Gami Chicken and Beer @ Canberra Centre

Melbourne chain Gami Chicken and Beer at the Canberra Centre has been a popular hot spot since opening last year.

I met up with a friend for lunch where we shared a whole boneless fried chicken ($35) for approx 750g, and could choose two flavours. We chose the sweet chilli and soy garlic. My favourite of the two was the sweet chilli which wasn’t too spicy and had a slight tang. The chicken was crunchy and remained crunchy throughout lunch. Pretty darn tasty. My friend’s only complaint was that the chicken wasn’t hot enough (temperature-wise) but I thought it was fine. All fried chicken comes with cabbage coleslaw and pickled radish however it’s covered in mayonnaise (next time I’ll ask for the mayo on the side or no mayo).

We also shared the potato heaven ($14) made with 3 different layers. Think creamy mash on the bottom, a layer of melted cheese, then crispy potato wedges on top, all covered in dollops of sour cream and smothered in sweet chilli sauce. I would have preferred more potato wedges on top (I think there were only 10). But this was an awesome dish to indulge in.

I recently went back with another group of friends for lunch. We hadn’t made a reservation but were told we could have an indoor table as long as we finished up within the next hour. This time I ordered a lunch special of 8 pieces of Gami wings ($10) served with a dipping sauce of my choice – sweet chilli of course! The chicken was just as crunchy as I remembered and juicy inside. For some reason, a side of chips was included with the 8 piece wings (though I couldn’t see that offer on the menu – must be a lunch special). Bonus.

I had to try one of my favourite Korean dishes tteok bok ki ($14) and I added cheese to it (extra $2). This was came served in a long bowl and smothered in melted cheese. I am so glad I spent an extra $2 for it. I was so excited to order this dish that I didn’t read the description properly and was surprised to find 2 minute noodles hiding underneath! Tteok bok ki is a stir fried rice cake dish with slices of fish cakes and vegetables in a chilli sauce. I love noodles so this addition made my day. It was medium-spicy and I had to take some nibbles of the chicken wings in between the tteok bok ki to have a bit of a break. The cheese seemed to help mellow out the chilli. I only finished half of it but asked for a take away bowl to take it home for dinner. My friends said it looked like a kids meal – a very delicious kids meal that I will easily order again.

A friend ordered the boneless fried chicken lunch special ($33) with two dipping sauces.

Another friend ordered the vegetarian jap chae ($14) – sweet potato noodles stir fried with mushrooms and vegetables in a sweet soy sauce. I’m told jap chae is only available during lunch and not dinner. He was disappointed that the chicken that’s usually served in the jap chae wasn’t substituted for something else like tofu. My friend’s intention was to order the vegetarian fried chicken (yep it’s on the website’s menu using mock fried soy) but was disappointed when it wasn’t available at the Canberra Centre store). To be fair, the Gami website does state that not all menu items are available in each location.

Another friend ordered the spicy chicken ($12) of stir fried chicken fillet with vegetables in a spicy sauce, served on a sizzle plate.

It feels like service is still being worked through with new staff in training. We had a few issues with finding out what vegetarian options were available, the water jug being refilled and an additional dish charged to our final bill. However, staff do seem willing to assist.

I can’t wait to have more tteok bok ki – it would be perfect in winter. No real healthy options at Gami, so indulge! Bookings recommended.

Gami Chicken and Beer
Canberra Centre, 148 Bunda Street, Canberra City

Opening Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 11.30am – 9.00pm
Friday – Saturday: 11.30am – 10.00pm

Foodgasm 7.5/10
Value for money 7/10
Service 6/10

FPJ score 20.5/30

If you want more random photos and updates about food, I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Facebook: /foodpornjournal
Twitter: @foodpornjournal
Instagram: /foodpornjournal