BonChon Chicken Pattaya

[jay5335]

Bonchon's gotta be the crispiest glass shatter crust on any chicken wing i've had.  The soy garlic sauce is delicious and the spicy is too but watch out, it kicks in about a minute later. Located in Royal Garden mall right next to Burger King on beach road. Great with beer, I also did a takeaway to a beer bar and watch a game. The crust holds up to travel and was still glass shattering crispy.

[Klongwater]

Not your average fried chicken,that's for sure.

 

Had a tray of fillet pieces a few days ago,expecting tiny nuggets and strips. Was amazed to get a trough full of big lumps.

 

Skin very brittle,as mentioned above.

 

Place very popular with East Asians and hi-so's.

 

Also,not instant service....you gotta wait for the order to be cooked.

 

Great value.

[Z3n]

Yeah, they seem to be doing good work there. Have been there twice and haven't had a bad meal yet. I don't remember it being super pricey either. 

[QuotaMan]

I went there on my last trip, it was ok but I guess I'm not a particular fan of that style of chicken. The wings at Pizza Pizza taste almost the same and with same texture.

 

A bit too crispy and brittle skin for me.

[Richmond72]

It's Korean fried chicken.  Double fried to render the fat so it's crispier.  You'll notice the difference because even though it's covered in sauce, it doesn't get soggy and mushy as quickly as regular buffalo wings.  Skeeter's version of Korean fried chicken is better than BonChon, IMO.  Go to Sky Bar on Soi 6, get Skeeter liquored up and talk him into making you his version.  ;)

 

We have a few Korean fried chicken joints here in LA and I personally prefer some other versions that aren't quite as crunchy as BonChon, but have more of a moist crispness if that makes any sense.

[roger buttmore]

Have you considered buying some new shorts?

[izzyg]

Looks good. What is the white stuff? (Not the rice.)

[Kreggerz]

Pickled radish. A little sweet. Not spicy like kimchi. Goes well with their chicken. I like their spicy hot chicken choice. To me their soy garlic choice is way too sweet. 

[simguy_jp]

Looks good. What is the white stuff? (Not the rice.)

Daikon which is like a radish.

[izzyg]

Tried it a few days ago. Nice chicken, but why do they give you a tea plate to eat on instead of a full size plate?

 

Restaurant was full, but I was the only fallang guest.

 

My lunch was 400 baht, which is a bit pricy for Pattaya.

[tiptopxl]

I tried Bonchon once in Bangkok, it was the worst fried chicken I ever ate. The fried chicken I bought from the street food stalls was much more delicious. But taste can be different for everybody.

[Kreggerz]

Agree it's great chicken there but much prefer the hot flavor to the soy garlic as the latter is very, very, sweet. Their tofu soups are good too. Not the cheapest place, no, but fun for a small splurge. I suggest the chicken legs.

[baddog666]

I love it...again, not cheap...but you get what you pay for... locations in most large shopping malls in Bangkok as well as Royal Garden Pattaya

 

[matrix123]

I have been in Bon Chon Pattaya a couple times early this year and just a couple months ago. It seems it was better early this year. In Novemeber, I ordered hot flavour but it was not hot and not crispy.

[just hanging]

I like their chicken strips and their salad dressing is great

[george26]

I had BonChon in BKK and it was fantastic. I've always love fried chicken and never had Korean style. The restaurant was full but I ordered some takeaway. Had a sweet taste but was incredibly succulent. 

[Kreggerz]

I just went this weekend. It was very crowded. Everyone else was Thai. The service was poor because they were crowded. I ordered the HOT 3 chicken legs and spicy tofu soup with pork dumplings. The legs have never been hot enough, but OK, and I also noticed not as crispy as before. Also served not directly from cooking (temperature was too cold for that) so I suspect either stored pre-cooked stuff or perhaps they waited on the soup. I still like it well enough but next time I will go when they're empty. Also a while back I talked to a manager about the HOT being not HOT enough and he said there was only one sauce from the franchise, but that if I could talk to him, he could add some more special hot powder sometime in the process. He understood the complaint. But you'd have to find him to ask. I doubt a normal waitress could deal with a special request.

[striderman]

bonchon is on the site of what was au bon pain royal garden plaza  beach rd side

[Wolf Cat]

Fried chicken is not hard to make at home, for extra crispy, just add some baking powder and cornstarch to the flour mixture.

[Kreggerz]

Korean style fried chicken is a very specific thing. Not generally made at home. It started as a bar food.

[matrix123]

The "skin" of the Bon Chon chicken is different than the crispy chicken you got from KFC, Hardee's or what you make at home. It is very thin and "brittle".

[Richmond72]

As I mentioned above, it's Korean fried chicken.  The chicken is fried twice so the fat gets rendered and you get a different texture.

 

Here's an old New York Times article about Korean fried chicken back when it started becoming popular in LA and NYC:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/dining/07fried.html

[Kreggerz]

Yeah it's very special when it's done right.

After my recent experience, I'm starting to wonder if something changed there. 

[matrix123]

I was in San Francisco a few months ago. The Bon Chon there is really good. Actually the one I went is located is a small city called South San Francisco right next to San Francisco. Better than the one in Pattaya.

[Kreggerz]

That's interesting. I believe the manager when he says they use the same flavor mixes for the chicken in all the franchise stores. But that doesn't mean they have to same people cooking it!