BonChon Chicken - Korean fast food in Annandale, VA

7215 Columbia Pike
Annandale, VA 22003
Tel:(703) 914-1415

The first time we tried BonChon Chicken Wings was at the Northern Virginia Magazine's Chicken Wings NoVa Wars.  They were so flavorful, so perfectly baked and the spicy wings were way out of this world terrific, that we just had to follow our taste buds to their Annandale location.

BonChon is a modern Korean fast food joint with several large TVs and a full bar in the heart of Korea Town in Annandale.  Its staff is all young Koreans, though our waiter seemed to be so brand spanking new, our service was quite underwhelming. The bright spot in the service area was a server named Israel, who not only served most of our food, but also refilled our water and asked if everything was ok.  Kudos to Israel!

Though their website seems to be down for quite a while now, one of the nice things that BonChon offers is a calorie count of all its dishes, including wings. The wings are not cheap; they are about average at $1.30 per wing, regardless whether you get a mix of wings and drumsticks, drumsticks only or boneless strips. We got the ones were remembered as being fantastic - Soy Garlic and Spicy. Definitely worth the visit!

Looking around, most everyone in the restaurant was feasting on piles and piles of wings. Needless to say, come here for the wings. The other stuff was...  well, it wasn't nearly as good as the wings.  

The banchan served along with our food at BonChon consisted of sweet cole slaw and mild crunchy pickled radish cubes. Eaten alone, they were bland. But when snacked on in-between the fiery or garlicky wings, they gained a lot more appreciation!

The two entrees we ordered, pictured and described below, were good. Korean food doesn't skimp on flavors, so almost anything you get will be good.

But BonChon Chicken is all about the WINGS, and this is definitely a reason to return!

Oh, by the way, an added bonus was that you do not walk out of the restaurant smelling like the kitchen.  This is not a Korean BBQ place where you leave wearing the smell of all the food on the menu. It is a bright and airy restaurant with great exhaust, large windows and modern furniture.  There is just really no reason not to check it out. 

 Complimentary sweet cole slaw and the mildest crunchiest pickled radish we ever tasted

 Medium Combo of 10 bonessless chicken strips - 5 Soy Ginger and 5 Spicy $12.95

 Bull Dak entree - spicy chicken stirfried with rice cakes in fiery sauce topped wth thinly sliced scallions and melted cheese, served with steamed white rice on the side $12.95

Chicken Katsu entree - breaded chicken cutlet served on a bed of steamed rice, drizzled with "katsu" sauce and spicy mayo $11.95

Kenji Fusion - Bailey’s Crossroads, VA

3539 South Jefferson St 
Bailey's Crossroads, VA 22041
703-575-8811
 

Coconut Herring???

Before you head over to the Asian Fusion restaurant Kenji Fusion in the Skyline/Bailey’s Crossroads neighborhood of Falls Church, consider this exchange between Frasier and Niles in the old sitcom Frasier*:

Niles: Frasier, I hope you're free tonight. I just secured a table at the most exclusive new restaurant in Seattle.

Frasier: I'm sorry - just not in the mood.

Niles: At least hear me out - this place is the hottest new thing in fusion cuisine.

Frasier: What cuisines are being fused?

Niles: Polynesian and Scandanavian. It's called "Mahalo-Valhalla."

Frasier: Well, perhaps there's a reason why God put those two countries so far apart.

Niles: I had my doubts too. But my gourmet newsletter gave three-and-a-half whisks to their coconut herring.

I quote this show because its further proof I am not a big fan of fusion restaurants. The old adage, “if you can do one thing well, stick with it. The more you add, the more washed out it becomes.” I think Kenji Fusion is evidence of this adage. In and around the NoVA dining scene there are really good Chinese, good Japanese, good Korean, good Thai, etc. Search this blog, or Yelp, or other reviewers and you’ll find them. IMHO, when each of the continent’s menus are fused, it takes a lot of guts, skill, and knowledge to pull it off. Kenji Fusion comes close, the food is OK, but what drops its bar is in its service and décor—both are nice, but fall way short of what a restaurant should be. If Niles’ gourmet newsletter gave three-and-a-half whisks to their coconut herring, then we give 2 whisks to Kenji Fusion.
 

