Korean Chicken Sandwiches?! – Restaurant Review #3 (Holdaak)

in #food6 years ago

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Restaurant:
Holdaak
1201 S Euclid St
Fullerton, CA 92832

Welcome to another episode of Restaurant Reviews.
In today’s post, we’re taking a look at Korean Chicken Sandwiches in a modern little spot called Holdaak.

ABOUT THE RESTAURANT

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Image Source
Holdaak is a Korean chicken sandwich shop located in the city of Fullerton.
Their menu is relatively limited and their menu items revolve around 2 types of fried chicken: Original and Spicy.
Korean fried chicken has become somewhat of a trendy food item recently, and if you haven't had the opportunity of trying it, I definitely recommend it. There's so many different types and flavors of Korean chicken and I think it's definitely up there in the fried chickens of the world. But enough blabbering from me, let's get onto the food.

THE FOOD

Although they have other food items such as wings, chicken tenders, and salads, we decided to try their 2 signature chicken sandwiches.

1. Spicy Chicken Sandwich


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Description:

Signature Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich with julienned pickled radish, pickled onions, jalapenos, and their ‘Comeback’ Sauce

Review:

At first glance, although this place is sort like a modern fast food restaurant, the simple presentation of the sandwich was pretty stunning. The spicy fried chicken within the sandwich was generously large and moist, with a very crispy, crunchy batter. The batter leaned more towards southern flavors with Cajun seasonings, but had a subtle touch of Korean influence with the slight sweetness in the sauce coming through.

The ‘Comeback’ Sauce (which is essentially an upgraded Thousand Island Sauce with some added spice from chili sauce) added a pleasant creamy topping to the fried chicken and accompanied the sandwich nicely. The pickled daikon, onions, and jalapenos really brought the whole sandwich together adding a nice crunch and also helping to cut the oily and ‘heaviness’ coming from the Fried Chicken and the Comeback Sauce. Overall, solid sandwich.

Result:

Definitely recommend – Rating 8.5/10.

2. Original Chicken Sandwich

Description:

Original Fried Chicken Sandwich with julienned pickled radish, pickled onions, jalapenos, and a tomato relish (?) sauce.

Review:

I was honestly expecting this to be essentially the same sandwich as the spicy version in regards to their toppings and sauce used, but there were 2 main differences. The original fried chicken, compared to the spicy version, was a bit disappointing in terms of not just the flavor, but also the batter as well. The seasoning was rather basic and the batter on the chicken was actually a bit soggier than crunchy. I think this was attributed by the tomato relish (?) sauce they used on the sandwich rather than the comeback sauce used on the spicy sandwich. The tomato sauce had a marmalade-like texture and was slightly sweet. Unfortunately, I didn’t really think it paired well with the rest of the sandwich. It wasn’t bad per se; it just didn’t really meld well flavor wise. However, this probably comes down more to personal preference.

Result:

Decent but just go with the spicy chicken sandwich – Rating 5/10

OVERALL RATING

For what they are, the chicken sandwiches here are pretty good and you probably won’t be disappointed with your choice (as long as you choose the spicy chicken sandwich). There was nothing mind blowing, but nothing disappointing either.

The chicken sandwiches are $6-7 and you can get a combo with fries and a drink for $8-9.

Food: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Value: 8/10

This review was a bit more casual than my previous ones, but I'm currently working on a pretty special one (maybe even a once in a lifetime kind) so definitely be on the lookout for that tomorrow!

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