77 Kentucky (Los Angeles, CA)
77 Kentucky Chicken Restaurant
698 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005
213.263.2686
Mon 07/25/2016, 08:10p-10:55p
Koreatown's newest fried chicken joint landed on April 9th inside the Vermont Plaza complex that houses perennial K-town favorite Kobawoo House, taking over the former spot of BBQ Chicken (now at 6th and Kenmore). Chilchilkenteoki is the first US outpost of a chain of restaurants founded back in 1977, and apparently specializes in Busan-style fried chicken.
Menu-wise, you get nine variations on fried chicken, most of which are available in half-order portions. There's also a smattering of sides, along with soft drinks to wet your whistle. Click for larger versions.
Crunchy, tangy chicken mu (pickled radish) was provided of course.
Garlic Chicken (Bone-in Half Order) [$9.75] | Garlic chicken mixed freshly ground garlic sauce
We ended up going with a half-n-half order to start. The Garlic was a table favorite. I found it slightly sweet at first, but then the punch of garlic really kicked in and lingered long and strong. I got a satisfying crunch on the batter too.
To provide a sense of scale, here we see a full order of chicken in relation to a human head.
Hot Spicy Chicken (Bone-in Half Order) [$9.75] | Hot spicy chicken mixed with spicy sauce with red pepper
The Hot Spicy lived up to its name with its mixture of sweetness and persistent, slow-burning heat. Fries were pretty standard, but worked as a contrast.
A complementary serving of shredded cabbage provided a bit of balance to the meal.
Original Chicken [$19.50] | 70's original chicken is lightly battered with mild taste
The signature Original Chicken was a highlight. Containing dark meat only, it was definitely more of an old-school preparation, with a thin, crisp batter that really allowed the juiciness and flavor of the bird to shine.
Sweet & Spicy Chicken (Boneless Half Order) [$10.00] | Sweet & spicy sauce mixed with chicken, everybody who can enjoys
The classic yangnyeom preparation hit all the right notes with its marriage of spicy and sweet.
Corn Salad [$2.99]
A corn salad was light and refreshing, though tiny.
Fried Chicken (Boneless Half Order) [$9.50] | Old fried chicken is crispy outside and moist inside
An unflavored version made for a purer expression of chicken, and worked well with a dab of the provided sweet-hot sauce and even better with a touch of salt-and-pepper.
Chinese Chicken (Boneless Half Order) [$10.50] | Chinese chicken roasted in frying pan with sweet and spicy sauce
Last up was the Chinese-inspired chicken, another standout. It was perhaps the most balanced of the bunch, with a delectable mix of sweet, spicy, and savory kkanpunggi flavors.
I think we were all pleasantly surprised by this place, and I will say that this was some of the better Korean fried chicken I've had in a while. Definitely worth a shot if you're craving the stuff.
698 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005
213.263.2686
Mon 07/25/2016, 08:10p-10:55p
Koreatown's newest fried chicken joint landed on April 9th inside the Vermont Plaza complex that houses perennial K-town favorite Kobawoo House, taking over the former spot of BBQ Chicken (now at 6th and Kenmore). Chilchilkenteoki is the first US outpost of a chain of restaurants founded back in 1977, and apparently specializes in Busan-style fried chicken.
Menu-wise, you get nine variations on fried chicken, most of which are available in half-order portions. There's also a smattering of sides, along with soft drinks to wet your whistle. Click for larger versions.
Crunchy, tangy chicken mu (pickled radish) was provided of course.
Garlic Chicken (Bone-in Half Order) [$9.75] | Garlic chicken mixed freshly ground garlic sauce
We ended up going with a half-n-half order to start. The Garlic was a table favorite. I found it slightly sweet at first, but then the punch of garlic really kicked in and lingered long and strong. I got a satisfying crunch on the batter too.
To provide a sense of scale, here we see a full order of chicken in relation to a human head.
Hot Spicy Chicken (Bone-in Half Order) [$9.75] | Hot spicy chicken mixed with spicy sauce with red pepper
The Hot Spicy lived up to its name with its mixture of sweetness and persistent, slow-burning heat. Fries were pretty standard, but worked as a contrast.
A complementary serving of shredded cabbage provided a bit of balance to the meal.
Original Chicken [$19.50] | 70's original chicken is lightly battered with mild taste
The signature Original Chicken was a highlight. Containing dark meat only, it was definitely more of an old-school preparation, with a thin, crisp batter that really allowed the juiciness and flavor of the bird to shine.
Sweet & Spicy Chicken (Boneless Half Order) [$10.00] | Sweet & spicy sauce mixed with chicken, everybody who can enjoys
The classic yangnyeom preparation hit all the right notes with its marriage of spicy and sweet.
Corn Salad [$2.99]
A corn salad was light and refreshing, though tiny.
Fried Chicken (Boneless Half Order) [$9.50] | Old fried chicken is crispy outside and moist inside
An unflavored version made for a purer expression of chicken, and worked well with a dab of the provided sweet-hot sauce and even better with a touch of salt-and-pepper.
Chinese Chicken (Boneless Half Order) [$10.50] | Chinese chicken roasted in frying pan with sweet and spicy sauce
Last up was the Chinese-inspired chicken, another standout. It was perhaps the most balanced of the bunch, with a delectable mix of sweet, spicy, and savory kkanpunggi flavors.
I think we were all pleasantly surprised by this place, and I will say that this was some of the better Korean fried chicken I've had in a while. Definitely worth a shot if you're craving the stuff.
posted by kevinEats at
8:10 PM
2 Comments:
It looks like they cut the pieces pretty small, did you think there was too much bone to meat ratio? I love me some korean fried chicken.
I didn't mind the ratio, and a lot of the smaller pieces ended up being boneless, even in the bone-in orders.
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