I came for the chicken.

 I decided to go to Hat Yai for the fried chicken. I know. I get a laugh every time that I've told someone that, but it's the truth.

Hat Yai is famous throughout Thailand for having THE best fried chicken. You'll find restaurants in other parts of Thailand selling "Hat Yai fried chicken." Hat Yai, being the closest major city in Thailand to Malaysia gets a huge influx of Malaysian tourists--- and Malaysians know their fried chicken. I daresay, if you were to have to name just one city in Southeast Asia that is known as the chicken capital, Hat Yai would be it.

This style of fried chicken is known for it's perfect fried exterior, flavorful interior, and the copious amount of crispy shallots that they serve with the chicken. It's a double crunch situation.

So, on this trip, I made Hat Yai, the city proper, one of my destinations. On the way there, though, I first stopped in Koh Lipe island in Southern Thailand, very close to the border of Malaysia, and I realized that this style of fried chicken is actually omnipresent throughout southern Thailand. Lucky me!

On the island, when I saw this fried chicken, I knew I had to try it!

It totally exceeded my expectations. Exceptionally crispy on the outside, but not heavy on the batter, and so flavorful and juicy! I got a generous helping of fried shallots with the chicken all wrapped up together in paper, served with sweet chili sauce on the side. I'm not going to lie--- after that initial piece of chicken, I was hooked. I ended up going back to this stall two more times before I left the island. 

A very auspicious start to my fried chicken tour. :) 

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