I've been here twice in the past 7 days and I must say that it's my favorite Korean fried chicken joint around. You can call it Bon Chon or you can call it Chi Mc - old school peeps still call it the original area Bon Chon - but I just call it damn good. Decor has changed slightly but the food, flavor and service has not and it's great all around.
No different than any other Korean fried chicken places, call at least 30min ahead to get your fried chicken started and a table to sit. I eat my fried chicken with white rice and kim chi and daikon. Estimate eating at least 8 wings - seriously. For a table of four people, it's best to get two large orders (17 pieces) and a small/medium order and get it mixed with soy garlic and spicy. You must try both b/c they're so good and if you don't finish, take it home!
Much better than service than before and they fixed the fact that the ambience was depressing and dark before. They actually answer the phone now and can have chicken ready in less than an hour. Overall, chicken had the Sam flavor as before and I think the wings are actually larger than bonchon.
The side dishes are still not up to par as compared to the new bonchons, no tonkatsu, delicious seasoned fries or other interesting options. Also, no small or extra large size wing options.
This review is really only a review of the fried chicken. Since shedding the Bonchon franchise label, the service has improved, the chicken has remained virtually the same, and the menu appears to have expanded.
I first stopped at this location, tucked away in a small strip mall on Little River Turnpike, a couple of years ago whilst it was operating under the Bonchon umbrella. Â Bonchon, as I discovered in an overseas trip recently, is an Asian based franchise operation that touts its fried chicken as the best in the competing race of Korean fried chicken franchises. Â I first pulled into this strip mall location in Annandale thinking, incorrectly of course, that I was stumbling upon a French bakery of some sort. My impression was quickly straightened out and, after a bit of a wait, I walked away with a large order of wings, flavored with soy garlic. Â I was simply impressed with the flavor and texture: Â crispy, crunchy, sweet and savory at the same time. I have ordered the spicy version of the wings (or a mixed order consisting of wings and drumsticks) at different times since that initial visit but do not really care for the level of spicing or the messiness which diminishes the crunchy skin and chicken.
The current Chi Mc restaurant is labeled as a "gangnam style" restaurant (likely meaning loud and hip hop music, Korean style, in the evenings - check out the Psy You Tube video titled " Gangnam Style"). Â The chicken emulates the Bonchon cooking technique and results in fried chicken that is crunchy crispy, with hints of garlic and soy sauce permeating the meat. The Chi Mc fried chicken flavors are a bit more muted, however, and a bit less salty ( low sodium soy sauce perhaps?). It is, however, still, very good fried chicken and is a welcome contrast to the heavy batter coated American style fried chicken. The restaurant appears to be more of a takeaway location: Â as I stopped by to pick up a called in takeaway order 15 minutes after a noon opening, there was no one in the restaurant; however, there were 6 takeout orders on the bar (besides mine) awaiting a claimant.
Fried chicken is a guilty pleasure best appreciated in binges. No, Chi Mc's offerings do not blow away the  competition in the Korean chicken franchise race but the chicken is a dish worth repeating. Get  the order of wings (instead of the mixed order or just drumsticks):  there is more crunchy skin to enjoy.
This place replaced the BonChon Annandale location but serving up pretty much the same thing as BonChon. Â The closest BonChon location for me is Fairfax, I thought I'd try this place out since it's much closer to me and I wanted to see how it stood up against the infamous BonChon.
My first impression after picking up my takeout and getting home was disappointing. Â Why? Â Because they got my order wrong! Â I realize now that I should've had them repeat the order back to me over the phone before hanging up but it seems to me that whoever answered the phone was quick to jump off the phone with me. Â
The chicken was decent. Â It is in no way close to as good as the flavoring of BonChon. Â Their pickled radish is more pungent than BonChon's.
Would I eat here again? Sure, but mainly because of convenience due to location. Â But their chicken is slightly higher in cost for the lack in flavor.
