KFC: Korean Fried Chicken
No, it's not Kentucky Fried Chicken, but Korean fried chicken which is much more delicious in my opinion. Chicken is a very popular snack and meal that people often eat. There are so many different varieties in sauces and batter. 치맥 which comes from the combination of 치킨 (Chicken) and 맥주 (Maekju (Beer)) is eaten often. Just outside of the west gate of KAIST, I've tried 2 chicken restaurants both with different types of sauces that I heavily recommend.
처갓집 (CHEOGATJIB)
처갓집양념통닭 어은점
9-5 Eoeun-ro 48 beon-gil
Eoeun-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon
I went with a group of 8 and we ordered 3 different flavor and got all boneless chicken which is easier to eat.
Each dish cost 18,000 KRW and we ended up paying 6750 KRW per person. All the dishes had the same tender chicken and batter. There is also a side of pickled daikon radish that which helps to cleanse the palate and cut the heaviness of the chicken. I also realized, they have chains overseas!
free side dishes | shrimp chips and pickled daikon
1. Supreme
Fried chicken covered with a creamy mayo and slightly spicy sweet red sauce. I thought this one would be super rich and heavy because of the creaminess of the sauce and oily fried chicken but it was actually really good and not super overpowering. I didn't get sick of it at all.
2. Lemon and Green Onion
A heaping mound of shredded green onion topped over the chicken with a lemon glaze dressing. The lemon flavor was apparent and was not super sour. It provided a freshness that worked really well with the crunchy green onion.
3. Sweet and Sour
I was happy to see that there was no typical red glaze you find in Chinese style sweet and sour chicken. It wasn't anything special, it basically tastes how it sounds but it was still very good.
My favorite was the lemon and green onion one because the onions provided another crunchy dimension (I also felt healthier by adding some sort of vegetable). Supreme would come in second because it was a new different flavor and lastly the sweet and sour which wasn't extremely special. I definitely recommend going with a group of people so you can order different flavors.
KEUNTONG CHICKEN
큰통치킨
115-7 Eoeun-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon
I went with a group of 5 this time and we ordered 2 different flavors. Once again, we got all boneless chicken. Each dish cost 16,000 KRW and we ended up paying 6400 KRW per person. Chicken was the same for both dishes but different sauces (poured over white onions) on the side. The batter was heavy but held up the sauces well.
1. Chunyang Pepper
The base of the sauces are all the same. It is mayonnaisey and creamy. I expected this to be really spicy since chunyang peppers are known to be spicy however, fortunately there was only a kick of spice. It was interesting to see thinly sliced almonds on the sauce, which provided some crunch but didn't do much to the flavor.
2. Cream Onion
Please excuse the lighting, the restaurant was pretty dim and the orangey lights didn't help.
This sauce was sweeter than the first. It had the same creaminess and thinly sliced almonds. The onions were crisp and sweet with a slightly bitter after taste.
The dishes came with a side of sweet chilli sauce (which was also a good dipping choice) 2 sided of lettuce cabbage salad with some light dressing and fries. These fries were probably the best ones I've had since I've arrived to Korea (then again I've only had Lotteria fries...). The inside was had a mashed potato texture and was lightly salted.
I'm not a big fan of onions but they really paired well with the fried chicken since it helped to cut the heaviness and greasiness of the batter. It also provided a really nice crunch and I felt healthier having some vegetables with fried food. I was able to eat multiple pieces of chicken and didn't feel sick of grease afterwards.
All photos (unless otherwise stated) are taken by Kaity Chen. Please credit if using.