kai eatery

tl;dr: delicious, cheap, filling, homey chicken. great service. recommended: spicy chicken bites and gua bao 
finally got around to reviewing this place! i've been visiting since i saw a friend tag this place on facebook. i was so, so excited when i first saw the advertisement for kai eatery on my newsfeed. as a taiwanese kiwi, i miss the familiar taste of traditional taiwanese fried chicken. kai eatery brought all those memories back with their wonderfully flavourful chicken. 

food: i usually come here on my way home, so i get everything with that in mind. i mostly get the chicken bites (spicy or not), which are small morsels of deliciousness. the chicken is moist and marinated nicely - they are best enjoyed hot as the juices explode once you bite into one. i also quite like the two gua baos that i had. the taipei gua bao was close to a traditional one, especially with the addition of crushed peanuts. my favourite is, however, the heihei gua bao simply because it has the delicious chicken in it - yum! i definitely need to try one of their specialty sodas once i get the chance. 
i bought 2xl chickens (one spicy and one regular) home for my parents once. my dad refuses to eat anything that he isn't familiar with - he absolutely loved the chicken and asked that i buy it again. i'd say that's a win.

service: the owner and staff here are extremely friendly and polite. they're also attentive in that they remember you if you visit often (guilty as charged), which is great as well. speed is fast but quality is never compromised. there are also chairs around if standing for a bit is too much for some people. sometimes there may be a line or people waiting around, but it's always worth the wait. 

price: reasonable price, especially for a university student like me. one serving of chicken bites is quite filling and satisfying for me. at $7 per serving, that's a pretty good deal. 

overall, thank you kai eatery for bringing delicious taiwanese chicken to auckland. i'm so happy that there's a delicious fried chicken place around school - it's a great addition to the restaurants andfoodtrucks available in the city. i'll definitely keep nagging my friends to come here for a quick bite. good stuff :)

they are primarily known for their fried chicken but we just came from lunch so just grabbed some bubble tea. they are located inside a container just off wakefield street near aotea center. just walk down the road a bit to see the shipping container shop. you can tell they're open when the front is open.

they didn't have any of the taro fresh milk tea so i went with the brown sugar one instead. the tea was quite nice but the pearls a bit harder than i like. the straw just fit inside the drink container which had a screw cap.

the friedfoodsmell was really nice as i was ordering.

update:

tried their original xl fried chicken today.

it was exactly the same with what i tried in taiwan-- crispy outside and succulent inside. yummy like always.

one thing that stops me from visiting more often is the price-- $9 for a piece of large fried chicken is a bit pricey for students.





finally got to try this taiwan style chinese food. i think their signature menu is the xl fried chicken, but i've tried it multipel times at taiwan so i ordered something else instead.

the braised pork on rice: the diced pork belly (more like pork belly mince) is nicely braised in soy sauce, with some marinated green vege on the side. and normally there's some tofu in the bowl , but today they are out of tofu so the stuff offered a drum stick instead. it's very nice of him and i would like to go back to try the one with tofu on the side next time.

the taipei gua bao: hands down for this one! what a high quality and delicious bao! for me it's better than many restaurants & bars. the pork belly is melting in the mouth! and the vege is very fresh! super yum!

matcha& redbean bao: amaaaazing! it melted a bit on the way to home. but the taste wasn't affected by this! the deep fried bao was very crispy, and the matcha ice cream matched perfectly with the redbean.

the periperi chips& the latte were average, not bad, but not as amazing as thosefoodi mentioned above.

service was very friendly.

would definitely recommend their baos!

the first time i tried taiwanese breaded chicken or ji-pai was in a pasar malam in malaysia and i was so surprised that the chicken part used in this streetfoodwas chicken breast, it was so juicy and tasty, a which is the opposite of what a badly cooked chicken breast would be. it was so good when we moved to new zealand i started missing it hence i started to make it at home on my own which basically yields the same texture and flavour. many years forward this place called kai eatery showed up and now it’s easy to find taiwanese breaded chicken in auckland especially when you crave for it.

tried this at pakuranga night markets. very popular. well worth the wait. decent price as well. i only managed to get a picture if myfoodbecause my partner ate his straight away! if your thinking about trying it just do it... you won't regret it!! my new go to at the night markets :)

decided to try this place after seeing instagram photos and was not dissapointed!! service is quite slow but thefoodis worth it. we got the fried chicken bun (can’t remember the menu name for it) and bubble tea. the chicken was seasoned well and tender - the drink was also very nice and came in a convenient bottle.

have been wanting to visit this neatfoodtruck for a while, the aromas are so enticing.

finally tried the salt and pepper xl chicken today and my goodness! the flavours are insanely good with glorious texture.

essentially a huge slab of delicious, crunchy chicken, i was very happy with my purchase!

the container is great, too. you can tear off bits as you go, keeping your chicken accessible and hands clean!

decent fried chicken gua bao from friendly counter staff :) bao was super packed with sauce and salad so a bit messy. sadly they had run out of the pork belly which was what i was really there for.foodtruck conditions mean a small amount of outdoor seating right next to queen st. takeaway boxes seemed pretty extreme for one bao! they pop open dramatically when you undo the tabs. maybe i'll be back, or maybe i'll stop complaining about auckland gua bao and just head to taiwan again.

only get the fried chicken. everything else is average. got the original fried chicken pieces which were succulent, crispy on the outside but still moist on the inside and coated with chicken salt and spices. the onion rings were very oily and coated in batter with a similar consistency to a spring roll so bits broke everytime i took a bite. the tumeric flavor was nice on its coating. the drinks were not great. got the egg flavored pudding milk tea with pearls. such a tiny amount of pearls, was unsweetened (i couldn’t adjust the sugar levels) and the milk tea was so watered down, worst milk tea i’ve had yet i paid $7.50 for it... their specialized drinks on the board looked colorful but were very icy and had little flavor. got the strawberry and mango one for $8. the bottle was cool though. good snackfoodonly for the fried chicken but on the pricier side

decided to try this out after seeing people raving about this place, also, i lovefoodtrucks. ordered the fried chicken and couldn't go beyond a couple bites. the seasoning was quite unpleasant to my taste as it was almost sweet and overloaded with msg.

love their ji pai (taiwanese deep-fried chicken steak) and spicy wings. but my all time favourite here is their kumara fries though. all their deepfriedfoodis extremely crispy, i don't think you would have tried any crispier kumara fries anywhere else. i have also tried their manager's meal and it was delicious and really filling. their staff are always so kind too :)

the perfect place for a quick bite.

service: 9/10
the people here have been very nice every time i come here for food.
they happily take your order and give you anything you need.
thefoodis made immediately upon ordering so you can ensure freshness.

food: 9/10
they have a small menu but most items are absolutely delicious.
the kumara fries are a mixture of sweet salty and spicy. it’s so unbelievable crunchy yet not greasy at all.
the fried chicken is so big and the spices pop in your mouth.

ambiance: 8/10
the infamous container is convenient for takeaways but there are also seats on the side for you to sit and eat.
the orange container is also very prominent so it can be spotted from far away.

this is my go to when i’m on queen street whenever i’m looking for a snack.

we tried xl chicken + drink combo and rice bowl with pork belly.
nicefoodand generous portion. it will be great if we can have more comfortable seating, especially if you bring your kids along.
we will definitely come back if we are around the area.

i love their gua bao and fried chicken. theirfoodtruck is right outside my former school and they never disappoint. many students always buy their popcorn chicken.

staffs,foodand beverage quality were perfect. you are going to get more clients if the time taken to serve is improve. anyway, highly recommend as it's worth.