Don't get me wrong...I love Korean fried chicken so I hate to dock it a star. I think my experience was ruined by the fact that I was comparing it to BonChon but why wouldn't I?! BonChon has the technique and recipe down to a science and Chi Mc falls short of that. It is like walking into a parallel chicken universe because basically everything is the same except for the chicken and fries.
Do not let the bizarro chicken fool you!
The flavor and crispiness of the chicken is just not the same as BonChon.
But, if you're just looking to sate your craving for that double fried goodness (and aren't near a BonChon), this is the spot! Wings over drumsticks...always!
i love me some double fried korean fried chicken, and love to support small korean busiiness (btw chi mc used to be bonchon and cho-mi after that), but those wanker had some freaking terrible service! Â i called in korean, asking to place an order of large mixed chicken order, so when we arrive it would be ready and eat it there! (usually 35 mins to prepare fresh), but they said they dont do it, although when i arrived there for dinner with some of my friends, they clearly had 10s of to-go order ready for people to pick up. Â it was not even a busy day, friday 5p i think it was; how the hell couldnt they accomodate us is beyond me? Â and it gets worst.... a korean restuarnts i expect chopsticks; we did not get any ulitites untill after the appeitizer came around! Â cho mc gets 4 stars for food, 2 stars for service, 3 averages. Â ps. Â i never get IDed at korean places, but they did IDed me... hmmmm/ Â wonder if they got busted for underage serving recently?
Review Source:I have found the Mecca of fried chicken and it is Annandale. Before a week long fast because of surgery, I choose to bring my wife to the fabled Chi Mc for a 'last meal' I've heard great things about the delicious chicken.
This, being my first time at a Korean Chickenry it was a new experience for me. The menu was 50/50 English and Korean. The staff was very nice while ordering. We got a Large order of wings (20), half hot and half soy. After being informed of the cooking time (35 minutes) we ordered some adult beverages, mozzarella sticks, and complimentary popcorn!
The mozzarella sticks were good, but a huge mistake. I wish I had saved room for the forthcoming chicken wings.
The wings come out piping hot and delicious. I started with the Soy Garlic and my wife started with the hot. I was instantly in delicious, sticky, fried chicken heaven. My wife on the other hand, grappled with her love for hot food, but her amateur wing eating ability. She had sauce slathered over her fingers, lips, and face. As she ate another, the heat of the wings started to catch up to her. Lucky for her, one of the servers (or bus boy) Seun came by and in a very friendly manner pointed out the sauce she had on her face. We joked for a little while with Seun when he pointed out the bowl of radishes that would help quell the heat.
First of all, I say it here, shamelessly. This was the best chicken I've ever had. UNLESS i'm forced into some other sports bar, I will only ever eat my homemade boneless wings, and Chi Mc wings. If I ever find out Chi Mc's secret, I will gain 500 pounds and never leave home.
Second, some of the reviews compare this to the old Bon Chon, or complain about the service. My service was impeccable. The waitress was patient and explained our different options, Â Seun was awesome in bringing the food, drinks, and taking away the plates. He was awesome in making some conversation but knew that we were elbow deep in some of the most delicious fried chicken ever and knew when to let us go.
I'm coming back once I'm able to. I'm bringing friends, family, and everyone else here as soon as I'm able to eat chicken again. I suggest you do too.
Some simple lessons learned: order at least 45 minutes ahead of time, eat-in or take-out; if take-out, do not complicate your order with fries or other dishes, your chicken might get cold and soggy while waiting for the other food to be ready; if you live more than 10 minutes away, eat in the restaurant instead of take-out; and finally order 50% more than what you think you could eat, because you will.
The fried chicken wings here are fantastic, well worth the wait. Â Once you get past the ultra-crunchy crispy skin, you will find the meat of the wings nuanced with marinate. Â This is one of the best fried chickens (or chickens for that matter) you will ever eat. Â We prefer the mild soy and garlic sauce as we find the heat of the hot wings numbs the taste buds too much to take in all the flavors.
After reading good reviews, I decided to venture out to Annandale to give it a try. It lived up to the good reviews! Delicious fried chicken. I tried both the spicy and soy garlic chicken and both were very tasty. The only downside is that the wait is a bit long. The menu says 35 minutes, but the actual wait after ordering is closer to an hour. All in all, excellent chicken!
