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Bonchon Chicken, KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) in Numerous Suburban Locations


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At the risk of sounding simplistic, this is not an unusual thing to happen in the Korean restaurant world. An initial owner will start a restaurant, work 18 to 20 hours a day to build up the business, and once successful, will sell it to another person who will attempt to replicate the process. One unfortunate side effect is that, the second (and third and fourth...etc) owner will (sometimes) reduce quality in an effort to push profits higher. I'd suspect (but can't say for sure) that this is why Bon Chon has departed.

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Now open in Rockville Town Square. From the takeout menu, they will eventually have a number of Korean dishes, but right now it's mostly just chicken and sides. Carryout or table service.

They have a lunch special for $9 that is enough chicken and sides for 2 people. With 2 fountain drinks, you can be out the door after tax and tip for less than $20.

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Tried to call the Fairfax outpost from about 6-6:30 and my call went straight to voice mail which said the mailbox was full. Anyone know if the place is open? I didn't drive there to order and wait the 45 minutes to take it home. Went to the Vienna Inn instead for my fix.

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Tried to call the Fairfax outpost from about 6-6:30 and my call went straight to voice mail which said the mailbox was full. Anyone know if the place is open? I didn't drive there to order and wait the 45 minutes to take it home. Went to the Vienna Inn instead for my fix.

"Closed for renovation" is often a lie, but in this case (with an estimated reopening date), it sounds legitimate enough to give all benefit of any doubt to Bon Chon. Everyone agree?

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"Closed for renovation" is often a lie, but in this case (with an estimated reopening date), it sounds legitimate enough to give all benefit of any doubt to Bon Chon. Everyone agree?

Agreed. If nothing else, they needed to steam-clean the floor. Last time I was there I had to wait for 10 minutes and I watched as the servers rounded the counter to deliver food to tables and each of them had a little different way to manage the oil on the floor. Some took tiny steps with no slippage, others walked quickly and "drifted" around the corner with a controlled slide. Fascinating!

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"Closed for renovation" is often a lie, but in this case (with an estimated reopening date), it sounds legitimate enough to give all benefit of any doubt to Bon Chon. Everyone agree?

I was in Fairfax near Bon Chon and stopped by. They have a sign that says they'll be open next week. There was a van parked in front from a company that installs POS and there were a couple of guys inside working at a computer station.

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I included this in the Restaurant Openings list, but thought I'd also highlight it here. From the Bonchon Arlington location's Facebook page:

We are excited to announce that we have scheduled our soft opening for next Monday, July 15!

We will be open for both lunch and dinner. However, we will be closing between then hours of 2 PM - 4 PM until we are comfortable with our operation.
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I was always scared away from trying the Annandale Bon Chon by the stories of the woeful service and have not been looking for lunch anywhere near where the newer area locations so today was my first trip to Bon Chon. I have been pining for wings on par with what Christopher Willis was putting out at Posh so I was excited that Bon Chon was opening near by.

I would not say that I was disappointed, but I was not wowed either. The skin was perfectly cooked, but I thought that the soy and garlic sauce didn't taste much like either soy or garlic. Also I found that the wings were too meaty, I know that this puts me in a small minority, but I like wings that are large enough that they can be fried until crisp without drying out the meat, but still small enough that with each bite you get meat and skin/sauce. The Bon Chon wings suffered from the second affliction. A good half of the meat on the drumettes was consumed without skin or sauce and it was quite bland on its own.

I will give the spicy sauce a try next time, but I am still left craving for the Mad for Chicken wings - I noticed that the website has a place holder for Annandale so there may still be hope.

I did not look at the beer list, but I noticed that they had growlers on hand.

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I visited the new Arlington Bonchon location too. Some info:

  • Free retail parking available in the building garage (based on sign at entrance of garage that said retail parking.)
  • There's a takeout counter and separate door (the takeout door is on the left side when you're facing Bonchon. But you can walk in the main door too. The takeout counter is at the left front of the restaurant.)
  • There's a bar with seats for drinking/dining
  • Liquor as well as beer
  • No wifi (there's a signal, but they're not giving out the password at this time.)

