Kyedong Chicken KFC

Kyedong Chicken is one of the main chains in the business of fried chicken. This place is all about chicken & beer. (And I didn't notice til later that those words are written right on the awning itself.)

It's fried chicken not like the KFC we know but the KFC that Koreans know about. My brother sent me a link about it once and supposedly it's very popular out in California. Steve & I found a couple of places in Queens NY and one in Manhattan and Valentine's Day seemed like a perfect day for us to try this stuff that we've only been fantasizing about.

For $18 we got a large order of wings. 15 pieces. (They actually gave us 16 but who's counting?) And they were good sized pieces. They came with shoestring french fries. (About the size of McDonald's.) We got half with soy sauce and half with hot sauce - the only two flavors available. We had a long wait with fair warning. It says right on the menu that it takes 20 minutes for a hot batch. And it's always a hot batch because this chicken doesn't sit under heat lamps. It comes to you fresh out of the fryer. Same goes for the french fries. As sides, they put out some unusual things. This place being Korean, I was not surprised that some form of kimchee type thing was put out. I think they were little cubes of turnip or radish. Unsure. I didn't taste one though I should have. They also gave you a little lettuce. I was unfamiliar with the type. I bypassed the non-meat things and went straight for the chicken.

The soy sauced wings were really good. As per Steve, they were damn good. I have no idea how they make them. I mean, they're fried. When does the sauce go on? And it couldn't have been just a few bastings after the fact. The wings were flavored too well. The soy flavor was there but it was light. It wasn't too salty or strong or too sweet like a teriyaki. And the fry job they did. Wow. You could really taste that it was chicken. And pretty good quality and well handled chicken. The meat was nice and white contrasting with the brown skin/crust. The skin was lightly crunchy and definitely crispy. There isn't a thick harsh batter as can be with some fried chickens. And despite being sauced, you didn't get it all over your fingers. The sauce is in the skin/crust. The hot sauced ones were more of the same in texture. But I didn't love it. The hot pepper (I'm assuming powder) that they used was dry tasting. I guess I don't love the flavor of red pepper or cayenne raw. I like it infused with some acid like in a good buffalo sauce. Oh, I have to say a word about beer as this is a place for beer & chicken. They sold two types of beer: Hite and Dark. You can order 500cc or 2000cc. Steve ordered the 500cc of dark beer. I drank at least 1/3 of it. And it was really good beer. It reminded me of a Sam Adams. It was complex, smooth and with very little bitterness. I failed to ask them what type of beer it was but I'm assuming it was some sort of korean beer. Good stuff! We had a great day out in Queens and I'm so glad we got the opportunity to Eat Something Good!

Kyedong Chicken
150-54 Northern Blvd.
Queens, NY 11354