Review Source:I wanted to try this place out because Bonchon Fairfax was closed for renovation. Reading the first few reviews, I had high hope that it's going to be the same as Bonchon before, but it was not even close. The drumsticks and wings were dry and not tasty at all. They only have medium and large, no small orders. I suggest you go to Bonchon in Centreville or wait for Bonchon Fairfax to re-open.
Review Source:Not so wowed with their fried chicken. Whoever says that they are the same as the bon chon chicken are mistaken. The batter used by bon chon is definitely lighter than chi mc's not to mention the huge difference in taste...e.g. Chi mc's soy-garlic chicken is bland and a lil dry compared to the juicy and full of flavor soy-garlic chicken version of bon chon's.
Review Source:I ordered one box of fries and soy garlic chicken to-go. They told me it would be ready in about 40 minutes. When I got there exactly on time, my fries were not ready. The waiters told me it would be "ready soon." I waited for another 10 minutes, and they still were not ready. They told me it would be "ready really soon." 30 minutes passed by, and the fries were still not ready. I was really upset about this and told them I wanted a refund and leave. The waiters tried to hurry the cooks and the fries did not come out until 5 minutes later. Even though my money for fries was returned and received two free drinks, I am upset about the slow service. My chicken was not hot by the time I received them as well. I am disappointed to give this restaurant a bad rating despite their good foods.
Review Source:Hadn't been here since they changed from BonCon so we just went here last night. We called in our order per usual, but had some friends join us so we wanted to add more wings to our order. Bad idea. The person on the phone was totally confused (didn't understand too much English I think) so when we got there we only got our first order (although our addition came shortly thereafter). The food was delicious. Luckily, they still follow the same recipes as BonChon. Service was very strange. Although our server was very enthusiastic he was a bit odd. For example, he offered my friend a lime in his Corona AFTER he had already drank it. Our server also proceeded to moisten his hands with my friend's water in order to prep our take out bag. Lastly, we wanted to split the check so put in 2 credit cards in the book, but he put the entire bill on just one. Weird. We ordered fries upon arrival but they didn't come until 30 minutes in to the meal. Really? How long does it take to dump some fries into the fryer? After this experience I'd rather make the drive to one of the other VA Bonchon locations (i.e.: Fairfax) where service is definitely better. With that said, I can't wait until the Arlington Bonchon location opens up!
Review Source:I actually wish they would bring back the big basket of Crinkle Cut French Fries! Â The seasoned fries they use now are okay, but the original potato item that was first offered was "money!"
So, my SOF and I did take-out. Â I arrived 5 minutes earlier than their projected time of when my order would be ready. Â I sat at the bar near the register and noticed a long line of take-out bags full of chicken. Â The waitress casually notified me that my french fry order was not ready, and that I would need to wait about 10 minutes. Â During that time, I noticed her preparing a bag with boxed chicken but did not pay too much attention to it. Â I should have!
After getting home, it seems that we were victim to the FIFO (first in, first out) food rotation strategy. Â The fries were super hot, but a lot of the chicken pieces were barely warm and the skin was not crispy at all. Â I understand that take-out orders tend to succumb to condensation, but Korean double-fried chicken should retain at least some crisp to it during a 10-minute commute back home.
Lesson learned: don't do take-out unless you are fine with orphaned chicken.
When not picking up take-out, this place deserves an A-okay 3-stars.
To be honest with you, I wasn't that impressed by their fried chicken which tasted exactly like Bonchon fried chicken. Â However, I was very impressed by their service! Wow! Their service significantly got better. As you know, this location used to be part of the Bonchon franchise and had a bad reputation regarding their service. Not anymore! They provided the radishes, my favorite side dish, a several times and asked me if we wanted more radishes. This never happened when this place was part of Bonchon franchise!
Tips: Don't forget to call 35 min ahead to order your chicken even though you plan to eat at the restaurant. You will eat fresh chicken when you get there. No wait! :)
Bon Appétit!
