Bon Korean Chicken

Delivery arrived cold and the chicken was burnt to a crisp. When I called to complain the staff was extremely rude. I will never order from here again.

Prior to BonChon, I never had Korean fast-​food, let alone their fried chicken.
Note to self: try Korean food more. Like A LOT more.
These crispy-​little-​fryers are soooooo damn good, and so moist when you bite into them.
I had the mixed set to-​go (it’s wings and drumsticks), and chose spicy. There’s a wonderful delay to the party in your mouth when you bite into the spicy ones (those who’ve had it know what I’m referring to). The spicy kick you get is definitely awesome. Tastes good by itself, or with rice.
In short:
— If you’ve never had a BonChon chicken, then remedy that. FAST.
— If you don’t eat fast-​food, this will fix that.
— If you’re a vegan, this will fix that too.
When I’m in the neighborhood, I make sure I get my BonChon on. Don’t cha wanna too?!

A lot of people I know LOVES LOVES LOVES Bön Chon Chicken…
My friends CRAVES for it, I’ll eat it but fried food is really not my thing.
I know a couple of my friends raves about their Kim Chee Coleslaw — I thought it was alright not something that I would crave.
I really can’t tell the difference between all the Bön Chon chicken places — supposedly some are better than others. I think all of them tastes the same to me.

Two horrible experiences from two Korean places. I am hurting for my peoples.
My girlfriends and I had a secret santa exchange/​potluck dinner last night (I know, we’re cute) and one of the gals ordered chicken from this place instead of cooking something. While we scarfed down the other dishes, we realized the chicken was not there on our plates. We knew the chicken took a little while in general, so we waited for a little more. A little more = AN HOUR AND AN EFFING HALF. We were well on our way into our respective food comas and the chicken was STILL not here! I called to see what the status of our delivery was.
First of all, they didn’t even pick-​up the phone with the first call. And the second time I called, the most incredibly rude girl picked up the phone and when I told her the chicken I ordered almost 2 hours ago was still not here, all she said was, «oh hold on, yea it’s right here. do you still want it?» WTF?! No «sorry about that» no «we’ll throw in an extra drumstick» no «I will get it out right away» no NOTHING. I was so livid that I just told her I didn’t want it now or ever and hung up. Unbelievable.
What a major major failure.
PS: Why does Unilocal say this place is closed? I’m confused…

Get ready for a stomach ache.
Ah, my LLLONGGGG breaks between classes where one can go to discover new places because they have nothing better to do (what studying?) Bonchon chicken. The name says it all, not really.
I remember when this place opened up and your menu consisted of 3 flavors of wings and a bun… maybe some sprite on a good day.
I havent eaten here in a while but one thing that sticks to memory was the wait.
I think I could have gone to Korea and got real bonchon (whatever the hell that means) before these guys are able to get my order ready
I understand the freshness value but when your hungry, waiting 20+ minutes for fast food is not cute. The food itself isn’t that bad actually. The bun is equally as pleasing as a kfc biscuit (which is good)
Fast foward to the unbearable stomach ache in class half an hour later.

i started thinking of places that i’ve been out of state and this was one of the first that came to mind. i’m sad that there aren’t many korean fried chicken places in the DFW area. or maybe i just haven’t found one. my husband and i went to a place in dallas that we hoped would be similar to bon bon chicken, but it end up being a korean guy who fried chicken.
this was one of the places on our list when visiting ny. and it did not disappoint. there is a bit of a wait while the chicken is cooking, but it’s worth the wait. my husband and i ordered each the original and spicey version and we both liked the original version much better. served with rice… yum. the chicken arrived hot and crispy. there isn’t too much of a batter on the chicken but more like a crispy glaze. oh, man its so good. give it a try if you’re in the area.

