I’ve been recently missing Seoul and all its
glorious food. Most people who know me are aware of my Korean Fried Chicken
(KFC) obsession! I love everything from the sping onion type (also known as
padak in Korea) to the sweet chilli glazed kind. South Korea’s love for fried
chicken is so deep into their culture that it’s easily available almost 24/7
and everywhere in Seoul!
I’ve been to Seoul twice now. In those 2 trips,
I’ve visited a few popular shops that I can now confirm are nothing short of a
complete sensory experience. Most of them are now chains so they are pretty
much easy to access. Without further ado, here are some of Seoul’s best fried
chicken shops:
BHC 치킨 (Better & Happier Choice)
If you’re heading to Seoul soon, chances are
you will most likely stay at either Hongdae or Myeongdong! There are branches
of BHC in Seoul. The most convenient one is the shop in a building complex
Myeongdong 7 ga-gil. This shop was made popular and endorsed by South Korean
actress Jun Ji-Hyun (aka Cheon Song-Yi from My Love from the Stars).
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| Makgeolli |
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| Cheese sprinkle fries |
They provide you with complimentary mini prawn
crackers while you wait for food. Just like any Chimaek (fried chicken and
beer) bistro in Seoul, they serve local and imported beer. Of course, you can
get Makgeolli too!
We opted for a whole chicken ban ban (half
& half) of sprinkle chicken (snow cheese) and OG fried chicken for ₩19,000
(A$23). That’s roughly 14 pieces of chicken, which we normally charge around
A$35 here in Sydney. The OG has that nice rippled flavoursome coating and the
meat is juicy. The cheese powder sprinkled on the sprinkle chicken had a nice
blend of onion and garlic flavours with hints of sweetness.
Address: 21 Myeongdong 7-gil, Euljiro
2(i)-ga, Jung-gu
Opening Hours: 2:00pm – 12:00mn
Nearest station: Euljiro 1
678 Chicken
Yes! You’ve guessed right if you’re thinking
that this shop is affiliated with 678 Korean BBQ group (Owned by renowned
celebrity Kang Ho-Dong) chain of restaurants. The shop we visited is just right
next to BHC Myeongdong and just like BHC, it has multiple stores in Seoul and
even globally. The space has a clean and simple contemporary interior. The
staff members are quite friendly and one of the best parts about this store is
that they are open until 3am every day! The restaurant also has about 90 seats.
We pretty much got the same whole chicken half
& half of sprinkle chicken and OG fried chicken (₩17,000 or A$21). The most
notable part and what sets them apart from BHC in my opinion is that their snow
cheese sprinkle is less sweet with more umami taste like Twisties and Doritos.
The OG chicken coating is probably a tad crunchier too.
Their fries are pretty good too but it's their cheese sticks that you also need to try! Golden crisped fried goodness on the outside with a stretchy mozzarella on the inside.
Address: 199-40 Euljiro 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu,
Seoul, South Korea
Hours: 11am until 2am
Nearest station: Euljiro 1
Mom’s Touch
The Mom’s Touch menu structure and even space
is quite similar to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Like its American counterpart, they
are also a chain restaurant that specialises in fried chicken and chicken
burgers. The only difference is that their menu consists of Korean inspired
flavours for both their fried chicken pieces and chicken burgers.
I tried one of their fried chicken burger
offerings. In my honest opinion, I much prefer their burger compared to
Kentucky’s! For the price of ₩3,500 won (A$4.35) you get a decent sized
one-hand burger. The super rippled fried chicken coating was ridiculously
crunchy and the meat was super juicy and flavoursome. The burger also consists
of lettuce, mayo, pickles and onion in a soft milk bun.
We also tried a half serving of snow cheese
sprinkled chicken for only ₩5,500 (A$6.84 for 7 pieces of chicken). The coating
was perfectly crunchy and meat was juicy and tender. The cheese sprinkle had
hints of onion and garlic.
Address: 26 Myeongdong 8-gil, Myeongdong
2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
Hours:11:20am to 10:00pm
Nearest station: Myeongdong
MyMy Chicken
Another accessible fried chicken store is MyMy
Chicken and this chain probably has one of the most stores in Seoul (easily
within the top 5). They have sit down shops and stores that are just solely for
pick-ups and deliveries.
