Restaurant review: Goobne Chicken, Tsim Sha Tsui - big portions, flavourful Korean
The Korean chain's first Hong Kong branch, opened in November, touts the health benefits of its oven-roasted chicken, which is succulent and comes in eight flavours.
Be sure to bring friends if you want to sample a few of Goobne Chicken's dishes, all of which are served in big portions and have characteristically strong flavours. Launched in 2005, the Korean chain is known for having used pop group Girls' Generation as its brand ambassador, as well as its allegedly healthier oven-roasted chicken.
The first Hong Kong branch opened last November, joining the ever-expanding Korean food scene here. The shop is spacious, although it can be noisy if you're sitting next to a group of cheerful Korean men. The floor is run by a gang of friendly waiters, who speak Korean, Putonghua and English.
Korean fried chicken is available, but Goobne mainly takes pride in its oven-roasted chicken, which comes in eight flavours, including Sichuan, teriyaki, and sweet and spicy. The Goobne original chicken (HK$148), which comes with two sauces on the side, was succulent.
The oven-cooked chicken was lighter than the fried versions, and had juicier meat. Even though the skin was slightly less crisp than a deep-fried fowl, we felt this was equally satisfying — perhaps more so, because of less guilt and grease.
With its soot-like colour, the black-pepper chicken (HK$168) tasted much better than it looked. The pepper sauce gave the chicken a nice kick and the sprinkle of cheese powder made the pungent dish taste even more interesting. As with the other chicken dishes, cubes of pickled radish were served on the side to refresh the palate.
Another winner was the sesame-topped mini jok (HK$180) — pig's trotters and topokki (Korean rice cake) in a gooey red sauce. The dish tasted sweet and sticky at first — a perfect match for the bouncy pig's skin — until the spiciness kicked in. This will be an addictive dish for those who can stand the heat.