Skip the boring non-​spicy, order on seamless instead of phone to avoid confusion
So are they really Bön Bön or Bön Chon? Cuz you can only find this place on Google Maps if you type in Bön Bön, although their signs, their box, heck, even their napkins say Bön Chon (okay, I might have fibbed about the napkins, I don’t think it has any name printed at all). But whatever the name is, it is still really good Korean Fried Chicken (KFC).
The store itself looks pretty nice, newly renovated (new flat screen TVs hanging from the ceiling used as display for their menu, although it wasn’t working properly when I was there) although a bit small. It is long enough to fit a few tables, but I don’t think you would be dining here. The reason is they say it takes 30 minutes for them to make the chicken. Having had KFC in places like Forte Baden Baden and other correctly named Bön Chon’s, I know that’s the average wait time (that one time that we got an order of drumlets in less than 10 min at a DC Bön Chon was probably cuz some one placed the wrong order and we ended up taking it).
Knowing the preparation time, I placed an order via the phone while I was on N train, 2 minutes away from losing connection cuz we were about to head into Queens tunnel. Here’s what I thought I said:
«Hi, Can I have 1 small order of non-​spicy drumsticks and 1 large order of non-​spicy wings?»
Here’s what the guy on the other end heard:
«Hi, Can I have 1 small order of non-​spicy drumsticks and 1 large order of … *crackle* … spicy wings?»
The drumsticks was my lunch (and breakfast) and the large order was for me and my friends for the Superbowl. I ordered the non-​spicy version for both because I didn’t feel like crying like a little baby (which is exactly what happened after 4 drumlets at the DC Bön Chon w/​my sister and her bf, although those were tears of joy of how insanely delicious, albeit it spicy those drumlets tasted) while I was having lunch and I wasn’t sure my friends can handle the spiciness so I decided to play it safe.
When I got there, I went up to pick up my order and pay at the counter, I was surprised that I had ordered a large order of spicy wings. I was also surprised that they take Seamless Web orders as I saw a print out of an order for 100 wings for 6 PM (no doubt for the game). That’s when I realize that he must have not heard my «non» before the spicy for the wings and I really should have placed my order online. Not one being argumentative (and having the patience to wait another 30 minutes for them to make a new batch and I was more than starving to bite in to some chicken), I just paid for the order and plopped down at a seat.
As I devoured the drumsticks like the Tasmanian devil, I realized after the 2^nd drumstick one fatal flaw in this chicken. Its bland! I mean, its good, the skin is still crispy, and the soy garlic was there, but it was almost a tinge too sweet. Without the kick of spiciness, eating each drumstick felt like driving a convertible with the top down, but not feeling any wind blowing on your face. After the 3^rd drumstick, it almost became a chore to finish, but heck, I wasn’t one to waste good chicken, unless I’m absolutely stuffed.
So while I was noshing on the drumsticks and not enjoying them a whole lot, I serendipitously realized that at least the large order of wings are spicy, and as it turns out, was really a hit w/​my friends. Yeah, they complained about the spiciness, but they also really enjoyed it, and I think that’s how Bön Chon (or Bön Bön) is suppose to be.

Him: Nicole, can you help me clean up the plates?
Me: Uuuuhhhhhh (lying on the sofa)
Him: Seriously. Are you like a white trash housewife? Help out.
Me: I. Can’t. Move. I’m. Too. Full.
Him: It’s just Korean chicken.
Me: Uuuuhhhhhh
I finally muster up enough energy to move. I put away my plate and throw out the box that I hope and pray I had help finishing. I can’t remember. I’m in a chicken coma and I don’t think I’ll be eating chicken again for a long time. Whatever. It was the Superbowl.
If loving spicy and sweet BonBon Chicken is right, then I want to be wrong.

Bonbon Chicken is very yummy! Their specialty here is Korean Fried Chicken (yes, KFC, the other kind), which is a lightly battered asian flavored coating around your standard wings and drumsticks. They have two flavors, soy ginger (sweet, non-​spicy), and spicy. I like the soy ginger better (and yes, I can handle the heat, hehe).
One negative I have about this place is that it can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes after you order your food until it will be ready (in particular, if you order KFC, it takes longer). Call in advance if you don’t want to wait, especially if you’re taking a large group of friends?
Also, beware, there are no bathrooms here to wash your hands before you grab that piece of chicken!

Being born in the south, I have a healthy respect for fried chicken. That said, I will turn in my ‘american fried chicken club’ card for another order of Bön Bön’s half spicy/​half sweet drumsticks. Free range, organic chickens. Fried to order (hence the wait). The sweet is comfortably satisfying. The spicy can make you break out in a sweat, but has a depth to it that I find lacking in other «super spicy» things.