Let’s start with the food simply because it was the only part of the meal that was acceptable. Savvy readers may want to skip this section and proceed directly to the décor and service below. Our orders consisted of several Japanese rolls (Philadelphia Rolls, California Rolls, Tempura Shrimp Rolls, Sweet Potato Rolls—oh wait, the Tempura Shrimp and Sweet Potato Rolls never showed up—more on that later). These rolls were “ok”, but I think a Japanese sushi house could do them much better. Our entrées consisted of Singapore Noodles, Chicken Tempura (never showed up—more on that later), Ginger Tofu with Veggies, and Chicken Teriyaki. All of our entrées passed the taste test, but because they were served out of order and some entrées came out late, detracted from the experience. Again, more on that later.

So you probably are here because you skipped the paragraph on the food. That’s ok,

because this is where the review really begins. Finding a place to start is difficult, so we’ll start with the décor as that is always the first impression. Kenji Fusion’s décor tries. Tries real hard, but fails miserably and ends up being very cheesy. Booths are huge, poorly lit, and very uncomfortable as the tables are so narrow that in order to eat you must sit at the edge of the bench. Great ideas in an open floor plan but too much thought on conveying a contemporary atmosphere and not enough though on diner comfort. The lighting is a too-dark mixture constructed with a back-light behind crystal glass balls. Makes for an interesting scheme, however, the gradual color reflections from one color to the next makes reading a menu extremely difficult. TVs showing sporting events and CNN were way out of place and distracted from the entire experience. Maybe limit the TVs to just the bar area?
 

On to the service at Kenji Fusion. OMG, how bad can service be? Order a sushi roll you’re likely to see a coconut herring delivered. OK, our guy may have been new, but he was inattentive, lacked experience (and a command of English), and did not understand the basics of dining service. Nothing could warn us more since he was very attentive on the front-end as we previewed the menu. He came by at least twice before we were ready to order ensuring we knew and understood the drink menu. Our dining companions noticed his elaborate square drawn out on his notepad, but that’s where the organization stopped. We purposely went slow through our order and “hoped” he would get it right.

We ordered two soups and four sushi rolls as starters. The soups arrived soon enough, but only two sushi rolls ever showed up. The menu states that avocado, crab sticks, etc. can be added to any roll order (for an additional charge), imagine our frustration when we ordered a sweet potato roll with extra avocado and had to argue with the waiter to convince him that the menu actually does say this is possible. Since the roll never came, we will never know if the extra was conveyed to the sushi chef. Did our starters (rolls, salads, etc.) actually start the meal? Hardly. Yes, soups came out first (believe it or not, the ONLY thing on our order that came out as ordered and were quite good), but they were followed by a mish-mash of screwed up orders.
 

You’ll have to follow closely here, because this actually happened to one of our diners: Food ordered—tempura shrimp roll (for app) and tempura chicken meal with Miso soup. What came to the diner? The soup, yes. But an entrée of tempura shrimp (with no roll). Ugh.

Three entrées arrived for the four of us with one forgotten about. We waited about 10 minutes for our Chicken – err – Tofu with vegetables to arrive. Yes, ordered tofu, but chicken came out. Obviously another error that was about as messed up as the rest of the service. I could go on-and-on, but you should be getting the point by now.

As with most fusion-type places, there is an attraction to serving a hybrid of different cuisines. If Mom wants Korean, Dad wants Chinese, and the kids want sushi, perhaps a place like Kenji Fusion works. But works only if comfort and service are not high on your list of dining needs. I’ll pass on the coconut herring.


* FRASIER. “Sweet Dreams” written by Jay Kogen, directed by Sheldon Epps. Original Airdate on NBC: 19th May 1998.

Palace Garden Korean Restaurant, Annandale, VA

Palace Garden
7131 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003 
(703) 256-9292

If it wasn't for a deal offered by Groupon or Specialicious (can't remember which coupon we had), we would never have tried this place. Getting deals like these is definitely an incentive to try a new place. The food was great. All the dishes we ordered, including seaweed salad, avocado salad, Beef Soon Doo Boo, Seasoned Korean Chicken BBQ, an assortment of sushi, and the wide assortment of small typical Korean "banchan" side dishes were delicious. They were fresh, tasty and plentiful.

