House of Wings

House of Wings
145 – 7155 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

I might be an anomaly in the sense that I don’t like to go out to drink or hang in sport bars. While I could just go there for the food, for the most part, my previous experiences tell me it is not worth it. But, once in a while, it could be a hidden gem as well… In Highgate, there used to be an AppleBee’s and it closed some long time ago just to be replaced by House of Wings. How would this sports bar manage?

With a name like House of Wings, it could almost be safe to say they will have chicken wings. And they happen to have specials in the form of 37¢ wings on weekdays from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sundays. There are two caveats, though: The orders must be in multiples of 10 and you must purchase a drink. Fortunately, the drink can be a pop, which I ended up ordering…

For my first set of 10 wings, I scoured through their list and chose a “spicy” one, which ended up being the jalapeño. In terms of colour, they were looking a bit… Strange. I guess they were using some sort of bottled hot sauce and add something else to make it more “spicy”. And, despite some seeds could be seen, it wasn’t that spicy as I did not start sweating (my “spiciness” indicator).

Just for kicks, I also ordered the spiciest wing they had. Now, instead of buying 10, I just wanted one to test (the 10 has to be the same type). Unlike the artificial like taste from the jalapeño, this one had more of a herby pepper taste. It was spicier and I was started to sweat but it didn’t last. I guess what the waitress said about it not being as hot as it could be was so that I won’t be disappointed. It was decent but just does not live to some wacky level of spiciness expectation I had.

And that brings the question of the wings itself: For some reason, I thought they were steamed/boiled then finished when ordered. That is because the meat could slip cleanly, rather than have some of the meat stick (due to the fat). I don’t necessarily condemn this technique, as the skin had some crispiness and was able to soak the sauce quite well. Yes, I made a real mess while eating these!

While I could have easily ordered 10 (or even 20) more wings, I decided to switch gears and went for a burger instead – specifically, their lamb burger. Sorry about the picture, as I chose not to use the flash and it was getting somewhat dark. As for the burger, it was OK. The meat didn’t crumble down (i.e., loose meat) and I thought could have been juicier. There wasn’t anything excessively disappointing but there wasn’t anything spectacular either. The only noticeable part was the red peppers which gave some level of sweetness contrast of the lamb.

All in all, the food was decent. As for the ambiance, it delivers what it is supposed to be, i.e., a place for you to hang with friends and watch some games. But, in my case, since it is not necessarily my thing, I am not in a hurry to come back. If somebody checks with me to go there, at least, I won’t be opposed.

Tagged under: Burnaby • Chicken • Lounge