Chicken Noun

A quintessential part of the suburban Australian landscape is the ubiquitious

"chicken shop", which sells, at a minimum roast chickens and hot chips

("fries"), but typically will also offer fish and very possibly things like

burgers, hotdogs, etc.

There is a kind of unspoken rule that these places should have a two word name

of the form "Chicken ". I would say around 75% of chicken shops fit this

template (many which do not are called " Chicken").

This is a fairly small and crowded namespace, so there is a natural pressure for

businesses to choose unusual and memorable names. I have always taken a kind of

odd delight in appreciating some of the more unusual choices. I used to

daydream about setting up a website and travelling around taking photos of the

best ones. One of those ideas which is interesting, but not interesting enough

to actually do.

On this visit, because I've been away for a while and will be away for a while

again soon, I've had an unusual nostalgic pang when I spot one of these shops.

Some of my favourites:

• Chicken Cave
• Chicken Knight
• Chicken Master
• Chicken Mania