Unfortunately, the service made us feel less less than welcomed. The waiter's favorite word seemed to be "no," regardless of what we asked. The restaurant was clearly shorthanded on wait staff, so a waiter and two others who appeared to be his helpers were running around between tables, with barely enough time to stir the food on the BBQ or refill waters. Requests to make a dish more spicy was met with at least several "no's" and a request to take a photo of our table was also declined because he had to run to another table. It was hot and stuffy in the restaurant, the exhaust systems were definitely not working properly.

We had a great time with our friends, as always, because after all, it's the company and the food that make a great evening. Our advice: if you like Korean food, but don't care about the service, this is not a bad place. But for an all-around better experience, almost any other Korean restaurant in Annandale would be better.

Joong Mi, Annandale, VA

7630 Little River Turnpike

Annandale, VA 22003

(703) 658-2030

Joong Mi (no website, sorry) is probably a very typical Korean restaurant—if it were in the suburbs of Seoul.  Having been exposed to high-end or Korean cuisine that caters to westerners, what we were expecting was not what was delivered.  The best way to describe our experience is that it is more “home-style” than what you may be used to.  The most telling feature of Joong Mi is that it is about as difficult to explain as it is to find.

First off, don’t rely on GPS or paper maps.  Joong Mi is in the basement of a 1970-era office building off the Little River Turnpike on the back side of another popular Korean restaurant, Yechon.   After calling for further directions, we stumbled upon a knocked over Joong Mi sign (it was very windy that day).  We walked down the stairs and were greeted by a very pleasant staff.  They seated us in a very open, non-descript dining room surrounded by post (and we mean VERY POST) Christmas decorations (it is February) and a large flat screen blaring a Korean game show.  The menu, doubling as a placemat was difficult to parse through being written mostly in Korean. 

We asked the server for suggestions and eventually were able to narrow down our dining selections.  We expected to order a few main dishes and the customary sides of kim che, pickled veggies, and the like, but were disappointed to learn that was not the offering at Joong Mi.  We did get a simple side of an unknown pickled fruit.  Our orders consisted of Kan Poong-Sal, Jam Bong, and Chicken Broccoli; however, we can’t really tell you which one was which.

Even though there was another family dining that at first glance was probably from South America, this restaurant pretty much caters to a more Korean diner.  Our best recommendation is to try Joong Mi (중미반점) and take the server’s suggestion for dining.  Chances are you’ll like what is served, and if you’re feeling adventurous and want to experience a meal as if it was served in a suburb of Seoul, try Joong Mi.  If you’d rather stick to something that caters more to a western dining experience, there is a host of great Korean dining in the Annandale area.

The Ultimate Chicken Bistro, Falls Church, VA

7263 Arlington Blvd (Rt 50)
 Falls Church VA 22042

We went to the Ultimate Chicken Bistro (or the more trendy “UCB”) with friends on a Saturday night, prompted by a Groupon and a recommendation. UCB is a small, basic storefront in the Loehmann's plaza strip mall. In a nutshell, the food selection was limited (hence the appropriate name), the food itself was not bad, and the service was ok.

The chicken gumbo (soup of the day) was spicy, flavorful and good. Great appetizer portion.

The popcorn chicken with garlic glaze (option to have it with or without garlic glaze) was pretty good, as good as popcorn chicken can be...., and the two tomato sauces (one spicy one mild) that accompanied it in small plastic containers were relatively tasty.

The chicken parmesan was ok, not great.

The teriyaki / tempaniaki and the bulgogi bento box were plentiful, but not great.

Our friends seemed to like the chicken wings.

We can't remember everything that we and our friends had. The best part about this dinner, like with any dinner, was the company of friends!

Oh, and the wine selection was relatively decent.

The place was ok for what it is, but not worth returning to.

Koi Asian Bistro, Vienna, VA *** CLOSED ***

8413 Old Courthouse Rd

Vienna, VA

(703) 394-5205

*** CLOSED ***

Koi Asian Bistro occupies the old Ega Restaurant space in the back of a small strip mall near the corner of Chain Bridge Rd and Old Courthouse Dr. in Vienna.  We’re starting this entry with the location of this Tyson’s Corner gem because if you don’t know it’s there, you’ll never find it.  Once you’ve found the place, you’ll soon discover that the food, the service, and the price make the search worth it for some really good Asian cuisine. 

