What’s on the menu at Chen Chen’s Hot Chicken, a spicy new spot for fried bird and sweet tea at Stackt Market

Name: Chen Chen’s Hot Chicken Contact: Stackt Market, 28 Bathurst St., 647-782-3565, @chenchenshotchicken
Owners: Trevor Lui (formerly of Kanpai), Chen Chen and Andre Burgos Chef: Chen Chen (Kanpai, Byblos) and Andre Burgos (Kanpai, Pinkertons, Juanita’s) Accessibility: Fully accessible

The food

Born in Wuhu, China, and raised in Nashville, Chen Chen came to Toronto in 2016 to make money on the professional poker circuit. He liked the city so much, he decided to set down roots here. While enrolled in chef’s school, Chen Chen worked at Kanpai where he met fellow chef Andre Burgos, with whom he decided to collaborate on a Nashville hot chicken pop-up. When their boss, Trevor Lui, tried their spicy fried goods, he was so impressed the trio began hatching business plans. Fast forward, and Chen Chen’s Hot Chicken is the first concept to take up residency at Stackt Market’s storage-container food pavilion.

The chicken—all thighs—starts with an overnight brine in buttermilk before it’s dredged in a mix of cayenne, flour and cornstarch. It’s then thrown into a mix of buttermilk and egg white before it’s dredged for a second time. It’s fried for six minutes, then anointed with the spice-packed hot oil. Guests can order their chicken mild, medium, or hot, but the Chen Chen’s team is working on an extra-hot option for masochists in search of a truly searing burn.

The drinks:

Chen Chen’s sells sweet tea and Jarritos. For a boozy pairing, customers can pop over to the neighbouring Pavilion Bar storage container about five metres away.

The space

Stacklab designed the Food Pavilion, which will become a four-season dining space. The pavilion will morph a bit for winter, but right now, it’s an open air venue with communal tables, heaps of potted plants and an industrial chic vibe thanks to the cantilevered plastic roof suspended over scaffolding.