Their padak is the first spring onion fried
chicken that we got to try in Seoul. It did not disappoint! Their fried chicken
is probably one of the most succulent chickens I’ve come across. The coating is
rippled and crunchy, whilst the soy mustard sauce had a perfect balance of
sweetness and bite from the mustard. It also came with the usual complimentary
mu (pickled radish). The cost for a whole chicken is ₩17,000.
Address: 6-1, Jahamun-ro, Tongui-dong, Seoul
Nearest station: Gyeongbokgung
Thunder Chicken
The first time I’ve heard or have seen Thunder
Chicken is through K-Drama series “I Can Hear Your Voice”. The place is so
popular that the OG shop is part of a K Drama food tour in Seoul. I’ve read
some hidden reviews posted by locals within the internet that they have the cheapest
and probably the best green onion fried chicken (padak) in town.
We went to the branch near Dongdaemun Design
Plaza where we were greeted by a horde of golden crispy fried chicken at the
window! No joke, look at the photo!
I’m very pleased to report back that the
reviews were true and probably exceeded my expectations. I’ll get to the
chicken later. They have more than just chicken. They have Korean staples
including the humble bibimbap. Their dolsot (hot stone bowl) bibimbap is so
simple but is one of the best I’ve had. From the gochujang paste to caramelised
crisped bits created by the rice and sizzling sesame oil at the bottom of the
bowl, the damn thing was excellent.
Their padak is the best one I’ve had to date!
The sound of the crunch of the coating, the texture of the ripples, succulent
flavoursome meat, the flavours, the sticky sweet soy mustard glazing sauce and
golden sight of their chicken is what makes this fried chicken amazing. The
cost for 14 pieces of chicken is only ₩16,000 (A$19).
Address: Gwanghuidong 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu,
Seoul,
Hours: 12:00pm to 2:30am
Nearest station: Dongdaemun History and
Cultural Park
Reggae Chicken
If you’re ever in Hongdae and want to try
something different, y’all need to check out Reggae Chicken. They have a few
shops but we ended up going to the OG store which is quite close to Hongik
University station and is very popular amongst the locals. The space itself has
this rustic moody hipster vibe. The sitting is quite limited and it’s quite
dark inside. I guess they are trying to go for a Jamaican Rasta shack style to
the place. They provide you with complimentary curried popcorn with drinks and
the popcorn is refillable for free!
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| Snow cheese sprinkled onion rings |
We tried their signature Reggae fried chicken
(₩17,000 or A$21), which is a platter of 14 pieces of crispy chicken and topped
with potato wedges and onion rings. The coating is lighter than most fried
chicken in Seoul. The chicken meat itself was flavoured with spices which is
almost reminiscent of Jamaican jerk spice. Flavour-wise, their chicken packed
quite a punch. The in-house garlic sauce is quite amazing too.
Address: 317-9 Sangsu-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Hours: Open every day 5pm~2am
Nearest station: Hongik University
Chicken in the Kitchen
I’ve saved the BEST for last. This place was
highly recommended by my very good friend Kris Yoon (ex-Edition Coffee
Roasters). He also took us here as he highly regards this place. Little did I
know that this place always gets raving reviews from locals and visitors alike.
Of course, we had to visit the OG store. I must say, this is my favourite
Korean fried chicken shop to date.
The space is quite simple and tiny. But the
service and food is really good. Actually the food is amazing!
The onion rings here are quite massive but
super tasty.
We ordered half & half (₩19,000 = A$23) of
their bump of chicken and red hot chilli peppers chicken. The bump chicken is a
classic fried chicken with super crisped herbed coating that came with fried
onion (giant onion rings) and chips. The coating and skin of the chicken almost
becomes like a thick wafer like shell. The meat is extra juicy.
The red hot chilli pepper chicken came with a
house original sticky sweet chilli yangnyeom sauce and tteok (rice cakes) and
chips. The sauce had a deep flavour with a good balance of sweetness and heat.
The chicken just like the original is crisped on the outside and juicy
flavoursome on the inside. This chicken is quite addictive.
Address: 4-42, Wausan-ro 29-gil, Mapo-gu Seoul
Opening hours: 4pm-12pm
Nearest station: Hongik University Station,
Exit 8
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