[Restaurant Review]: Chosun Chicken Lahug

If you have been following, or at least been reading, my blog, you may know my fascination with South Korea and anything related to the country.  Heck, I even thought I’d relocate there soon!  But that’s another story.

I’ve been hanging out with my high school friends even after our latest getaway two weekends ago.  My friends have this knack in finding the latest or the newest hangout or restaurant in town.  My friend MicMic had already shared on Facebook how delicious the food was in Chosun Chicken.  In fact, the last time the group got together (sans yours truly), they all trooped to Chosun Chicken.  And yes, they flooded my wall with photos of the delicious-looking fried chicken and with comments on how delicious the chicken really was.  Now, that really peaked my curiosity.  Is it really that great a place to go to?  And is the fried chicken really delicious as they say it is?  I’m about to find out for myself.

I did my little research on the place.  Chosun Chicken or 조선 치킨 in Hangul, has three locations in Cebu City: Mango Avenue, Veteran’s Drive in Lahug, and Foodland in Banilad. The only deciding factor in choosing the Lahug branch was convenience.  Besides, all three share the same menu.

Having tasted Korean fried chicken from three different chicken places in Korea during my last visit there, I had this sudden craving for the crispy Korean fried chicken.  And who else should I drag with me to try this place out if not for my Korea-travel buddy Liza!  This would be the second time since we got back that we meet again for dinner.

It was around 7PM when got to the place.  It’s just a small yellow house-like structure with french windows.  I was almost disappointed when I saw the sign by the window saying “Sorry we’re CLOSED”.  I had to ask the guard, who told us that they were open and that the sign was flipped ‘accidentally’.  Whew!  What a relief!

Liza and I chose to sit by the door.  The table was set for two, while the rest of the tables were for groups.  The menu was written both in Korean and English languages and had photos in them plus a short description of each dish.  Of course, I knew what I was getting.  I was wondering if they also did the basket with two kinds of fried chicken dishes like they did in Korea.

I had wanted to get their signature dish, Chosun Chicken, as well as the spicy Gochu Chicken, but didn’t want to pay P550 for each order.  The waitress said that I can definitely get half serving of the Chosun and half of the Gochu Chicken for the same price of P550.  Yay!

Liza also wanted to get something else – soup or side dish.  Although she isn’t really into spicy Korean food, she decided that we get the Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew).  As with other Korean restaurants, we were served side dishes as well.  We were served the radish pickles (or 무), kimchi, cole slaw and fried egg.

When the Kimchi Jjigae was served, I was surprised at how big the serving was.  It was good enough for at least four people!  At P300, I’ll say it is worth it.

The Jjigae was placed on top of a portable butane stove to keep it hot.  The stove was occupying most of our table now that the waitress had to drag another table to connect to ours.

While in Korea, my friend laughed when we were pairing our Korean fried chicken with rice.  He looked at us incredulously before muttering, “Chicken and rice?!  They don’t match!”  Our reply was, “It’s Filipino style!”  Hahaha

We were surprised now when the waitress told us that the half order of chicken included a serving of rice, so we were already getting two servings.  Then my friend’s statement replayed in my mind.  Hahaha  Oh well, it’s Filipino style.

We were the only customers there.  Maybe it’s also because it was raining and a weekday, but I must say that I liked the experience even more.  The waitress was attentive and was all smiles when she faced us.  My voice, as well as Liza’s filled the small dining area as we talked and laughed about our adventures and misadventures in Korea, and the different flavors we encountered there.

We even got a souvenir photo!  Even before we placed our orders, the waitress asked us if it was okay for her to take our photos for the Wall (there were corkboards with Instax photos on the wall) and for their Facebook page.  Our answer was a unanimous ‘yes’.

The place wasn’t a new building, as previously mentioned, it was like a converted house, but it was clean.  The restrooms were clean, dry and smelled good.  The boys’ restroom was separate from the girls’.  And that’s a good thing.

Liza and I agreed that we were so full – with the food and the stories we just shared.

As mentioned before, there are two other branches of Chosun Chicken, both bigger than the Lahug branch.  This review is specific only to the Lahug branch and I will still have to visit the other two.

As I wrote on our souvenir photo we left on the ‘Wall’: “Great Food! Great Service!” sums it up.

Koreyum at the Robinson’s Cybergate Mall Cebu

November 22 — My sister and I just came from a long commute to and from an apartment in Guadalupe we were hoping to move in to.  Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out.  We were quite exhausted from the long commute due to heavy traffic.

At first we decided to eat at the Siomai place in Fuente.  But since we walked past Robinson’s Cybergate Mall, I changed my mind and opted to try the Korean restaurant ‘Koreyum’.

It’s a quaint little restaurant with about 4 tables inside, and a few more outside the shop.  The waitresses are dressed in fitting white shirts and short ruffled plaid skirts.  On its wall, a huge mural of Lee Min-ho (as Gu Jun-pyo in Boys Before Flowers), and three other actors in traditional garb (probably posing as characters in period dramas), like Jumong.

The menu consists of two laminated A3-sized colored sheets.  One showed the breakfast offering, while the other showed the restaurant’s usual offerings.

My sister is not really into the Asian fare.  No matter how I asked her to choose, she refused to do so.  I noticed that they had Ddeokbokki, Bibimbap, Gimbap, but didn’t see the usual Samgyeupsal.

I also noticed that they served the side dishes at P40 – P70 a plate.  I asked the waitress if they don’t serve free side dishes (okay, so the real Korean restaurants we’ve been to spoil us a lot with this).  She informed us that they do, but just a little kimchi.  And she wasn’t kidding when she said, ‘LITTLE’.  She gave us a small saucedish-filled with kimchi.

I ordered the Doejibulgogi (with rice) for my sister, while I had the Bibimbap, with the gochujang on the side.  It’s been a while since I had Bibimbap, that’s why I decided to get it.

The Doejibulgogi came first, and it was served in a big bowl, almost looking like a rice topping (according to my sister).  My Bibimbap came about 5 minutes later in a sizzling ceramic pot.  I tried my sister’s meal first (hehehe!) and it was good, but not great.

My Bibimbap had fried egg on top, some pickled radish, zucchinis, carrots, a little ground beef and bean sprouts.  Some of the rice and vegetables were burnt from the sizzling plate.

The food didn’t impress my sister.  It didn’t impress me either.  I would still stick to my usual Korean hangouts for good authentic Korean food.

We paid P420 for the Doejibulgogi, Bibimbap and two cans of soda.