What I thought initially was that KyoChon maybe a tad too late to enter the Korean-style chicken wings competition. FYI, BonChon and Four Fingers have started here for quite some time with BonChon in particular have set foot firmly in Jakarta. Even so, the descending of KyoChon to Indonesia brings a fresh competition all over again!
That’s exactly what I saw when I finally had the chance to visit its current one and only store in Indonesia at Pacific Place shopping mall. Although awkwardly situated within a rank of restaurants on the fourth floor, KyoChon successfully drew a lot of attention – partly perhaps with its wax statue of Siwon of Super Junior boyband in front of the store.
But let’s not waste the time discussing about pop idols, but instead with the beautiful fried chicken. The chicken got the same treatment like those applied at both BonChon and Four Fingers – no fat, uses canola oil, smeared with sauces, and fried upon order. Of course, what makes KyoChon different than the rest would be the formula and the menu. For instance, BonChon prepares two types of chicken – standard and hot, while KyoChon has more abroad but three here – savory, hot, and honey.
During my last trip, I suggested that three of us should have twenty chicken wings – 10 from the hot Red Series and 10 from the standard series. For those of you who would rather have that KFC formula of chicken and rice with beverage, you can also pick that from the menu but I have to warn you that Korean-style fried chicken differentiates themselves from American fried chicken even from the pricing, thanks mostly to their ‘fried upon order’ standard.
So the serving time becomes longer but what you’ll have in front of you are the freshly fried crispy chicken with brave flavors and healthier. Our chicken we ate there proved that factors too and I enjoyed it all thoroughly.
For comparison, I liked the balanced recipe of BonChon’s spicy wings better than KyoChon’s although it has more of fruity freshness from the sauce and hotter here. As for the standard one, I like it vice versa because as you may already knew, I’m into savory food more than anyone and can stand upon the heat from peppers but not from chillies though. KyoChon’s savory wings were a good treat for me!
Well, KyoChon proves that the competition is far from over and we’ll see more of them coming in shopping malls to fight the bitter war against its worldwide rival BonChon. For us food lovers, it’s actually beneficial because that way we can have more options to satisfy our fried chicken cravings and to enhance our palates.
So which one do you like better?
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KYOCHON
Halal-friendly (cannot be certified – sells beer)
Unsuitable for vegetarians
Address:
Pacific Place – Lvl 4
Jalan Jend. Sudirman Kav. 52-53, Jakarta – Indonesia
Opening Hours: Mall opening hours
Delivery: 500-566
Website: http://www.kyochon-indonesia.com
Facebook: Kyochon Indonesia
Twitter: @kyochon_id
Spend: Around IDR 50,000 – IDR 100,000 for two
RIAN FARISA 