The sign for Angry Chicken is a gaudy affair.
The rising flames and silly font scream tacky fast food, which is a shame, as this Willagee eatery is far more than that and a bit of an overlooked gem.
It specialises in charcoal-grilled chicken (picture a marinated, butterfly chicken sizzling on a red-hot grill).
They sell a quarter, half or whole chicken with a wide range of interesting sides including biryani rice, greek salad, roast potatoes, corn cob, peas and gravy. Angry also serve lamb ribs, kebabs, burgers and a small range of authentic curries.
I’ve been banging on about this place for ages as it’s cheap and fills the culinary void between a kebab shop and a restaurant.
Its simple yet tasty dishes remind me of the delicious, rustic meals I ate at tavernas on family holidays in the Med.
Having just watched Rick Stein’s From Venice to Istanbul, it’s further proof that some of the most tasty yet simple dishes are cooked over an open fire or using a primitive grill.
At Angry Chicken, you can get the chook with standard seasoning (it’s non-spicy and a good option for kids) or Portuguese which has been marinated for 24 hours and coated in 28 different herbs (I recommend that one).
There’s also charcoal lamb ribs (half rack $18), schniztels and a range of interesting curries including beef qeema (slow cooked beef mince), karachi style daal, and Lahori channa (slow cooked chickpeas in butter and black pepper).
There was plenty of combos and family packs, but I ordered the whole seasoned chicken ($22.50) with large greek salad ($13.95) corn cobs ($3 each) roast potatoes ($6) and biryani rice ($10).
It easily fed a family of four and was pretty healthy with a nice range of food groups (no greasy chips in sight).
The salad was particularly impressive. It’s often a drab afterthought in takeaways, but this was a vivid number teeming with red onion, olives, peppers, feta cheese and fresh greens.
It was very enjoyable and hadn’t been drenched in dressing, just a light vinaigrette.
The roast potatoes were a hit with my wife, who said they had a nice crunchy skin and were super fluffy inside.
My young kids loved the chargrilled corn cob with a dusting of paprika, which tasted far superior to the ones boiled in water. You just can’t beat those burnt gnarly bits which have immense flavour.
The main attraction – the whole seasoned chicken – had a tasty blend of spices and a lovely chargrilled tang.
The flesh was succulent and perfectly complemented the greek salad.
The standard chicken was good, but the Portuguese is the way to go if you don’t mind some mild heat.
I’m a bit wary of ordering biryani rice as bad ones are drier than a camel’s bahookie, but this was a lovely affair with lots of moistness in the fragrant rice. One of the best I’ve had from a takeaway.
Angry Chicken is worth a try if you fancy some chargrilled chicken with healthy sides as opposed to the rote doner kebab, loaded fries and meat boxes.
Angry Chicken
2 Webber St, Willagee
9331 6155
by STEPHEN POLLOCK