2/3/08
One of my resolutions for 2008 is to experience more things Korean in my neighborhood. I do, after all, live in K-town, and have been here for a decade now. There are many things distinctly Korean in this neighborhood that I have embraced through the years. The produce in the Korean supermarkets is ridiculously inexpensive. Same goes for the seafood, and the selection is staggering. And then there's the whole aisle of kimchi. 'nuff said.
Many of the local businesses I frequent are Korean, naturally, but not many of the restaurants really... well, there's Korean bbq and the Tofu House... point is, I've been ready to expand my Korean culinary horizons, and then...
Have I mentioned how much I like fried chicken? Of course I have. Well, the other day I found out there's such a thing as Korean fried chicken. It's served at KyoChon at the corner of 6th St and Serrano (2 blocks east of Western). Naturally, I made a mental note of it. This strange new fried chicken needed to be looked into.
My opportunity came yesterday. I was out in K-town running errands on my bicycle. My last stop left me in the neighborhood of the chicken joint, so I rode over, parked my bike and went up to the counter to interpret the menu/place my order. The menu itself is very complicated in that it is really painfully simple. This isn't like strolling into Popeye's and ordering a three piece, sides and a biscuit. If you're wanting fried chicken at KyoChon your choices are pretty much just a whole chicken or... a whole chicken, unless you want wings, then you can just get a half chicken (is there really such a thing as half a chicken that is all wings? the horror.). Anyway, I order the whole chicken....to go That seemed like the thing to do. They have two flavors, garlic (original series!) and red pepper (hot series!), so I had them split up my order half and half.
The chicken there is made to order (good sign), so I took a seat and waited. While I waited, the young Korean guy who took my order came over and asked me if I'd like to have some ice cream while I waited. Well, yes I would. Thank you very much. Free ice cream and fried chicken? Things are always just an instant away from going weird in K-town. You just gotta roll with it.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." ~ Hunter S. Thompson
So, a minute later the Korean kid is back with my ice cream, soft serve vanilla in a little cup. It really hit the spot. After riding around all day to sit in a restaurant that smelled like fried chicken while enjoying some cool ice cream was pretty nice... I was even wearing a helmet.... yeah, life was pretty nice.
"Madness is tonic and invigorating. It makes the sane more sane. The only ones who are unable to profit by it are the insane." ~ Henry Miller
A few minutes later the Korean kid returns with my order... and he's bearing gifts. I don't know why. Unexpected gifting sometimes makes me edgy. He gives me a rather sturdy 2008 calendar that features pictures of assorted chicken themed knick-knacks. And then, the piece de resistance, he gives me a teddy bear. Seriously. Brown and fuzzy. Happy New Year ribbon. Here, I'll attach a link:
For a second, I didn't think I was getting out of there without either a) drinking the Korean kool-aid, or b) giving up my phone (867-5309). Fried chicken, free ice cream, a calendar and a teddy bear. Only in Koreatown.
So, I rode home with my chicken and unexpected gifts with what must have been a strange look on my face. It's not everyday a guy gives a guy like me a teddy bear. Anyway, once home I dug into the chicken and it was quite good. Korean fried chicken is lightly battered and twice fried. It's crispy and delicious... especially the dark meat pieces. The breast pieces can get a little dry. It doesn't taste like Southern fried chicken... it's more like having really, really good meaty wings.... that you don't have to work at very hard. Yummy.
The drawbacks were: a) the price. There's only one way to order it... a whole chicken and that's 16 bucks. Of course, I do have leftovers. And, b) they gave me this side order of some white cubed vegetable I couldn't easily identify (not strange for K-town) soaking in some sort of vinegar. I think it was to cut the heat of the spicy chicken. Anyway, when I put my leftovers in the fridge, the stuff made my whole apartment smell funky (I mean funk-kay, okay?!).
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