We’ve been to Koi for lunch twice and had the buffet.  Although tucked away in a far corner of the restaurant, the buffet was fully stocked with a cross-section of treats from various Asian cultures.  There are few surprises on the buffet:  A rich pumpkin broth, some typical wonton soup, samples of tempuras, fried rices, dishes that were plentiful, fresh and tasty.  The trays of sushi were also plentiful; if a bit typical with avocado and crab stick California maki rolls, and nigiri pieces (salmon, yellowtail, ebi, and tuna) that were all fresh and served with the standard staples of pickled ginger and wasabe.  

The serving staff was the real draw to Koi.  An attentive, knowledgeable, and pleasant minded staff seemed to take a few steps beyond what would be considered normal service.  Water glasses were kept full; plates bearing the remnants of a previous trip were bussed immediately before the new plate of goodness arrived from the buffet. They checked on us during the meal and her sense of pride was evident as she talked about the genesis of her restaurant.

Koi does a great job making a rather large space seem personal and intimate.  Several private dining rooms that hold about 8 – 10 diners line three larger rooms with open tables and booths.  Each table is equipped with a Gogigui grill (Gogigui literally means "meat + roasting"), the Korean style built-in grill for roasting meats.  A fourth larger room in the back of the restaurant is reserved for large parties that can hold about 80 – 100.  This room even comes with a karaoke machine for guest’s entertainment.  Bathrooms are very clean. 

We have not yet ordered directly from the menu, but some friends recently visited Koi for a first account of some menu items.  Here are their comments: 

“We ate there with our bridge club on Friday night and were all very pleasantly surprised at how nice it was.   And the food is good, too.   Our dinners included decaffeinated green tea, miso broth, a small salad, entrée, and a sample of their “ice cream with rice skin”.   Wow!    We ordered the honey/butter sweet potato appetizer and it was wonderful and had the blackened cod which we enjoyed.   We also had the chicken with vegies, but the sauce contained shell fish.   So she took it away and brought us the dish without the sauce.   We were very pleased with the place.” 

The next time you have a yearning for some good Asian food and can’t decide on the rich variety of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai cuisines in the Northern Virginia area head out to Koi and get some of the best from all the Asian cuisines. 

Woo Lae Oak, Vienna, VA

8247 Leesburg Pike (Rt. 7)

Vienna, VA 22182

703-827-7300

Woo Lae Oak is high end dining.  It is a total experience that is prepared, served and appropriately billed at a dining level above the normal neighborhood Korean fare.  Woo Lae Oak is the latest of a handful of Korean restaurants we’ve been to in the northern Virginia area and while it is upscale and refined, we seem to be more fond of the lesser decorated, but similar quality food we sampled at other Korean places.

The service was as expected in a place of this caliber.  The servers were attentive and explained the menu sufficiently.  We started with appetizers that included seafood tempura and seaweed salad.  These dishes, while more Japanese than Korean, were on par with what we’ve sampled at other Japanese restaurants.  Bill ordered the braised beef short ribs.  This dish came fully prepared and was cooked to perfection.  The tender and flavorful meat with hints of Asian spice just fell off the bone.   Elena ordered the beef bulgogi.  This meat was brought to us raw and the wait staff patiently turned the meat on the embedded grill in the table’s center until it was perfectly cooked.  The bulgogi was tender and flavorful.  The entrees were accompanied by sticky rice and the half dozen endless servings of side dishes that while mostly pickled were varied and tasty.  The portions there are a bit deceiving as none of the portions seemed large but we did not walk away hungry. 

A side note about the table grill:  Our experiences in Korean restaurants usually resulted in wearing the smells of the restaurant home in our clothes.  Woo Lae Oak’s exhaust system (built into the side of the grill instead of an overhead fan) pulled the smoke and smell downward from the side of the grill.  This was quite a nice feature.  Bottom line is that this is an expensive restaurant and we’re not quite sure if the price is commensurate with the food.  It was reasonable with a Groupon, but the next time we’re looking for some place to satisfy our Korean cravings we’ll probably head back to Annandale.