TASTE TEST: Korean Fried Chicken at BonChon

I haven't sat down and had a long talk with my buddy Kristine in a very long time. So I made her trek all the way from Jersey City to meet me for something I've never tried before: Korean fried chicken. Originally, we were supposed to meet up at Dok Suni's in the East Village, but I didn't feel up for the travel—I know, I'm a douchebag; she traveled plenty far for me—so we scrambled for somewhere closer to eat. She told me that if my heart was set on trying Korea's version of fried chicken, I could meet her at BonChon Chicken. Sounded good to me.

As usual, I immediately perused the menu for what was edible. The chicken menu was broken up into wings and drums and combos of wings and drums, and then there were sauce options. I, being the wuss that I am, chose the non-spicy garlic soy sauce and 3 drums. I thought they might be appetizer small, but when the meal arrived, they were adult-sized. Still a little wary of the taste, I took a timid bite.

Crunch!
Sweet!
Juicy!
Mmmm.

I can still taste it. It's like Chinese fried chicken, but ten times better. It's like they fried the chicken twice, and rubbed honey and duck sauce all over it. Where has this been all my life?

I'm a chubby girl, but my chubby friend Ty decided to get a lap gastric band and her doc said she wouldn't be allowed to eat fried foods for several months. That meal, among many others, are why I exercise whenever I can and eat healthy when I eat-in. Because there's no amount of medical warnings that would stop me from consuming that again...unless at least three experts proved it was poisonous. lol

98 Chambers St.

Best. Dumplings. Ever!

Alright, full disclosure, I'm not an adventurous eater. The first time I had dumplings was because a co-worker pretty much called me out as a woose and demanded I tried a variety at 23rd Street's Rickshaw Dumpling Bar. I tried the steamed and fried dumplings filled with pork, chicken, and other mysterious contents, and it was…decent. It wasn't exactly a mind-blowing, life-altering, palate-changing experience, so I confidently resigned dumplings to the Inedible column.

Then I went to Pocha 32 (15 W. 32nd St.) in Koreatown and, at the urging of my friends, tried chicken-filled fried dumplings for the 2nd time. It was perfect!!! I'm Dominican. Our dumpling-equivalent is pastelitos. We have beef-filled and chicken-filled, and I hate the chicken-filled. I've never liked chicken-filled anything in all 24 years of my life. But these dumplings were perfectly fried and perfectly juicy. I couldn't stop eating them. I felt bad about it. I hadn't ordered them, but my friends insisted they couldn't finish them all, so I kept going. If they let me, I would've eaten every last one. If I weren't on a budget, I would've ordered some to go. Instead, I just kept reminding myself, "You can come back!" You know the food is good when you've already decided you're coming back before the main course arrives.

Speaking of which, I ordered the Korean BBQ thinking it tastes the same everywhere—my favorites being from Seoul Garden, Friend House, Aoki, and a food truck in Midtown. But it doesn't. My friend's roasted beef tasted way better. I know what you're thinking. This could be one of those situations where everyone else's food just tastes better than yours, a.k.a. grub envy.

n. the ravenous sensation that eaters get when they realize someone else's food tastes better than there's and they've made a horrible mistake picking what they ordered. Example: Monica's got grub envy. Look at the way she's drooling over your fried dumplings.

But everyone agreed. Fried dumplings and roasted beef was the thing to order at Pocha!

Of course, being the negative-Nelly that I am, I fear that it won't be as good the second time around. What if they're not fried to perfection again? What if the chef from that night is out sick or on vacation? What if I get the order wrong? lol I'm a fatalist. I rather expect the worst than fantasize about the best. This Saturday, I'll return to decide once and for all if fried dumplings go in the Edible column.

6/26 Update: ALL of it was still amazing.


Photo by Charles Haynes