First, oops, scratch that, second location in TX.
I saw this news, very exciting I think? I watched the little video and it doesnāt look ātwice friedā or sauced, but maybe thatās just a portion of the preparation.
My goodness, what is going on with this chain? A different perspective:
The video doesnāt show much; the website emphasizes twice-fried. When Toreore first opened didnāt they just talk about a secret prep method? Wasnāt until later it came out it was twice fried.
I donāt know what happened to the Dallas store. Maybe just franchisee inexperience? Looks like from the website the growth has been spotty.
The Press reports 5 stores are planned for Houston if the Katy store does well. There is also a separate franchisee opening a store in Pearland.
Turns out thereās already a Korean fried chicken place in Katy - Hoodadak (Yelp). I thought Katy was Katyzuela. Is it becoming Korea Town West?
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I was in Katy today and stopped for lunch at Hoodadak. Only one other person came in while I was there and I hope thatās because of the Presidentās Day school holiday today.
I expected counter order fast food, but a waitress seated me and took my order. She gave me a lunch menu and a regular menu, and there is a bar (beer and wine) above which is a a chalk board menu:
I ordered the chicken wing lunch special which was 4 wing segments with fries and slaw. The slaw was topped with a spicy mayo dip that was also on the side for the fries. I though 4 pieces was a small amount (the regular menu offers 7 for the āsmallā option), but she said it was plenty and it was. You choose sauce from about 5 and I chose soy garlic because it seemed to be a popular one on yelp and less messy than the sweet and hot option.
The chicken was breaded and nicely crunchy. The fries were addictive. They are dusted with some type of flour before frying which makes them super shattery crisp on the outside and mashed potatoey tender on the inside: really good. The slaw was okay, but largely ignored in my case! The spicy dipping sauce was nice for the fries. Ketchup and a small waste can on the tables for bones.
Strangely, about 5 minutes after taking my order, the server returned to ask if I have any food allergies. Why I donāt know, but since I donāt, they went away satisfied.
I donāt know if two Korean Chicken places in Katy is one too many, weāll see when Bonchon opens. I havenāt been to Dak & Bop in the museum district, but it gets raves it seems. In fact the only Korean chicken Iāve had was at State of Grace and it was really amazing. Not sure what the authentic meal is like though!
This was good and Iād go back if in the area again. While I waited for the food, they brought gratis pickled radishes. They tasted Like I would think kimchi would, and Iāve never wanted to try kimchi! but I ended up eating about 1/2 of them.
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I seem to have landed here on HO just as you hit āpost.ā What a great report. That chicken (the whole meal, really) looks great. I may have to make a special trip out there.
The only place Iāve had Korean Fried Chicken is Toreore at Super H Mart. They do (or did) whole or half chickens there, not just wings, and it always comes with the pickled daikon, which I love. Pickled daikon is very mild and sweet compared to kimchi. I love kimchi, too.
I actually havenāt stopped at that booth since they changed the name from Toreore Chicken and Joy to just Toreore. I donāt know if theyāve changed the menu or what the reason was for the name change.
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This menu also includes whole or half chickens, and boneless pieces of chicken called pa-dak, bulgogi burger, curry rice and a number of other offerings, even a cheese fondue item. Hereās a FB page:
and menu
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Damn. Itās a long way out to Katy from here but itās looking more and more inevitable.
That looks great. Anyone heard from Jaymes lately?
Nope! I miss her comments! I wonder if sheās hit up Hoodadak yet. Also, I tripped out to the Trader Joeās in Katy a while ago and noticed a brick & mortar Bernieās Burger Bus across the way from it. I wonder if itās as good as they say! She should start another I Love Living In Katy thread here.
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Perhaps sheās on the road. She seems to travel a lot. Another Katy thread would be good. The area seems to just be exploding, new eatery-wise.
I got an email from her. Sheās just been busy. Iām sure sheāll check in soon.
(I mentioned this thread to her.)
Since weāre all here, Iāll share this link here, about what happened at CH.
I think sheās hanging at egullet. I have not joined that group.
Ii believe that article was posted months ago on one of the threads on Site Talk here on HO.
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I had to be half way to Katy today for a funeral so I made the trip on out to try Hoodadak. I had exactly the same order as you (but I didnāt get the complimentary pickled radish!). Thereās a line of bottles of wine and sake on the bar at the right now; theyāve got their license and will be selling bottle and tap beers, wine, sake and soju.
All three of the cubicle-like booths were occupied and there were three people doing take-out (about eight orders in all) while I was there, so theyāre doing some business. Very friendly people. The waiter wished me well in Korean as I left.
Good and crispy chicken, very good fries. Iād want to try at least one other flavor before deciding. Itās been so long since Iāve been to Toreore I canāt reliably compare them but this was good, if just a darn long way away.
The four wing lunch special combo wasnāt enough for me though.
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I agree, I would have liked more chicken and less other stuff, but those fries were super. My tea was included in the 8.95 price so that was fair considering tea costs $2 everywhere now days. I definitely left full.
Are there any seasoning on the breading or the chicken besides salt?
Thatās interesting. I thought KFC is beer food. A little unwieldy to eat the whole chicken and drink beer at the same time! Or maybe after a few beers nobody care.
