There’s trouble in chicken paradise. Feathers are flying. Two rotisseries are going head to head. Will the big boy of Shanghai dining, the prolific Mr. Vargas, come out on top? Or will underdog Zhang and his trusty sidekick Panos steal the crown where crispy wings and juicy thighs are concerned?

If you have no idea what we’re talking about, you probably don’t spend as much time lurking on expat forums as we do. Which is a good thing. But if you, too, frequent the likes of ShanghaiExpat, you’ll be aware of the ongoing battle between Brasa Chicken and Commando Chicken Express.

Commando opened with little fanfare on the corner of Changle Lu and Xiangyang late last year. We reviewed it, and were happy enough with its generous meal deals and tasty chicken. We’ve also eaten at Brasa, and were equally impressed. So why the furore?

Accusations have flown from all sides, some against Commando, others against Brasa. Some folk are firmly in the Brasa camp, while some favour Commando for its cheap (see, we resisted the obvious pun) and cheerful take on the rotisserie formula. The road hasn’t been a smooth one.

At the crux of the whole affair is the internet. The thing about the web is that everyone becomes a food critic. And people are more likely to report on a bad experience than a good one. This means that restaurants can garner a bad reputation for a one-off error or a fluke dodgy dish. Lately, it’s common for restaurant spokespeople to pop up on forums and defend their food and services, or apologize and offer refunds or vouchers. How they deal with criticism has a huge impact on how people view them: an angry, excuse-ridden response can land them in the doldrums, whereas a humble apology can restore their kudos. As one poster on ShanghaiExpat wrote, “what's important is the response to complaints. After all, mistakes are very easy to make. It's what they do to make things right that's important.”

Commando waded into the fray and took the advice of forum users, resulting in a new chef and better service. Before the arrival of Greek chef Panos, the chicken had veered below par, and the web was up in arms. Likewise, Brasa faced censure from customers over lengthy delivery time and botched orders (and their Trojan-infected website). One of the Vargas brothers responded politely to all critiques, and both food and service are now better.

So whether you go Commando, or plump for Brasa, let us know what you think either way.

Brasa Chicken: Block 6, 888 Shaanxi Nan Lu, near Jiangguo Xi Lu 陕西路888号, 
近江国西路.400 820 2172. www.brasachicken.com.cn. Open daily, 11am-11pm 

Commando Chicken Express: No 18, 339 Changle Lu, near Xiangyang Lu长乐路339号18号， 
近襄阳路. 5403 2290. Open daily, 10am-10pm