Chicken Winner Spicy Chicken Franchise in Richmond

Food Quality
Atmosphere / Services
Reasonable Priced
Summary

Chicken Winner is a new Szechuan style Chinese franchise restaurant that specializes in……. that’s right, Chicken. We have heard a lot about this franchise even before they have opened this first location in Richmond because of one of the partners of the franchise knows a lot of Chinese celebrities. Chicken Winner is located on Westminster Highway, near Minoru Street in Richmond.

Strength: Different types of spicy really taste good. Superb service
Weakness: The signature chicken has way too many sharp bones

Other Spicy Food

Downlow Chicken (5 Stars)
Miss Fu In Chengdu (4.5 Stars)
Chef Pin (4.5 Stars)

Outside of Chicken Winner

We came to Chicken Winner at night because it was only the 6th day after they have opened. The reservation was only available after 7:30pm. We have experienced their superb customer service from their call back when they missed our call for making an appointment. This location used to be one of the Honolulu Cantonese Cafe location.

Inside of Chicken Winner

We enter into a corridor of waiting area with a wall-mount TV displaying the different celebrity congratulation the grand opening of Chicken Winner. After the corridor is a secluded small waiting area to the left. The main dining hall is to the right. There is a lot of illustrations of chicken, whether holding a cane, holding a fan, or riding a motorcycle. This really sets the mood for the dinner experience.

The dining hall and the private rooms

The interior space is separated into two types. We have the main dining hall where most people sit, and there are also private rooms alongside the far end of the space. These rooms are essential in restaurants that wants to accommodate large groups of guests in China. Chicken Winner has brought this culture with them.

Fresh fruit and napkins

As soon as we sat down at the table, the fruits arrived. This is to give us something to do while deciding what to order. I appreciate Chicken Winner giving out a whole box of napkins to the customers because we are eating spicy food.

All the tableware are customized

Every customer gets a standard set of tableware as they arrive at the table. I like how they put a notch on the large plate as chopsticks holder. It was very thoughtful. Every bowl, dishes, and spoons are custom made with Chicken Winner’s logo on them.

Chili Pepper and Preserved Egg $8.99

This dish may not be for everyone, but I really liked it. The preserved eggs are sliced into pieces and topped with salted chili and fresh chili. Soy sauce brings enhanced the flavour for both chili and preserved egg, and the preserved egg is complimented by the chili. This dish was very popular at our table because it is one of the less spicy dishes and eating this felt like taking a break from all the actions.

Shredded Chicken with Sesame $19.99

Normally, shredded chicken costs between $7 to $13. I think this dish is a little expensive as an appetizer. That being said, this dish tastes so good. It is spicy, but a different type of spicy from everything else we have ordered. This is also quite popular at our table.

White rice. Nothing special $0.99

There is nothing special about this bowl of rice, but it is so essential to go with the spicy dish we’ve ordered.

Stir Fry Diced Chicken With Chili and Pepper $35.99

The stir fry diced chicken with chili and pepper is Chicken Winner’s signature dish. It is said to be a recipe that the store owner spent 3 years to finally convinced a master chef to teach him in Chongqing to teach him. They said the chicken was chopped 170 times before it’s served, and that’s my biggest beef with this dish.

Perfectly seasoned with good flavour

Chicken Winner stir fry diced chicken with chili and pepper

I have come to the realization that this dish is not something you eat, rather than a side dish for a cold beer. There’s no doubt this dish is very well seasoned. Approximately 60 percent of this dish is chili. You know the time when you are eating delicious spicy food, sometimes swallowing it quickly gets the job done and get rid of the spicy stuff in your mouth? That’s not an option here.

Too many tiny sharp bones

Chicken Winner seems to want you to absorb every last drop of the spiciness in your tongue. There are bones in almost every piece of chicken you see in here. You have to use your teeth and tongue to find the tiny sharp chicken bone, and use your imagination to paint a vivid picture of where the bones are, then use your entire mouth to transport the dangerous sharp bones out of your mouth. These bones are also very tough. I bit into them too many times which made my teeth hurt by the end of the meal. It took about 2 hours for us to finish this dish.

Vegetables Hot Pot $14.99

This vegetable stew was accompanied by spicy fermented soy paste. The spiciness also is different from all the other dishes. These vegetables are cooked for a long time that they become really soft. Dipped into the spicy soy paste adds a lot of saltiness to the dish.

Unlimited complimentary dessert

It was to my surprise that Chicken Winner started giving out these cold desserts for free on the day of my visit. These desserts are what you can typically find in Szechuan spicy food restaurants. They typically cost $4 each in a bigger bowl, but the ones given out at Chicken Winner are free with unlimited supply until they run out.

604 Food Critic Assessment

It’s a shame Chicken Winner’s signature dish is such a trouble to enjoy. You need to have either extremely high tolerance to spicy food or superhuman patience so you don’t accidentally ingest sharp chicken bones. The 3 of us came here and ordered 4 dishes which came to $30 per person. This price is more than fair for the quality of food and the exciting varieties of spiciness. We would definitely recommend it as long as you don’t order the Stir Fry Diced Chicken With Chili and Pepper signature dish.