you, I was perplexed. A fried chicken shop on Swanston Street? Really? Where? I then did laps of Swanston street, and never finding you, was still mystified as to the location of this mystery secret chicken shop. Where the heck is this place? Then I gave up. Then, typically, as I find a lot of places
I wasn’t looking for it, and it suddenly appeared. So that’s where it is! I thought. I
don’t really see the appeal in that big surfboard malleted out chicken piece thing. I guess that’s more eastern tastes, but the $ 5 bite sized chicken pieces with the spicy sauce is amazing! Yummm! Tasty snack Bargain! Limited and specialised menu with a few options. give it a try.

WARNING: Bones in the chicken fillet.
Tastewise it is ok especially with the spicy powder.

You know, it’s weird, I think I saw another Hot Star /​Gong Cha place down Elizabeth St. Must be some kind of dual franchise thing. The chicken is good here. I detect a mix of five spice, salt, MSG, and a few other flavours. All this makes for a tasty but admittedly, unhealthy snack. Although I kind of get their reasoning behind leaving in the bones, it does make it a bit difficult to eat. I wish they would give you some kind of warning. Those of you biting into it expecting it to be just another schnitzel may find it a little off-​putting having to eat around bones. But it shows you are getting real chicken and not some processed stuff, so I guess that’s a good thing. The price seems pretty reasonable considering the huge piece of chicken you get. If you’re in the mood for something greasy without all that fancy salad getting in the way, Hot Star may be what you’re looking for.

Recently opened, and ALWAYS busy I was awaiting a good moment to finally go and visit to try what the fuss was all about! Opened right next to gong cha bubble tea which itself always has people lining up for days, these joint owners of these franchise have really done something right!
I finally got myself n opportunity without waiting for long to try one of these famous 30 cm long fried chicken!
I ordered at the counter a $ 8 spicy fried chicken, I was given a plastic bag and receipt with a number on it and told to wait 12 minutes (I thought this was a bit much as only one person was waiting for food in front of me) either way I took my bag and awaited alongside. This gave me a chance to see what the offer.
Upon having a good chance to look at the menu it seem everything was «coming soon» apart from the chicken and a drinks fridge you couldn’t rose anything else. A pretty decent tactic to keep the people coming back!
After my 12 minute wait I receive a large piece of chicken!.. Very hot as they just got pulled out of the fryer!
The chicken was very tender and very tasty! The spices added to the chicken really gave it that extra kick!
The only disappointment was not realising the last 10 cm of this 30 cm chicken was bone and cartilage! Which I accidentally bit into not knowing!
For the price and taste this is an amazing lunch or after a night out treat (as they normally stay open late to catch you Friday night and sat night drunkies) greasy but meaty this is nice!
I don’t find myself rushing back there anytime, but as mentioned earlier once there coming soons are in (sweet potato chips, curly fries) then I’m sure this place will see me again!