Ever since trying the Korean-style fried chicken at Kyochon, Wes is occasionally seized by a craving for their chicken wings.

Usually I hate wings, all bone and flabby skin with little fat. There’s a Japanese pub called Furaibo that turns out nicely crisped ones dusted with salt and pepper, but Kyochon does them one better. I think it’s the garlic in the batter, toasted as the wings fry, that make their chicken irresistible. The restaurant boasts of its recipe’s 20-odd secret ingredients, not to mention the made-in-Korea special sauce, but nothing can match the pungent allure of garlic.

The place doesn’t have much more atmosphere than a McDonald’s, but there’s table service and free soda. Choices here are straightforward: original or spicy? Wings, drumsticks, or cut-up whole chicken?

The spicy chicken calls to me. It’s hot, but oh, so tasty. After a few, the original chicken seems bland… maybe because some taste buds have been singed off. There’s a dish of pickled daikon cubes to help quench the fire inside.

Wings seem like the way to go; the pieces of thigh that we get in our basket of whole chicken are really good, but the breast is dry. And I don’t care to navigate the sinews and cartilage in the drumsticks.

A medium order of wings or drumsticks is $9, a large order or whole chicken is $16. Sodas are free. No beer, which is a shame because those wings would go perfectly with it.

Kyochon
3833 W. 6th Street
Koreatown
213-739-9292

Kyochon
2515 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance
310-320-9299

Furaibo
2068 Sawtelle Blvd.
West LA
310-444-1432