Mogu Fried Chicken

My partner and I have gone here for dinner many times and we're never disappointed. The consistency in quality is ace. In my opinion it's one of the best fried chickens around.

This time we got the mini fried chicken, braised beef curry, and large aonori fries.

Fried chicken, as always, was delectably crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, and is perfectly seasoned. Has my soft mouth ever tasted such a better chicken wonder? The chicken is the reason to come here!

You used to be able to get four different sauces free of charge, but now if you want different sauce flavours, it's 75¢ each. I like the shio garlic lemon or Japanese mayonnaise.

The braised beef curry wasn't as good as I expected but it was okay. The braised beef itself was really tender and delicious, but the curry was too watery and the flavour wasn't my preference. There was also nothing other than the beef (no vegetables). I've had much better and cheaper elsewhere.

The aonori fries are also a must have for me! They're fries covered in aonori, which is a flakey seaweed. It goes so perfectly with fries. They give a tartar sauce to dip the fries in. Get the large if you're sharing and are a fry addict--the small won't be enough. These fries are skinny like McDonald's fries, but sooo much better. Perfectly crisp.

Service is always friendly and efficient. It's a small shop so it can become quite lively when it's full. They always have covers of popular songs going in the background.

The chicken is made of delicious juicy thigh meet and the outer batter is super crispy. The curry mac salad we were concerned would be too curry forward, but it wasn't - very subtle in flavor and overall very good. If there was one tiny slight critique, we wish everything came with just a tiny pinch more salt and that we got a bit more sauce as the amount of Japanese mayo was a bit on the low side.

This is maybe my 5th or 6th time coming to Mogu, and it truly never disappoints! The quality and consistency of their fried chicken is top notch, and I find myself craving it often.

My friend and I started off by sharing the spicy garlic fries with tartar sauce. I love the way these fries are thinly cut, with the right amount of crisp and lightness to them. It wasn't saturated with oil, and the tartar sauce was perfect. I'd recommend the smaller size to share with 2 people - plus we had leftovers!

I had the 3 piece chicken Teishoku - which comes with miso soup, rice, a side (today was seaweed salad), and choice of salad (I chose the Mogu salad). I was disappointed that now each additional chicken sauce cost $0.75 extra, as it used to be unlimited. Understandable though! I got the Japanese mayo, and my friend got the spicy gochujang sesame. We shared and mixed these sauces to dip the chicken. The chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside, and tender and moist on the inside. It is a must to order here. I liked the miso soup, but found it slightly too salty. The Mogu salad was hearty! Lots of kale and tasty dressing. I ended up having leftovers for my lunch tomorrow - I'm very excited!

Staff are so kind and attentive, and the ambiance was warm. Everytime I come here, they play pop music covers - which I really like!

Can't wait to keep coming back to satisfy my cravings... yum.

For those unaware, Mogu Fried Chicken started out as a food truck. Their specialty is Japanese style fried chicken. They're located next to Bombay Kitchen + Bar.

No wait as there's plenty of seating inside along with three small tables on their sidewalk patio. Service was excellent; your typical sweet, friendly Japanese service.

The menu consists of salads & first bites, Mogu fried chicken, katsu, Japanese curry and noodles & rice. The drink menu is extensive.

Trip #1
- Japanese curry chicken katsu ($22.00) - salad was healthy. Chicken katsu had a good breading and bite to it. Curry sauce was homey and well balanced.
- Garlic beef & scallions stir fry udon ($15.00) - udon had a satisfying chewy bite, excellent flavours. Well executed dish.

Trip #2
- Spicy garlic fries ($6.50 large) - fries could be crispier. Decent.
- Mogu fried chicken ($23.00 regular) - opted for the chicken only option with spicy gochujang sesame sauce. Our order had 11 pieces. They nail their fried chicken; not greasy, good crunch and equally tender & moist. Wish they weren't so cheap on the sauce but at least the waitress brought us another jar when we asked.
- Spicy pork stir fry udon ($15.00) - delicious, well balanced flavours. Udon had a great bite.
- Japanese curry braised beef ($23.00) - beef pieces were tender.

