One of Niigata City's specialities is 'half fried chicken'. It became well-known after a programme called 'The Secret Kenmin Show' featured a 'giant fried chicken with a curry flavour' in Niigata.

The most famous restaurant in Niigata for its half-fried fish is Sekitori. Recently, "Torikan" has also been gaining momentum. In this context, I was taken to a restaurant specialising in fried chicken called Toriei in an area called Shinnakahama in Niigata City's Nishi Ward. The restaurant is a hideaway in a residential area. However, the interior and exterior of the restaurant seemed to have been renovated a few years ago, and it also had the atmosphere of a high-class Japanese restaurant.

I had the famous 'half-wing fried chicken set meal'. The half-wing fried chicken weighs 500g! Considering that one serving of a hamburger or something like that is 150g or bigger, so 200g, 500g is quite a lot.

Curry-flavoured, of course. (Laughs) It is cut into chunks to make it easier to eat, and you can also ask to be served whole without cutting.

And this is what I noticed on the table.

Jar. I asked the shopkeeper, "What is this used for?" and he said, "It's for storing bones". I knew it was an urn! （I laughed.

The meat is juicy with the flavour of curry and the taste of chicken! Yum! I'm not a big eater, but I started to go into training mode from around the third slice. I was afraid I was going to give up many times, but I finished it (laughs). 500g is a lot!

But this impact is a bold dish to be savoured at least once in Niigata! I felt I understood a little more about why Niigata children line up to buy curry-flavoured fried young chicken for Christmas.

Shop information

aviary

• 2-6-15 Shin-Nakahama, Nishi-ku, Niigata City, Japan 950-2163
• Opening hours: 11:30-14:30 / 17:00-22:00.
• Closed: Tuesdays.