DAMNNNNNNNNN GINA! Â That's all I gotta say about that. Â Best chicken ever. Â Same as the old Bon Chon just a little makeover inside. Â Excellent service. Â Call 35 min ahead to order your chicken, even if you are eating at the restaurant. Â They will tell you what time to come and BAM fresh chicken, no wait. Â Wash it down with some Soju MMMMmmMMmM!
Review Source:Korean fried chicken is where it's at!
Best. Fried. Chicken. Ever. This location is no longer part of the Bonchon franchise and is now called "ChiMc" but seems to be exactly the same. We had a party of 6 and pre-ordered about an hour in advance. When we arrived around 6:45pm, they had a table waiting for us and the place was pretty empty. As we walked in, we stood there waiting for someone for about a minute or so as the wait staff was busy helping the few people seated. We told them our name and he directed us to our table and took a drink order. When he came back, we ordered a few sides (cabbage salad-yum and kimchi-good) and waiting for our wings and the rest of our party. Shortly after, the wings came out glistening. They also bring a couple small bowls of pickled daikon (which are great). We ordered two large: one spicy and one soy/garlic. Both were great. The coating cracked like glass and had a very satisfying crunch. The chicken inside was moist and tender. The spicy was pretty hot - and I like hot food.
In short:
-Service was ok. We had to flag down a waiter for our check, but otherwise, our water glasses were filled very regularly. The servers were nice, but not overly friendly. Fine by me.
-Chicken was amazing. Best ever.
-Order ahead
-Sides are meh. They offer fries, rice, cabbage salad, and kimchi.
Next time, I'll order to-go (wings and kimchi) and make my own fries or some other side.
UPDATE: Review above was from back in January. I went back for take out this week and the place has been updated with new paint colors. I can't speak to the service, but when I walked in, I was greeted and my food was waiting on me. The food is STILL awesome - just order in advance. I was quoted a 90 minute wait for my food (ordered for pickup). It's worth it!
If you haven't tried korean fried chicken, then you're missing out. This place was soooooo good.
We ordered way to much food but the waiter did say we ordered the best food. Appetizers: fish ball platter, fried pork chops, calamari. All were delicious! I'm not a big calamari fan but the dish was crunchy and not chewy at all. The fish balls were tasty. Not too fishy at all.
We ordered kimchi fried rice with spam and egg. Delicious! A little kick of spicyness made it better.
We ordered 40 wings (we had a lot of leftovers). Their wings/ drumsticks were big sizes! It's not your normal size wings at wing house or hooters. They were normal BJ size wings. I guess that's korean style. The batter was good- sweet, crunchy, and spicy. The side order of pickled raddish made it even better.
We took a few shots of blackberry soju. Not too sweet not to bitter.
Our service was 5 stars. Our waters were always filled, our order came out quick, everyone was very attentive.
Will definitely come back again!
Allow me to assuage everyone's fears that the Bon Chon Annandale location is gone. It's still there, just operating under the nom de plume of Chi Mc. Seriously, this place is almost exactly the same -- just a little shinier, newer, and generally updated (all good things!). I have no idea as to WHY the rebrand took place, only that the food itself remains as mouth-watering and delicious as before.
I've talked about my love for this perfect, addictive Korean fried chicken I've eaten in two separate reviews on Yelp, so it hardly bears repeating... but I will anyway. This chicken is SO good. Crispy, juicy, not in the least bit sticky... order more than you think you'll want because you WILL WANT IT.
As any other review will tell you, you want to call ahead to order your chicken even if you're dining in. A good 45 minutes to an hour before you plan on eating. You can order additional food once you get there (although for some reason, fries always take a ridonkulously long time, so you might as well order those when you order your chicken.)
We also love the Duk Bok Yi (or something like that) dish from here -- glutinous rice noodles and fish cake in a spicy sauce and is really, really tasty.
