This global chain restaurant opened a location here. It has two things Fresnans love
Fried chicken and spicy flavors – two things that Fresnans apparently love.
Bonchon restaurant has them both and recently opened its first location in Fresno.
The global chain has 300 locations in 12 countries — its latest opening near Cold Stone Creamery at Campus Pointe, the shopping center next to Fresno State at Shaw and Chestnut avenues.
Bonchon, which means “my hometown,” specializes in Korean fried chicken.
The restaurant opened with limited hours and a limited menu Jan. 8. Now, it’s up to full speed with its entire menu and regular hours, open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
The most important thing to know about Bonchon: It’s all about the fried chicken, specifically the wings.
“Our signature dish is fried chicken, fried twice so it’s extra crispy on the outside,” said franchise owner Kaye Kim.
There are wings, boneless wings and drumsticks. Each comes with a side of coleslaw or pickled radish.
You can get wings with a spicy sauce or soy garlic sauce – or half and half. Starting in March, the chain will offer a sweet crunch flavor of sauce.
The spicy sauce on the wings isn’t that spicy. But keep an eye out for the double flame icon on the menu for dishes that are, Kim said.
That includes the bull dak, spicy chicken stir fried with rice cakes and Bonchon’s hot sauce, and topped with thinly sliced scallions, sauteed onions and mozzarella cheese.
“It literally means fire chicken and it’s very, very spicy,” she said.
Kim, from San Francisco, said that for some reason, customers here like their food hot.
“They just love spicy in Fresno,” she said.
Bonchon is not a traditional Korean restaurant but more of a fusion place. That’s why you’ll find Korean tacos and sliders (both with spicy chicken or marinated rib-eye steak) and fried pickles on the menu.
There’s plenty of non-chicken items on the menu too, including bulgogi (a Korean beef dish served over rice), fried octopus dumplings, vegetable potstickers and a salmon-avocado ball made with imitation crab, cucumber and fish roe all wrapped in salmon.
The restaurant has a bar serving beer and wine.
Another dish worth pointing out? Bibimbap.
It’s a Korean dish that’s been landing onto Fresno menus lately. Here, it’s served in a bowl with white rice, quinoa, vegetables, egg noodles and a red pepper paste.
Bonchon customers can customize it by adding tofu, spicy chicken, soy chicken, bulgogi or seafood.
Details: 3039 E. Campus Pointe Drive, 559-207-3717 or find them on Facebook or Instagram.
Bethany Clough: (559) 441-6431, @BethanyClough
This story was originally published January 30, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
