PACIFIC Rim Mix Plate is no more.

It sounds like something happened to the Earth’s crust in South East Asia, but it was actually a quirky takeaway in Applecross that served Hawaiian grub like mac and cheese and beef patties with egg and gravy.

It was sad to see an independent close down, but thankfully a Starbucks hasn’t taken its place and instead we have Chimek, a locally-owned Korean fried chicken joint.

Started by four mates in a small store in Fremantle, their spicy chicken went down a storm and they now have four outlets across Greater Perth, the latest opening in Applecross this month.

Located on the corner of Canning Highway and Willcock Street (just down from The Quarter Acre Hotel) Chimek is a tiny eatery mostly geared to takeaway.

There are a few tables and bench seats, but it’s pretty narrow and some window seats are directly facing a house across the road.

I had visions of chomping down on a spicy hot wing as someone opened their bedroom curtains in the nude.

The menu had a nice range of Korean/American fried chicken (wings, boneless), burgers, loaded fries, nachos, fusion mac and cheese, tacos, sides and dips. 

The mac and cheese with Korean BBQ beef sounded interesting, and there were some good vegetarian options including a cauliflower version of all the fried chicken dishes. 

But I was in the mood for spicy chook.

Thing got off to a mixed start with the Nashville Hot Chicken (boneless $16).

The chicken was juicy and tasty, but there was a lot of oil coming out of the batter when I bit into it.

The flavours were good and there was a pleasant heat in the coating, but sadly a bit on the oily side for me.

I did however really enjoy the slivers of pickled celery scattered throughout the dish, helping to refresh the palate and keep things interesting.

The accompanying crispy chips (small $5) lived up to their name – old-school and thick-cut, they had a crunchy coating and fluffy potato inside.

Very tasty and a pleasant alternative to the shoestring variety.

Across the table, my wife was tucking into her lemon pepper chicken wings ($16)

“Really nice and a great balance between the tangy lemon and pepper,” she said. “The portions are really big and it’s great value for the money.”

Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles were getting tore into their single chicken burgers without jalapenos ($15.50).

There were no complaints and they wolfed down the fluffy buns crammed with crispy chicken, lettuce, tomato, onions and cheese. I had a sneaky taste and it was a quality burger with succulent chook and a nice tangy mayo.

Most of our meal was enjoyable and good value, and I’d like to go back and try the fusion mac and cheese, and some of the chicken wings like the dak gang jeong and Guadalajara cilantro.

Just watch out for those curtains twitching across the road…

Chimek (Northbridge, Victoria Park and now Applecross)
7558 Canning Highway, Applecross
chimek.com.au

by STEPHEN POLLOCK