The Restaurant Formerly Known as Bon Chon has undergone a bit of a remodel in addition to its rebrand, and I have to say, I'm a fan. The formerly dark and unfriendly barlike space feels relatively transformed with a fresh coat of light paint on the walls and a cool new lighting fixture above the bar. They've also taken down all the cheap laminated signs that used to advertise beer and specials, which helps the space feel clean and bright.
The service seems to have improved in this location as well. Our waitress was much more attentive and it was easier to get our waters refilled and generally just a really pleasant experience. In the past, I always just assumed service would be crap here (but the food made up for it). Now I can say that it's both a delicious AND pleasant dining experience!
I used to say that I preferred the Fairfax Bon Chon even though this place is closer to where I live, not because the food is that different, but because of the dining experience., Now I feel confident that I'll be frequenting Chi Mc regularly, since I had such a good experience this time around!
I went here for the first time this week after hearing lots of good things about South Korean style chicken wings - I'm so sad I didn't get around to enjoying this place sooner!!! Whatever 'meh' may have existed with this place before, there is none of that now.
A quick story about reservations: I called on a Wednesday around 1pm to make a reservation and place a tentative order of wings (which they like to do when you call for a reservation to get that magical chicken underway). I got a call back around 6pm just to confirm my reservation time and order (surprising, but fine, I was iffy on the food order earlier). About five minutes before my friends and I got to the restaurant, they called me AGAIN to let me know the chicken was just about ready (aka 'Get your @$$ over here already!'). We found this amusing, but if you don't, the point is that they are serious about their reservations and having your chicken ready at an exact time.
The wings were hands down THE BEST, the beer was ice cold and perfect with spicy wings, and the service at the restaurant was impeccable. They checked on us constantly (full disclosure: it was definitely a slow night for them), emptying the little bone bowl regularly, checking on beverages, bringing us extra sides of pickled radishes, and just being generally friendly and awesome. We had an amazing time and I'm so excited to bring other groups of friends there to give it a try.
One last thing - if you're wondering how much chicken to order per person, my group of four got two of the large wing combos, one in each flavor, and that plus beer was a good amount for everyone (except my one super hungry friend who ordered an extra entree and took 80% of it home for lunch the next day).
Chicken and beer at its finest!!! The end.
Every chicken that crosses into Chi Mc has given its life for the most worthy of causes. I know food and this is it at its best. The chicken is amazing and moist. Every bite is better than the last bite and somehow the skin is even better than the meat. The pickled daikon helps cool down the spice from the hot chicken in a perfect complement of flavors. The garlic soy flavor is uniquely balanced and a real treat. The staff is courteous and nice but please read the menu. At the bottom it tells you, the chicken takes a very long time. You need to call ahead or bring your patience. If you even think about complaining about the wait do everyone a favor and just go have a McDonald's Mc Chicken Sandwich. This will save you the hassle of waiting and save the food for those of us willing to trade our first born for it. I could write more but it would be just redundant statements about how this place is great.
Review Source:Came here when the place was called Bon Chon. Now the place is called Chi Mc. Honestly, that is the only thing that changed because the wings here are still delicious. Came here to watch games and got 2 Lg orders of half and half and fries. Wings are super good, crispy, and huge. I have tried other places (Bon Chon in Rockville, MD) and they are not at the same level as Chi Mc. This place really does take the time and effort to prepare KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) the right way.
Review Source:I have lived in the Landmark area for 12 years and never knew about Bon Chon until a co-worker mentioned a few months ago. Had a craving for chicken wings and decided to try this place (now Chi Mc). OMG, the best wings I ever had. I had the soy garlic wings. I couldn't eat all 20, so I had them for dinner the next day. I will definitely order wings from them again.
Review Source:OK, being a Bon Chon chicken pro, I called the Annandale location because I was about 30 minutes out. You other pros know you do this so the chicken is ready when you get there. The girl answered the phone with "Bon Chon Chicken." I swear she did. She even confirmed that it was the Annandale location, as usual.