A medium bon bon box of drumsticks or wings feeds 2. I love crispy chicken skin. It is spicy-​sweet here and served with rice. It doesn’t burn my lips as much as Kyochon but I’d like to be able to have pickled radish. They should offer other things like salad to eat with my chicken.

Having already endured multiple near-​coronaries from excessive trips to BonChon Chicken, I figured today was as good a day as any to make my first foray to BonBon Chicken.
It was actually very easy to find, since Chambers is a major thoroughfare downtown, and you can’t miss the orange and white awning. Inside, however, is quite another story. The pictures don’t lie: its very minimalist, with just orange and white. There are only four small tables for people to eat in, and these tables can fit two people comfortably, three people a little less comfortably. The menu is not extensive at all. I mean, come on, its a chicken place, what the hell else are you going to get? It’s like going to Burger King and ordering a lasanga. It just doesn’t work.
The food itself was okay, but it doesn’t compare to BonChon. The chicken at BonChon tasted a little sweeter and garlicky to me, and I got more pieces as well. I liked that I got a roll with the chicken, but I kind of wished I had some chopped up radish and potato wedges instead of the roll. Oh well…
I finally came here so now there’s no need for me to come back.

Since New York Magazine rated BonBon’s chicken quite highly, I was pretty excited to go check it out. Indeed, the chicken is great, but all other parts of the meal were subpar.
1. Atmosphere. I don’t mind hole-​in-​wall take-​out places, but this was somehow lacking.
2. Sides. Bread, really? With my Korean fried chicken? It just didn’t work. I didn’t even bother.
3. Wait times. I don’t mind waiting for good food, but the combination of lame space and long wait sucked.
4. No alcohol. What?! My Korean fried chicken – though lovely on its own – goes much better with a little soju.
If you live within their delivery area, order chicken and have it with some beer or soju. If you’re on Chambers for whatever reason and you love fried chicken, check this place out. Otherwise, check out the places in K-​town.

As I write this I realize, while I just scarfed down over $ 8.00 of their food… my stomach is still growling.
I ordered from here off of
. I ordered the small chicken strips original flavor and the seasonal greens. An hour+ later what I got was the small chicken strips sweet, a roll, and edamame… apparently John ordered this (don’t know John and he’s pissed he got my order I am sure). When I called the phone number on the receipt, it rang and rang and rang and rang, well you get the hint. I made two attempts, at this point I had waited so long for the food that my stomach was beginning to make so much noise I could barely here the ringing.
I ate it, I know, I feel guilty, but clearly they don’t give a damn, and are too busy.
The chicken was really good, I think I would have liked the original or spicy better, as I have issues with sweetened savory foods. But, over all I liked it, very light batter, chicken wasn’t dry. I barely tasted the roll because I ate it so fast (did I mention I was hungry?). It was very similar to Hawaiian style rolls, there you go. The edamame was not good, not salted, really really cold (like too cold you know), and nothing special.
I wonder what their seasonal greens taste like? Maybe I should call John and ask. Wouldn’t that be awesome if I called John, we totally hit it off on the phone, started dating, got married and then we could have BonBon Chicken cater the reception! Oh that would be fun.
I would order from them again, because the chicken was tasty. Next time I will make sure to order a larger portion and check the order before the delivery man leaves, or I could just walk there myself.
It’s only getting 3 stars because it takes so long, the edamame blew, and they messed up my order, otherwise the chicken gets a 4.

OMG. Paper friend Korean wing-​y goodness! Watch out — spicy has a decent kick. Enough to cause you to pause in your chicken enjoyment. The best thing is the bare menu and the magic window/​door in the back where your chicken comes out when it is ready.
Not much seating, but who cares?