I ordered takeout, and the chicken only took 25 minutes.

Attached is the takeout menu. (The menu mentions delivery. I didn't ask, but they haven't mentioned on Facebook that they're offering delivery right now.)

post-889-0-74365700-1374085063_thumb.jpg

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    • No wifi (there's a signal, but they're not giving out the password at this time.)
I ordered takeout, and the chicken only took 25 minutes.

Fearing the legendary wait for wings, I ordered the Mandoo as an appetizer, the wings showed up first (about 5 minutes after ordering). The Mandoo were not bad, but I am not sure that I would order them again.

I would have loved WiFi, AT&T had no data coverage inside of the restaurant.

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It's so interesting the one in Annandale is no longer Bon Chon, but the menu design looks almost exactly the same. I asked the guy at Chi Mc and he said they got rid of the name because they had to pay a lot of royalties to the parent company and also Bon Chon wouldn't let them source locally (and more cheaply, from what I gathered). It really tasted exactly the same to me, but I'm so happy that there is one in Arlington now.

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Went to the Arlington location yesterday... Overall the wings were really good and were consistent with my experience at the Centerville location. Parking, as previously mentioned was free and located behind the restaurant. Based on the decor they are looking to target a more up scale market while serving the same food. This isn't a detractor for me since the food was always awesome.

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My first BonChon chicken experience post-hockey tonight. Went to the Arlington location for takeout. Medium wings and drumsticks half/half so I could sample the two flavors. Under a 10 minute wait for chicken @1030pm. I get what the fuss is about. The chicken is very tasty and moist .... though I have to agree with DanielK.... the soy/garlic is ok.... the spicy is great. On weekends they're open until 2am.

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Went to the Arlington location last night.  Man what a well stocked bar.  Had a ginger martini then a Port City Optimal Wit.  We had onion rings, which I really liked.  They were the big onion kind, and I do like the kind that are skinnier onions with the less cornmeal batter (like at Cheeburger Cheeburger) better in general, but these definitely had nice flavor.  I got an order of pork buns and these were good, nice flavor, bun was soft and pillowy, pork had nice crunch.  We got a medium order of legs and wings done half and half and a small order of strips all hot.

When you first bite into hot your like, this is flavorful, but it is a building heat, whew by the end it was hot (for me).  I also thought the ginger soy were a little bland until I had one after eating a hot one and then it was perfect.  The hot sauce on the strips wasn't nearly as hot or flavorful.  I didn't prefer the strips at all, except for sandwich making leftovers.  If I did it over I would have gotten ginger soy strips.  I love the pickled radish served with and the kimchi coleslaw (although it is more coleslaw than kimchi, it's just a little perkier than the normal coleslaw.

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A Bonchon in Woodbridge had its soft opening yesterday with a limited menu.  From its Facebook page:

Great News Everyone! The Long wait"¦has come to an end. Bonchon Woodbridge will host our soft opening on Wednesday Juy 31st. Which means currently only our famous Bonchon Chicken with sides and frozen Yogurt will be served. In the mean time we will smooth out things in our kitchen and get a little more training for our staff to prepare for our grand opening along with our full menu in the near future. 
 
Address is 14563 Potomac Mills Rd., Woodbridge, VA
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We visited the Arlington location night and we were definitely impressed. Don't miss the Pork Buns appetizer. These crispy pork sandwiches come two to an order. It was our favorite item that we tried. We also ordered the mandoo appetizer which had a good flavor but were not outstanding. We received 8 nice sized fried dumplings with a dipping sauce. Very crispy outside, flavorful tender meat inside.

As expected, the chicken was spot on. The husband preferred the spicy, I prefered the soy-garlic. I normally like spicy but for some reason I wasn't enjoying the heat last night. Our one year old son seemed to like both equally. We ordered the strips and the leg/wing combination and enjoyed all. I was surprised by how much we liked the strips and think I'd order a combination of strips and legs next time.