So, I get to the location and, surprise, surprise, there is new signage. I got out of the car, was confused, and got back into the car, thinking that the Annandale location moved, yet kept the same number. Then I looked at the sign again. It had that familiar Bon Chon look to it though. I can't explain it, but it does. I decided to go in and chance it. Yup, same vibe, just a different color on the walls, different flooring, and I dunno, they took down odd little Christmas tree lights that stayed up way past the date.
The menu is the same as far as I can tell. Sure, we got complimentary popcorn (new thing, yay) and they added bowls for the bones. YES! I can finally hide how much I actually eat! I really DID hate having evidence of my pigginess right on my individual plate.
I got ramyeung to start, a large order of wings, half spicy and half soy garlic, and fries. Everything was as I remembered from Bon Chon - cuz this IS Bon Chon. I dunno why they changed the name. It's the same thing.
I read articles later, stating that this was no longer a franchise. I know they're opening one in Arlington and all. Maybe this is a way around a franchise fee? None of this matters to me though. I'm just happy the food items I order are still as fresh, tasty, and as wrong for you as ever. PHEW!
they changed their name from BonChon to ChiMc. however, the taste is still exactly the same. the service super sucks here, but the chicken is totally worth it. i've been to other BonChon locations, and its not as good as here! love this place. get spicy if you can handle the heat. Expect to wait about 45 mins to get your chicken. there is always a forever wait but totally worth it.
Review Source:Came here to watch the superbowl. The service is good a reservation is recommended. They had our food order ready for the time we made our reservation. They give you small salad and radishes. Our order was $100 and we got 5 large plates of chicken. We also ended up ordering beer by the pitcher, and a lot of bottles of soju. They added 20% tip which I don't mind because I always give 20%. The service was good, they even gave us free soup half way through the meal. The manager gave me a free redbull too so props for that! Shout out to Seon for being an awesome server. He took a few shots with us too. It was very cold everytime the door opened, and they turned the heat up to 75 degrees to keep us warm. Very accommodating. Definitely will be back, more likely headed to the rockville location though cause its closer to me.
P.S They are closed for the next 2 weeks for renovations.
Chi Mc is the inexplicable rebranding of Bon Chon. Â
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fannandale.patch.com%2Farticles%2Fbonchon-chicken-restaurant-leaves-annandale&s=9411d05c671d36c8c2ec00124458ca886d3b6b61a25cb1efc278bcdc78ba7e2d" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://annandale.patch.c…</a>
That said, the food is exactly the same. Â The spicy wings/drums combo is still some of the most amazing fried chicken that exists. Â Sure, it's a bit $$, but man....so good. Â This may make me sound like a fatty, but honestly, I had dreams about this place the first time I tried it.
Their staff is a bit on the spazzy side and their priority is clearly take out. Â But, I've only ever done take out, so it was fine to me.
Recently got take out from this place (spicy and non-spicy wings + duk bokki) following its revamp as Chi Mc. Happy to report that the food still tastes just as awesome and the chicken is the BEST fried chicken I've ever had.
Definitely call ahead and pick up your order, as it takes awhile for them to make the chicken when you order there (can be up to 45 minutes).
Chi Mc is the old Bon Chon, just rebranded. Â There are a few tables, booths and a bar with several TVs inside. Â You can call in your order ahead of time (for either eating in or take-out), and it is definitely a good idea to do so because otherwise you'll be waiting 30+ minutes for your chicken to come out. Â We made reservations ahead of time because we heard they can get busy, but when we visited (on a Saturday evening) there were plenty of seats available, maybe only about half full.
You can order the chicken in 2 different flavors - either a spicy or soy garlic. Â When I went we ordered the large combo with both flavors, so we got an assortment of chicken pieces with both flavors, with a small dish of pickled radish/daikon on the side. Â All of the chicken was well fried and seasoned - very crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Â The spicy was a little too spicy for me, though if you like spicy it may be just right. Â I really liked the soy garlic, it was slightly sweet and went well with the crispiness of the skin.
In addition to the fried chicken/food, they also have soju, some beer, and a full bar. Â If you order a pitcher with a plate of chicken then you get a slight combo discount.
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