Boka, featuring Bon Chon Chicken (New York, NY)

Your average Korean-style fried wing.

St. Marks Place has restaurants galore, many of them Asian, over it's one block stretch. Boka's attraction, apparently, is that they serve Bon Chon chicken. There are a quite a number of establishments serving Korean-style fried chicken, including a few under Bon Chon's own banner. How does Boka stand out from the rest?

Boka's menu is varied. In addition to their chicken section (we ordered a combination of wings and drumsticks), they also feature bi bim bop. kim bop, and numerous items to share. In addition to our chicken (ordered spicy), we ordered octopus and udon in a spicy sauce.

The first thing we noticed was the food came out FAST. It seemed as if they brought it before we finished ordering, but the reality was that it could not have taken more than three or four minutes at worst. I am not sure if these times are typical at all hours (we came at a very busy dinnertime), but I'm pretty sure that these items were already prepared en masse in anticipation of the crowds. In all the haste to serve us, our server never brought the customary pickled radishes, which would have been very useful later in the meal.

The octopus, was indeed, very spicy. The dish included scallions, some peppers, and a disappointing few udon noodles. Aside from the few udon that graced the plate, the dish was delicious and opened up our sinuses nicely. The octopus might have been a little overcooked, but we let that go.

While we ordered a combination of wings and drums, I kept firmly to the wings. Already tingling from the previous dish's spiciness, the wings took it further. I ended up not feeling my lips for a short while, and I think I might have broken a sweat for a bit. I'm pretty sure this was the result of the sustained barrage of heat maintained through both dishes, as the wings alone wouldn't have taken me quite that far. The sauce was also fairly sticky. There was a bit of bitterness, and they weren't as sweet as I expected. The wings were a respectable medium-size. If you've had other Korean fried wings, you may find these to be "average", compared to some of the competition. Mind you, these aren't bad wings. They're satisfying, just not particularly special.


Boka
9 St. Marks Pl
New York, NY 10003
(212) 228-2887
bokanyc.com