Two points worth mentioning: The space here is remarkable. Clean, modern, and chic. I really liked it. Also, the service was excellent. Servers were friendly, helpful, and efficient.

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Bon Chon has been frying up chicken for more than a year now, and it's one of the happiest places to return -- although their missing "local options" make it harder to return as often as we could.

Bon Chon is a pleasure.  Their chicken comes incredibly crisp, and there is skill in everything from that chicken to the coleslaw.  

Bon Chon's chicken comes in spicy or a soy-garlic.  Order radishes and maybe white rice.  You'll get a bowl of pickled white radish cubes.  Pop one after a spicy bite.  The crunchy vegetable cools your mouth.  We order wings and "strips" -- which are thin slices of white meat.  Those are my favorite ratios of meat to crunch, although the wings are superb.  (The drumsticks are probably good too.  I just think they're more meat-to-crisp.)

The only issue is that spicy hot can just be really, really hot.  The garlic-soy is actually mild, and the spicy starts at fiery delicious, then can become just too much to handle.

My advice is order half-and-half or even one-quarter spicy (if they'll do that).  My other advice is to ask for the pickled radish side dish because crunching radish cubes can cool down your mouth.  The Rte 40 restaurant offered "Old Bay" and "honey-hot" flavors for a few weeks this summer, but those are gone now.  I get the idea that the franchise got heat from the central Bon Chon company.

The restaurant has a modern, clean design.  Most tables, some high tops, some seats at the bar.  At even the first dinner service, it was bouncing with a 20s crowd -- salted with a few tables of salt-and-pepper hair.  It's a casual vibe.  Noisy enough that kids are clearly welcome, and Bon Chon an enormous projector that makes this a spectacular spot for wings and Ravens games. 

On top of the chicken, they have a small menu of Korean dishes.  You could alternative chicken with bulgogi, bibimbob, or scallion-seafood pancakes.  We gorged on chicken every time that we visit, so we can' report.

The location in Rockville allows you to specify whatever split you want when ordering a "half and half". So the "large" family platter, 8 drums and 15 wings, we got 2 drums and 5 wings spicy, and the rest soy garlic, and the waiter didn't even bat an eye. Oh, and the radishes are included when you order the combo platters rather than individual orders.

Seafood pancake was ok - seafood fairly bland, and the pancake wasn't crispy enough. Dumplings are also meh. Seaweed salad is good.

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The location in Rockville allows you to specify whatever split you want when ordering a "half and half". So the "large" family platter, 8 drums and 15 wings, we got 2 drums and 5 wings spicy, and the rest soy garlic, and the waiter didn't even bat an eye. Oh, and the radishes are included when you order the combo platters rather than individual orders.

Seafood pancake was ok - seafood fairly bland, and the pancake wasn't crispy enough. Dumplings are also meh. Seaweed salad is good.

Aside from the obvious fact that their chicken wings are a pure heart-attack-inducing pleasure, agree with DanielK on the seafood pancake. The last time I was there, it was also really heavy on the grease. Even by BonChon standards.

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According to Bonchon Arlington's Facebook page, they started delivery on Oct. 16.  Their post says:

We are starting with a limited delivery area but it will include the majority of Arlington.

Our delivery hours are:
Monday - Wednesday: 5:00PM to 9:00PM
Thursday - Friday: 5:00PM to 11:00PM
Saturday: 11:30AM to 11:00PM
Sunday: 11:30AM to 9:00PM serving a limited area but most of Arlington.

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Tried this last weekend and enjoyed it quite a bit.  I've never been a fan of bone-in chicken unless it's drumsticks, so I went with the strips.  I asked for two hot strips to get their taste - the first obviously to see if it was too hot for my palate as others have suggested, and the second in case it wasn't.

...found out you really don't need to eat more than two of them, because the spice lingers long enough on your tongue that *everything* you eat from that point forward just brings the spice back out, especially the soy garlic.

