Foodies get ready: One of Auckland's favourite events is returning to the 09 on Saturday.
The annual Fried Chicken Festival is being held once again by the Food Truck Collective at Shed 10 on the Queen's Wharf.
Online tickets are sold out, but there are four sessions you can grab door sales to with lunch from 12pm and dinner from 5pm.
If past years are anything to go by, the queuing and subtle-elbowing involved is only for the most ardent of fried chicken fans. To make things easier, we've put together our top picks so you can streamline your experience and just focus on having a cluckin' good time.
Mexico NZ
If you only ever head along to nationwide restaurant Mexico to enjoy the world-famous-in-New Zealand fried chicken, this is the event for you. For once you don't have to bother with guacamole for the table, or sharing the chicken with those beside you - you can just get a takeaway box filled all to yourself and revel in your position as a fried chicken addict. Mexico also does a pretty stunning fried chicken burger, which we can only hope is on the menu.
Five Boroughs
You may not have seen this reasonably unknown Kiwi brand on the billing, and that's because its collaborating with Jack Daniel's for a sneaky pop-up during the festival. The former Wellington stalwart, which now pops up sporadically, placed 6th in the 50 best burgers in the world, and its most recent pop-up at Atomic sold out in a matter of hours. We recommend the truffle fried chicken, washed down with a Jack Daniels Lynchburg lemonade. YUM.
The Temaki Truck
If, like many, you think the only fried chicken worth having is Japanese Karaage, you're in luck. The Temaki Truck will be at the festival ready to roll (sorry). The Mission Bay establishment specialises in cone-shaped hand-rolled sushi, which the owners say was reinvented recently in Brazil, where the largest ex-pat Japanese population in the world resides. Who knew!? The result is fresh, delicious, and a beautiful melting pot of flavours that will make you feel like you've travelled, even though that's off the menu for the moment.
