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 prettygooddeal. 

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 and food trucks available in the city. i'll definitely keep nagging my friends to come here for a quick bite.goodstuff :)

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 street food was chicken breast, it was so juicy and tasty, a which is the opposite of what a badly cooked chicken breast would be. it was sogoodwhen 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.

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

finally tried the salt and pepper xl chicken today and my goodness! the flavours are insanelygoodwith 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!

crispy, juicy, irresistible fried chicken. served hot and straight out of the fryer. chicken hasgoodamount of seasoning. nice little location close to uni as well if you feel like a yummy snack.

food - 4/5
ambience - 4/5
service - 3/5

got the chicken bites (spicy) and the hei hei gua bao. the bites were delicious, crunchy and flavoursome. the bao was ok, it was nice and fluffy but the fillings wasn’t as impressive. the chicken, cucumber and slaw were stillgoodbut maybe the original more authentic flavour (pork belly) just goes better with a bao. overall not bad though, i would come back.

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.goodsnack food only for the fried chicken but on the pricier side

the restaurant has its signature orange board so it isn't hard to find. the taipei bao was really good, bao was fresh and the pork belly was really tender. could have been a bigger piece though. takoyaki wasgoodjust was a bit too fishy.

verygoodon the go lunch or snack place. i love the taiwanese fried chicken it is the best! they also makegooddecent drinks.

loved the crispy chicken! so succulent and very tasty, hot'n'spicy wasn't too spicy however so yum definitely recommended. also had the kumara chips that's lightly tempura fried was delicious.goodplace for cheap eats and very filling

had a chance to try kai eatery from pakuranga night market. there was a long queue but the waiting wasn’t too bad. i ordered chicken bites - spicy and hot flavor. the chicken was cooked perfectly - crispy outside & tender and juicy inside. but the taste wasn’t hot and spicy at all. they needed to add more of that seasoning powder. overall it was agoodfried chicken.

you think you've hadgoodfried chicken? you reckon your sunday roast is legit? nah mate.

kai's boasts a simple but effective menu. the chicken is unlike any fried chicken you've ever had. juicy. not greasy. crispy. flavoursome. honestly these are words my brain is using to describe a feeling that transcends the tastebud and human imagination. spicy. delectable. sweet. awesome. the kumara is best described as a nutty sweet morsel wrapped in a wonton like package. it doesn't need accompaniments. it's perfect.

fast as well. 10/10 will perfectly recommend.

really nice chicken! i always get the spicy fried chicken from here and they’re huge and juicy. worth the price and it’s agoodsnack around the city

i should have tried this place a long time ago!!!

service: super friendly staff but you might have to wait a bit for food. they were really busy as they had to pack heaps of orders for uber eats. waiting time for a bun was 20 mins and for chicken bites 15 mins.

food: amazing! i got some chicken bites and the heihei bun of crispy chicken. i love the bun, probably one of the best open buns i’ve had in auckland. the chicken bites were delicious too. the coating for these bites were really tasty.

price: 8$ for a bun, 7$ for chicken bites so pretty reasonable. 12$ for chicken and rice which is a prettygooddeal given the the quality.

definitely gonna head back here for more goodies 💛

we went to last sunday night market at glenfield and tried fried chicken as snack. they severed very fast, and we quite like the pack. the chicken tasted crispy outside and juicy inside. we two girls share one, it cost $8.5. reasonable price andgoodserve.

the power on the fried chicken is kinda salty, but drinking with mango juice (other food stall sold) is perfect balance between sweet and salty.

oh man. if you want juicy, succulent, fresh fried chicken... this is the place to be. the xl salt n pepper fried chicken is sogoodand their peri peri chips are lit.

would recommend! 👌