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Tried this last weekend and enjoyed it quite a bit.  I've never been a fan of bone-in chicken unless it's drumsticks, so I went with the strips.  I asked for two hot strips to get their taste - the first obviously to see if it was too hot for my palate as others have suggested, and the second in case it wasn't.

...found out you really don't need to eat more than two of them, because the spice lingers long enough on your tongue that *everything* you eat from that point forward just brings the spice back out, especially the soy garlic.

I had a hot strip once, but it cost me fifty bucks.

This is one of the most bizarre posts I've ever read.

Do they have chicken strips?!

Did you get two strips, or two *orders* of strips?

And are you saying you don't need to eat more than two chicken strips?

This has been a long day, but not so long that I should be *this* clueless. :wacko:

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I had a hot strip once, but it cost me fifty bucks.

This is one of the most bizarre posts I've ever read.

Do they have chicken strips?!

Did you get two strips, or two *orders* of strips?

And are you saying you don't need to eat more than two chicken strips?

This has been a long day, but not so long that I should be *this* clueless. :wacko:

Yes, at least at the Fairfax location, you can order "strips" which are boneless and pressed (kinda paillard-like) fried cutlets (I believe they call them 'white meat' on the menu, which is sort of confusing), but they understood "strips" when I pre-ordered before going over there.  I prefer eating those to fighting the bones for each bite.  I got a ten piece, and asked for two of them to be 'hot' instead of all soy-garlic.  They even "segregated" the hot from the soy-garlic on the platter so I wouldn't eat one accidentally.

And I'm saying that you don't need to eat more than *two* of their 'hot' strips to get the spice on your tongue - it's the kind of spicy that keeps lingering in the short term, and whatever you eat after that just keeps the 'burn' fresh.

Here's proof that they will give you 'strips':

Czo6hYY.jpg

Hope that clarifies things. :blink:

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I went to the Fairfax location two weekends ago, and found myself envying the items on their menu compared to the Arlington location, as they had more options. I will have to scan the two menus too.

Their Pork Cutlet Rice ($12 or $13, I think) was a HUGE portion and lasted three meals, somehow, even with little man helping me.

Anywho, the chicken was really good, even after a bit of travel from Fairfax to Arlington.

Fairfax is definite a great go-to area now, as I found myself here after a trip to the stores at Mosaic (Target, Mom's Organic, and Red Apron Butchery) District. Hot Spot (Hot pot restaurant) is two doors down from here.

Arlington:post-2127-0-71366400-1383104243_thumb.jp

Fairfax:post-2127-0-08580800-1383104270_thumb.jp

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Yesterday was my first Bonchon experience. Got carryout from Rockville and totally over-ordered.  2 "smalls" was a really large amount of food for 2 people. I think 1 "small" would have been plenty for 2.  Although I can see why people can easily overeat this addictive chicken. The one advantage to my over-ordering is I got to try just about all of their different types of chicken. I liked the soy/garlic wing and strips best (strips a close second)- a great, crunchy, sticky, but only a bit sweet flavor.  The spicy sauce was overkill just added a medium burn without much flavor. (although I'm not a huge hot wing fan - this is probably perfect for those who are). I also really liked the pickled radish and sweet coleslaw sides. The wait for the chicken was about 15-20 in the middle of Sunday afternoon, so next time I would definitely eat in or call ahead.

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I've noticed that when you order the strips, the 30 minute lead time for the wings, breasts, and drumsticks isn't mentioned.  So if you're in a hurry, I'd recommend the strips - evidently they can get those out quicker.  My guess as to why is that the roller they use must not only flatten but tenderize and pierce as well - people have mentioned 'holes' in the meat - which must help them cook faster.

I say this because the second time I went, I didn't bother calling ahead, and my strips were on my table within 15 minutes of sitting down.

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Could it also be due to the fact that the chicken strips don't have the skin? And therefore do not need to be double fried and all to render the fat.

