The Old Laundry review: The Korean chicken at this North Perth restaurant may well be my death-row dish

If I ever happen to find myself on death row (chances are slim unless out-of-tune car singing becomes an offence worthy of capital punishment), I think The Old Laundry’s Korean fried chicken could be a contender for my last meal request. Usually I give fried chook a wide berth. In fact, the only other time I have had the hots for a piece of deep-fried poultry was when I was pregnant with my second child and a combination of not-yet diagnosed anaemia and gestational diabetes had me craving anything high-fat, high-sugar to keep me awake and upright. But that was more than 10 years ago and the only fried chicken that has passed my lips since has been the Laundry’s famed Korean chicken. “I feel like we always get the chicken,” my friend Lara said as we took our seats. My heart dropped, sensing this might be the point where Lara said she wanted to try something new. “But that’s because it’s delicious,” she concluded. This is why our friendship is unwavering — as is the Laundry’s commitment to this ever-popular dish, which has been a mainstay on a regularly changing menu for years. Needless to say, this is not our first Laundry rodeo and over the years we have had fabulous salads, melt-in-your-mouth fish dishes and warm and hearty pasta meals in the cooler months. The service, usually from owner Oscar Boyne himself, is always friendly but never in your face. And we never get those looks when we while away a whole afternoon gossiping. Our favoured tipple, an impeccably dry rosé called Rameau d’Or, sadly doesn’t come by the glass and while most lunches we’ve shared start with a bottle (or two), on the day of this review we were on a time limit so we opted for Palomas ($24) instead. As the name suggests, the venue is a former laundry dating back to the 1930s, as evidenced by the gigantic old boiler in the courtyard. The rest of the space is bright and airy with modern features — exposed brick and an abundance of glass — and retro Euro-cool styling complete with deep yellow walls and red vinyl booth seats. The must-have chicken comes in two sizes; we chose the small ($28) because we also decided to share a mezze plate ($49) and that seemed like a lot of food, even for us. My saliva ducts fired up as soon as it hit the table. Four pieces of deep red/brown coated chicken were topped with a generous squirt of mayonnaise and topped with pickled cabbage and beetroot, finely chopped spring onion and toasted sesame seeds. One mouthful and my soul left my body (another reason why this would be an excellent death-row meal). Perfectly crisp but not oily, and spicy without being overpoweringly so, I could live on the stuff. The mezze plate snapper skewers were another stand-out. The fish was impeccably cooked and drizzled with a zingy chilli lime dressing, a flavour combination as harmonious as a celestial choir. The mezze also featured blue swimmer crab fritters that were mild and had good texture, a smear of romesco dip, olives, prosciutto and American coffee aged cheddar, which had a nice amount of mature bite. And plenty of focaccia to mop or wrap it all up in. While we would have loved to stay, we instead promised to return on a day when time was on our side. The verdict: 17/20 Pleasant service, great food and a long drinks list equate to a guaranteed good time. Order the chicken. The Old Laundry 22 Angove St, North Perth Open: Wednesday-Monday, 7am until late. Closed Tuesday. Bookings: Yes Contact: 6162 1105