Looking forward to coming back to MFC.

Tried the fried shrimp burger with fries and their fried chicken.

We originally weren't planning to get any fried chicken (I know, why go to a chicken place if you didn't want chicken? lol). But after seeing a steaming plate of fried chicken move past us, we knew we had to get it. The chicken was juicy and crispy. And the sauces it comes with (you can get all of them if you want) gives it more flavour. We had to bring some home as we had leftovers and the chicken was still juicy the next day.

The shrimp burger was delicious, and I really enjoyed the fries as well. Definitely recommend!

OMG when I bit into my first piece of Mogu fried chicken I couldn't believe how moist and juicy it was inside and how nicely crispy it was outside. It's unbelievable. Amongst the best Karaage I've ever had.

Note to KFC fans - Mogu's pieces are sized like Karaage - they are much bigger than Korean chicken pieces. I ordered two jumbo size boxes for my family of 5 because usually that's how much we order from KFC places but it's kind of a mistake - we have like 1.5 boxes of chicken left to finish now for the next few days. I would say one jumbo box is more than enough for our family of 5. And our kids LOVE fried chicken.

Mogus chicken is different from KFC in that you don't have the different flavors baked into the skin. Instead you have different sauces. The Mayo is really good, I also like the soy garlic lemon. Skip the tartar.

Their salad is also really really good. As are their ainori fries.

We didn't even have their katsu's, curries and other things yet. Can't wait to go back and try them.

Love this gem in the drive. Mom and I go for $10 Sunday specials: 3pc chicken and side of fries with choice dipping sauce and seasoning. ($2+ for two pieces of chicken add).
Pros:
- quick, attentive and friendly service
- all the tables are spacious with plexi barriers for safe dining with impeccable cleanliness
- fried chicken is superb and so tender (comparing to santouka, Guu garlic, suika)
Notes:
- can park vehicle on venables for free street parking, especially on weekends
- I order the mogu salad and steal fries and chicken fr mom ($20 goes a long way for two ppl) and we usually have a box full of food to take away

We were in the neighborhood and happened to discover this hidden gem. The business hours extended without updating on Yelp but we were able to get seats right away. The atmosphere was casual family friendly and outdoor seating was available. The staff was very courteous and upbeat. We ordered spicy fries, mogu salad and fried chicken. The food came out fast and they were so delicious. I really liked the salad dressing and the flavor of fries. The size of fried chicken was like supersize karage. It was great experience and we will definitely come back.

I've been here twice now and I gotta say I love it. The first time I just ordered the regular chicken, the second time I ordered the regular chicken and the sea salt aonori fries. Both times I ordered takeout. The employees are very polite and friendly. It's just a small place maybe 6 tables? The fries were very good, it's about a 20 minute drive to my place and the fries were still very crispy when I got home, they are nicely salted and have bits of nori coating them. The chicken is awesome, I was craving them after the first time I was here. They are good sized boneless pieces that are crispy on the outside and nice and juicy on the inside. They also come with 2 dipping sauces, (3 for large I believe), there is original sweet chili, spicy gochujang sesame, and shio garlic lemon. I've tried them all and they're all good depending on what mood I'm in. When I first saw this place I thought it was Korean fried chicken, it wasn't until I went on their website that I found out it was Japanese. They also have some salads, katsu, rice bowls and other items as well as curry which I would love to try but the chicken it so good I think I'll keep ordering that....but you never know. There is meter parking out front and some free parking on the side streets. Can't wait to be back!

COVID #13

No more food truck. They finally made a brick and mortar shop away from their Dunsmuir and Howe Street mainstay location DT. YAY, I can sit down and enjoy their food instead of eating on the run while walking around.

It's smallish place, seating maybe 25 people max non-COVID. COVID is probably more like 10-15 so be prepared for takeout. They do open late, so maybe do that if you want to dine in.

The menu is more expanded than the food truck I tried quite some time ago. I need to come back.

Liquor license, included. You can order alcohol.