I ordered 10 drumsticks and they only gave me 5 so replaced with some strips, which while they were good I missed the crispy skin. Also we tried the okonomiyaki, I have none other to compare it to but I thought it was great, smoky with the bonito and great crunch

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Could it also be due to the fact that the chicken strips don't have the skin? And therefore do not need to be double fried and all to render the fat.

I ordered 10 drumsticks and they only gave me 5 so replaced with some strips, which while they were good I missed the crispy skin. Also we tried the okonomiyaki, I have none other to compare it to but I thought it was great, smoky with the bonito and great crunch

It probably is.  And one of these days I'll order drumsticks as well.

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Was in the Arlington location getting my socks knocked off with my first KBC experience. Echo the praise for the Pork Buns. Well worth it. I also enjoyed a mixed order of wings and legs. Oddly the "wings" are a mix of wings and small drumsticks. The "legs" are HUGE. I will be sticking with just the wing order next time. Alternating back and forth from hot to soy and ginger seemed like a perfect compromise.

Also, they WERE giving out the wifi password yesterday at least.

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The "legs" are HUGE. I will be sticking with just the wing order next time. 

The legs at the Arlington location are much larger than any Bon Chon I've been to - also much larger than Chi Mc (in the original Annandale Bon Chon location). I've noticed this twice in the past few months, and much prefer the smaller legs I've had in the past (higher ratio of crispy skin to middling meat).

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A new Bon Chon is opening (has opened?) In Annandale in the former Suldoga location -- the place with the golden cow on the sign in the Giant parking lot. I had just finished shopping when I noticed it and needed to get home and unload or I would have stopped in.

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The new Bon Chon in Annandale opened last Wednesday. Escoffier and I ordered a large size strips (20 pcs - $21.95) with half soy garlic and half hot sauce. It took around 30 minutes and I am not sure if the quality is same because we didn't eat drumsticks or wings. I wish the texture was crispier but the flavor is good.

The place is spacious and clean. The service is very attentive. One thing, there is only one complimentary dish - pickled radish.  :(

Something slowly comes to my mind... maybe $20 Tuesday here?

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Had some take out from the Fairfax location, which had been renovated since my last visit over a year ago. My order was for a 20 piece portion, half soy garlic and half hot sauce. The soy garlic was as I recalled, very good, but the hot sauce was not as hot. Is there a spicy level variance at the different locations or have they changed the recipe?  

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Had some take out from the Fairfax location, ...The soy garlic was as I recalled, very good, but the hot sauce was not as hot. Is there a spicy level variance at the different locations or have they changed the recipe?  

Agree 100%. I thought I was just acclimating, but even just a year ago I posted a picture of myself on Facebook with tears running down my face from the hot version. Not so much anymore. I still can tell I ate lots of spice the next day (TMI?!), but it's not as hot as it used to be. I'm guessing they're dumbing down for the masses.

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Agree 100%. I thought I was just acclimating, but even just a year ago I posted a picture of myself on Facebook with tears running down my face from the hot version. Not so much anymore. I still can tell I ate lots of spice the next day (TMI?!), but it's not as hot as it used to be. I'm guessing they're dumbing down for the masses.

Does Bon Chon Chicken offer commonality of product to all its owners? (Is it a chain, or a franchise, and does it even matter?) For example, if *every* location has nuclear-sized drumsticks (larger in size, poorer in final quality) now, then they are probably offering a single product across-the-board; if it's only Rosslyn that does, then there are discrepancies between location (how this can be turned into a larger, more general, conversation about chains, franchises, and distribution methods, rather than just about Bon Chon Chicken's products, is obvious). Nevertheless, I'm only asking this specific question.

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For the first time ever, Bon Chon Chicken has been downgraded from Italic in the Dining Guide.

I don't understand this. Why would you downgrade every location based on the decision of one, on a single occasion (as far as we know), to offer a more generous portion?

In any event, I've always assumed that "Bon Chon" was more of a licensing arrangement than a franchise. The various outlets pay for the use of the name, logo, and recipes, but there's not a uniform distributor from which they all must buy and each operator is therefore given some leeway with the final product.

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