Originally posted on July 13, 2012
MY husband Raff and I had lunch with long-time friend Niza Forschler at BonChon Chicken-Shangri-La Plaza a few weeks ago. It’s one of the most pleasurable working lunches that I’ve had because of the company and because of the food.
I’ve known Niza for a long time. She was with Nancy Harel & Associates, the public relations arm of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Philippines back when the indefatigable Rocson Chang was country representative, and STB, through Nancy Harel & Associates, sent regular invitations to FLAVORS Magazine to visit Singapore and cover events like the World Gourmet Summit (in April) and the Singapore Food Festival (in July) or take part in a Singapore food tour which STB Philippines organized. Back then, Niza was handling STB Philippines, and so we’ve traveled to Singapore together. And when I joined Facebook early last year, she became one of my first Facebook friends. She’s now connected with another PR firm and I get bits and pieces of news about her through Facebook.
So, when she sent me a PM (private message) through Facebook last month, I was pleasantly surprised. More so because she was asking if I wanted to feature BonChon Chicken in the magazine, and BonChon Chicken happens to be one of my personal favorites. As in big personal favorite. Raff and I would regularly drop by BonChon at the Lower Ground Level of Shangri-La Plaza and have a quick but totally satisfying lunch at BonChon. Most of the time, we would both order the Crispy Fish Ricebox (3 pcs. of crispy battered fish fillets with rice and lite iced tea, at P145) then share a 6-piece Soy Garlic Chicken Wings or 3-piece Soy Garlic Drumsticks order on the side. That combination never fails.
So, of course, when we recently had lunch at BonChon with Niza, who’s now handling the BonChon PR account, the Crispy Fish was of course present on the table. I love it because, well, I love fish, and though BonChon specializes in chicken, they handle fish very well. The batter is hot and crispy, and with tender fish meat in a bite, is absolutely delicious – especially if it’s brushed with BonChon’s signature Soy Garlic Sauce. Sometimes Raff asks for the Spicy version for his fish, but mine has always been the Soy Garlic Sauce.
Also a best-seller on the table was – taa-daaah! – the BonChon Chicken. BonChon marketing director Carol Kison-Estacio and marketing manager Andrea See, who joined us for lunch, served a combination platter of 6 pcs. Drumsticks and 12 pcs. Wings, and we all had a good fill. BonChon is pretty flexible when it comes to its Korean-style crispy chicken, which it serves with either Soy Garlic Sauce or Spicy Sauce. It offers Wings in 6-, 12- and 24-piece platters; Chops in 4-, 8- and 16-piece orders; and both Drumsticks and Thighs in 3-, 6- and 12-piece platters; and also serves a combination of Drumsticks and Wings (Combo A choices are 3-piece Drumsticks and 6-piece Wings for P365, or 6-piece Drumsticks and 12-piece Wings for P720), as well as a combination of Drumsticks and Thighs (3-piece Drumsticks and 3-piece Thighs for P365, or 6-piece Drumsticks and 6-piece Thighs for P720).
Then there is The Big Box, which contains 50 pcs. Wings and 32 pcs. Chops for P1,395.
While my BonChon Chicken meals usually stop with fish and chicken, during that particularly enjoyable lunch with Niza, I discovered that there’s a lot more to BonChon Chicken than just my favorite fish and chicken. There’s Fish Taco, Bulgogi Rice (bulgogi, the famous Korean beef dish, on top of rice), Bulgogi Wrap, Chicken Sandwich, Kimchi Coleslaw (classic coleslaw salad with a bit of kick), Ginger Tofu Salad and Caesar Salad (which you can order with chicken or plain). Its version of Chapchae (Korean glass noodles) is really good, since it has been developed locally and therefore caters to the Filipino palate, and squid comes in two forms: Crispy Squid Rice (prepared the same way as the chicken and the fish, and glazed with soy garlic sauce) and Calamari (prepared the usual way restaurants prepare calamari or squid rings). Calamari has a softer, more tender mouthfeel, while Crispy Squid Rice also satisfies the need for crunch and texture.
Then there’s KoYo, or Korean yogurt, for dessert. Trials can be made by ordering the KoYo Mini for P35, although a lot of BonChon customers also come in for the full-sized Banoffee Pie KoYo and Blueberry Torte KoYo. The frozen yogurt itself is made fresh in the stores, and it goes very well with both banana and caramel sauce topping and Graham crumb crust for the Banoffee Pie KoYo as well as with the blueberry topping and Graham crumb filling in Blueberry Torte KoYo. Niza’s ‘addicted’ to Blueberry Torte KoYo, while it’s a toss-up between the two flavors for me. I can have a little of both or either one for a meal and be totally happy.
BonChon, whose name means “original village” in Korean, is actually a Korean brand that originated in South Korea in 2002. But when it entered the U.S. market in 2007, it made great waves. Its cult following became such that it eventually opened stores in Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta and will soon open in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Brunei and India.
The person responsible for bringing BonChon Chicken to the Philippines in 2010 was a young and dynamic entrepreneur, Scott Tan, as managing director of Scottland Inc. He had ‘experienced’ BonChon in New York and decided to bring the world-renowned crispy chicken secret from Korea to the Philippines, where it turned out to be a big hit.
Now, there are 19 branches of BonChon in the Philippines (Alabang Town Center, Ayala Triangle, Greenbelt 1, University Mall in Taft, Lucky Chinatown Mall, SM City Manila, Shangri-La Plaza, Robinsons Galleria, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, Libis, Katipunan, Tomas Morato, TriNoma, SM City North EDSA Annex, SM City Fairview, The Promenade-Greenhills, and One Parkade in Bonifacio Global City. On an aggressive expansion mode, Scottland will soon open more stores not only in Metro Manila but also in provincial areas of Luzon and the VisMin area.
Perhaps as a testament to its good food, BonChon stores are always full during mealtime. Diners sometimes have to queue outside and wait for their turn to be seated. So it’s best to come a bit early or a lot later to be assured that you can be seated right away. As I was telling Niza, perhaps the only downside to dining at BonChon is that you cannot choose your table, because the store is always full and you would want to be seated at the first table that is vacated by diners who came before you. But then again you are assured that you’d have a truly good meal.