To paraphrase the great Bard, «A rose by any other name smells just as sweet… and a chicken fried by any ol’ ethnic group is just as finger-​lickin’ good.» That’s the lesson I learned from BonBon Chicken this weekend. It was my first time trying Korean-​style fried chicken and I never discriminate when it comes to fried foods, so I was pretty eager to check this place out.
As others have noted, it is very minimal and bare inside (albeit clean), so we opted to order our chicken to go. Since there were three of us, we went for the large combo (4 drumsticks; the rest, wings), which we asked for half-​spicy, half-​mild/​sweet. We also ordered some fried shrimp just in case it wasn’t enough food (always better to have too much than too little, right?).
I was worried that the chicken would be cold by the time we got home, but they held up nicely in their little chicken boxes. Everything was still hot and crispy, not to mention very good! The spicy wings do have a nice kick to it, and there’s a heat that sometimes takes its time to reach all your taste buds. It’s still manageable, though. The mild/​sweet wings had only the slightest hint of sweetness (not like that overpoweringly sweet honey bbq crap they serve at Dallas BBQ), but it was pretty much perfect. These little wings were so tasty and had flavor right down to the bones (I gnawed ‘em clean, trust me).
The grease factor was also pretty low, which is something they have worked towards with their «healthier» approach to fried chicken. The fried shrimp was also very flavorful and crispy — and they used jumbo shrimps too! Nothing was left of those, not even the tails (poor things).
According to their delivery guy who was chillin’ while we placed our order, they do deliver in my neighborhood. So I’ll definitely have to order from them again… and again… and again. Who knew the Bard would know so much about fried birds?

I’m giving Bön Bön Chicken 1 star. Not because if the food, but because of the substandard service. I live in the area and was excited to see Bön Bön opening. We ordered one evening, about an hour prior to their posted closing time. I was advised of a 30 – 40 min delivery time. We sat and waited 30 minutes, 40 minutes… then just to check in, I call. No answer! I wait a bit and try again, still no answer. I assure my family that they probably sent the delivery guy to our place on his way home and that he’ll be here any minute. No one ever showed up with our order. I made grilled cheeses for the kids.
Later that evening I sent an email describing what had transpired to the address listed on their website. To my utter shock, someone replied within 30 minutes (this was after 11pm,) apologizing profusely, and offering a $ 50 credit to assuage our feelings. While still pretty steamed about being stiffed for the food, I thought that was a decent and proper offer for a potential regular customer. The email told me to reply with my Tel. no. so they could attach the credit to it in their system. I duly did so.
I never received a reply to that, or one future email I sent.
So the upshot is:
No food.
Offer of redemption.
Offer of redemption ignored.
Potential customer LOST.
I’m a big guy with a healthy appetite. They have no idea what they screwed up.
P. S. Visiting a friend, I actually did get a chance to try the chicken, and it was damned good. Too bad.

Do you like spicy? I do. And their spicy chicken is pretty great! Can’t beat the super-​cute bag with string handles making me feel like I just bought $ 467 worth of lip balm at Kheils. And the little folding orange and white box is straight outta Kobe, Japan. And it’s FAST! And it makes me full!
But, and this is a big but. Such a big but you could store your sweaters in it during the summer. BUT the fry aspect of the fried chicken is a little steam-​table-​ish, a little chinese-​buffet-​ish, a little 24-​hour-​deli-​ish.
So, would I go there again? YES! I love fried lunch! I just think they should bring their fare up to the level of their packaging.

«mmmm, I think I’ll have that.»
I read about this place in the NY Times recently and had to check it out, being that I’m Korean and all. Well its confirmed, the hype is indeed true. The chicken is reallly, really good. Its definitely a different taste from a trad. american style of chicken and not too pricey for the portions you get. You also get a side of slaw and bread which I didn’t think added to the enjoyment of the wings.
The wings though were very crispy with little breading and tender underneath. The flavors were not too overwhelming, but juuuusst ripe to perfection. Definitely get the spicy wings, but if you’re korean don’t expect a lot of spice.
Definitely a plus in my book. I would divulge another place where I enjoy trad. Korean Chicken, but I’m greedy.
*One thing I wish they really had was the sweet Korean radish that compliments the chicken. Aww well, maybe next time.

Oh the glorious chicken! The simple menu! The fairly nice logo design (for a chicken place)! The faster than expected delivery!
It all adds up to just plain goodness.
With a menu this simple: 3 sizes, 3 choices of chicken, 2 flavors, you really have to have confidence in what you serve. And rightfully so. With crispy skin, moist meat, and just the right amount of sauce, how could you go wrong?! YOU CAN’T!!!
Not much more to say, if you love fried chicken like I do and you’re tired of flour overload, try BonBon Chicken, you can’t go wrong.