TL;DR: Simple and straightforward, this goes down to the basics of why Korean fried chicken places manage to work so well. It takes a few components, and does each of them well in terms of food quality, and the overall flavour - which itself, can get dynamic when it want to be. Maybe not quite par with the best of them, but it still got a filling enough meal for this little black duck.
The big weekend of the year - for the wrestling fans among us, that is - was underway, and like with any of the big events put out by WWE, to compliment it the day beforehand, NXT showcases a TakeOver show. Much the same goes with them as does any other PPV streaming on the WWE Network, and that is that I get onto UberEats and get some delivery to eat while watching the show. What that meant was to simply go through the options that were available at that time, and to keep it down low before the main show, I went slightly modest. Also, it came to one place which I had eyed off a couple of times before - and it had the delicious, irresistible delicacy that is fried chicken. So onto here it was, getting a few items and merely sitting back to wait until the car pulled up in front of the house.
Between getting the food ordering, having it all cooked and prepared, followed up by the delivery driver getting to the house, all of that took a short period of time. With the recent addition to tip the driver, with all that fuss getting managed it was the top level default which he was given. When the time is right, the stomachs are empty, and the game is well underway when food must be arranged - these Uber delivery drivers are the closest thing we got to Superman on our hands. Plus, working the weekend will net more pay for harder work.
Compared to most of the similar choices around town, the menu here is overall quite modest. It does strike the vein of most Korean fried chicken places, with the make up of the menu. The choices for flavours are in the single digits, which includes both the boneless, and bone-in choices. Some other bites that go with drinks are at the start, which are a mixture of standard choices, smaller cuts of chicken, and a couple of pancakes. For something more substantial, full meals are also available - noodles, bim bim bap, and the ilk. Drinks are basically bottled beverages, mainly the general range of sodas and some iced teas.
The ordering was being done on the fly, while the show was well underway, hence post haste ordering. A good trio to get the gist of the restaurant went underway - an order of fried chicken without any doubt, one of their pancakes, and with a small whim a full meal was thrown into the mix. It was a toss up which kind of chicken to get, but I ended up with a boneless variety - with several flavours to choose from, the ultimate choice becomes a shot in the dark. Several of them can be gotten from anywhere, yet I had not seen much of honey soy around. Hence, it ended up being honey soy. For the pancake, knowing kim chi was not really his forte, I went with the seafood option, and the main meal was the stir fried pork, chilli flavour. This combination - modest for yours truly when it comes to these events - made a decent, filling meal that combined the complex, balanced flavours Korean cooking is known for with pure simplicity.
Let's get started on the chicken first, it was absolutely delicious. The way it gets down Korean style is by cooking it twice, making an extra crunch that can't be mistaken. Through this method, the marinade seeps right in, making the taste and aroma quite known. Almost each flavour is something else, and honey soy is no exception. In the boneless order, there must be at least two dozen separate morsels of crispy chicken which aren't small bits either. They are tender, and have the sauce seeping all the way into the flesh. It had a slightly sweet taste to it, mixed in with that distinct note that soy sauce is known for having, and that marinade was glistening all around the bite-sized pieces. These are practically the perfect party snack if gotten in a big enough quantity, and when done as hot as they can be, the sheer heat is one more reason that Korean Fried Chicken ought to be on any bone fide gourmand's bucket list.
Then we get to the pancake, the secondary star in the fried chicken restaurants. A way I see these suckers is they are analogous to the buttermilk biscuits in soul food restaurants. Not necessary per se, but nice and wholesome as a supplement. Inside the batter were small bits of shrimp, and maybe the occasional mussel and whatnot. As well as the seafood, there were chives and onions put in which helped with both the texture and the flavour base. With the pancake batter, it was somewhere between light like a crepe and thick like ijera bread. This was divided up into several pieces, and had a dark dipping sauce on the side.
Lastly, it was the spicy pork stir fry. This was a pretty simple and straightforward sort of meal, the pork was mixed with some vegetables then marinated in a spicy sauce, with a mound of rice on the side. In saying it is simple and straightforward, that is never said as anything to discount it. For what it is worth, this was perfectly fine. They had a good amount of meat, which was a tender cut that did itself well. Saying as one big spice fiend, I have tried much spicier fare than this so it is not the best measuring stick - I was not panting or reaching for water after eating this, thought it might have warmed up the body. Mixed in with the chilli, a strong hint of ginger was prevalent in the sauce. Three hard hits with the bat, that is enough to deem K-Chicken a winning contender.
It is around this time that my house mate is slowly coming around to Korean food. If that is anything to go by, you know that it is well worth its salt. The fried chicken might not have been the best, nor the most dynamic of the Korean variety around, but it was still a tasty morsel and there was plenty to go around. Next up was the pancake, which even he thought was good as well - other places I have managed to drag him to concerning this grub,it was not as much a success. So here is the verdict - it is more solid than anything, hitting the spot when the time is right. Portions are pretty generous, the philosophy of balance that permeates Korean cuisine is readily apparent in both the flavours and aromas. It gets enough of a recommendation.
Final rating: 4.0. Not knowing the atmosphere and decor of this place, an extra point or two is in reserve since much of the joy when going out for Korean fried chicken has to do with the vibe, the energy, and getting everything on the fly. Outside of that, there is not really anything that I can readily criticise it on to bring down any good vibes; it is more or less that sort of eatery that does its job, has a solid and rounded approach to the food, which in the end does what it needs to do - fill you up, and leave you satisfied, while being tasty.
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