What’s with the Korean eatery scene lately? It’s all about who has the best fried chicken! Not too long ago, I tried Basak fried chicken and I confidently declared the place to have the best fried chicken. But then I came across Mon Ami, another Korean place famous for their fried chicken. Should I withdraw my statement?

I was a giggly kid once I went over Mon Ami’s menu. The menu is fantastic! There are tons of dishes that I want to try. It reminded me greatly of Toronto’s Korean restaurant. Since we were only two, it was a real struggle to choose only 2 dishes. Before ordering, I already planned for a second visit. Yes.

Just like a custom, whenever there’s fried chicken, Korean likes to serve it with a salad as a side dish. It is a perfect combination. It helps balance the “hot air” from the fried chicken. The cabbage salad was simple, but very delicious! We finished it easily while we were devouring the fried chicken.

The fried chicken! The pieces were in good size, not huge nor small. They were incredibly crispy and no view of excessive oil. Sadly, I found that some pieces were not as moist as I would have liked. They were not incredibly dry, but to achieve the highly crispiness, I guess the moisture of the meat has to be sacrificed. So the verdict of who has the best fried chicken between Basak and Mon Ami all drills down to your personal preference. If you like extra crispy fried chicken, Mon Ami is your best bet. But if you like crispy without foregoing the moisture, Basak would be the place. I personally find both fried chicken to be the top of the top. But because I really like my juicy meat, I am leaning a bit more towards Basak.

And I almost forgot to mention the few little fried rice cakes that were served with the fried chicken. No, they are not biodegradable packing peanuts! These little ones were incredible! So chewy and perfect when dipped in tteokbokki sauce.

Of course, I had to order tteokbokki, which is a common dish in Korea. It is basically rice cakes drown in red pepper paste sauce. This is the second time that I have tteokbokki. My first time was a disaster from a few years ago where the sauce was overly sweet. I was hoping Mon Ami would amend this bad memory and it sure did! This one was much better. A homey dish that cannot go wrong any time of the year! I can now understand the beauty of it!

I left with so much happiness. Did I mention how affordable were the dishes? I was even more amazed by their lunch menu! Under 5$, you have a perfect good Korean lunch! How I wish I live or work nearby! I’ll be back for sure!

Zuuchini