Chicken Holic

While Diana and I were driving down Austin Ave looking for a precious parking spot in front of Ta Bom, we spotted something unusual.  No, it wasn't stellar driving skills from nearby motorists - that would be really unusual!  Rather, it was a new spot called Chicken Holic replacing a long-time sushi joint on the corner of Austin and Marmont.  We took a walk over to it after our meal at Ta Bom (yes, second dinner...).  At first, we were all apprehensive about this dive, it just didn't look that promising.  Whatever, we were still game.

Much to our surprise, this was legit and authentic KFC (Korean Fried Chicken)!  We ended up getting a few orders of the most popular flavours.  Before that, they served us up a complimentary dish of Fried Mandu drizzled with sweet gochujang.  Hey, these were pretty good with a crunchy exterior giving way to moist and almost juicy meat.  The modest amount of sauce meant that it didn't drown the dumplings in sweet spiciness.  Now onto the real reason we were here, the KFC.  We started off with the small order of the Original ($9.95).  Despite looking dried-out, the chicken was nothing but.  In fact, it was juicy and tender.  With completely-rendered crispy skin, the chicken itself was mildly seasoned.  No matter, it came with both BBQ sauce and honey-mustard.

We completed the trifecta with the Honey Soy and Sweet Gochujang versions. By far, my favourite was the honey soy, not only because it was the ideal balance between salty and sweet, but it is my preferred flavour for any place that serves KFC.  I found the chicken remained moist with a crispy exterior despite the dousing of moisture.  As for the sweet gochujang, it was predictably saucy, sweet and slightly spicy.  This was good, but personally, I would much rather go for the other 2 before this as the sauce often softens up the exterior batter too much.  So there you have it, an inexpensive spot for KFC that holds its own.  Next time, I'm going to give their wings a try...

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Above average KFC
- Large portions

The Bad:
- Limited seating as this is more of a takeout spot
- Food is made-to-order (which is good), but it will take awhile