We were kindly invited to this year’s Wingfest and so we tried 16 different wings and these were our 3 standout ones. They stood out either for their uniqueness or their taste. Other than highlighting our 3 favourite wings from @wingfestuk 2024, we will also mention the others we tried as well as a overall review of the halal-friendliness of the Wingfest.
Our top 3
1. The salt and pepper wing with Chinese curry sauce from @hopeyourehungry_ : this one gets it for both its taste and its uniqueness. It was basically a Chinese takeaway in a bite. The crispy wing had a nice flavour to it and even a slight kick, but coupled with the curry sauce… genius!
2. The Bombay birdie from @bakedbird : Indian chaat in a wing form: tamarind, mint, coriander and other goodies to be found in this one! Best of all, it’s baked! Talk about uniqueness and guiltfree!
3. The Bombay Bad Boy (naga wing) from @hotchick_chicken : this one was probably our favourite tasting one, but not necessarily unique as the naga wing thing is done all over the country these days. The naga flavour is strong and it is spicyyyy.
The 16 wings we tried and our ratings
- Buffalo joes – maple kind = 6.9
- Buffalo joes – honey = 6.5
- KYR – garlic rub plantain crunch = 7
- KYR – buffalo = 7
- Hope – salt and pepper wing with curry sauce = 8.4
- Hope – buffalo ranch = 7
- Baked – Indian chaat = 8.2
- Baked – buffalo = 7.5
- Bone daddies – Korean wing = 4
- Bone daddies – black pepper wings = 5
- Chicken bandits – west African / fish sauce / shrimp flavour = 8
- Honey buns – birria consomme = 6
- Honey buns – buffalo = 6
- Hot chick – buffalo = 6.2
- Hot chick – curried naga sauce = 8.3
- Twenty FT – fermented chilli hot sauce = 8.2
Our review of the event
Firstly, I have to thank the organisers for inviting us to this year’s event. Truly am grateful for the opportunity.
Now let’s talk about the event itself. The positives first. If you love wings, you’ll be spoilt for choice. The amount of wings available for you to try is overwhelming. So, make sure you come hungry. Also, a LOT of them offer halal wings. So, that’s a positive for halal foodies. In fact I think most do. Sorry EDL. But do just double check with the vendors as the very first one we approached told us (with a smirk on his face) they don’t do halal despite being on the list as one that does do halal (special shoutout to @burnoutbbqcatering).
Let’s discuss the negatives now. It’s not very Muslim family friendly. There’s a LOT of beer and a LOT of people drinking beer, which is fine for the event, but if you’re going to try to cater to Muslims (including inviting halal bloggers and actively advertising halal wings) now too, this might need toning down. Beer was so prevalent that don’t be surprised if you get it spilt on you. In fact someone told me that it happened to them and they left out of disgust. So, yeah it might suitable for a lads day out, but not a family day out with kids. Also, the music was astronomically loud. The whole event just felt like a HUGE rave with wings.
