Chicken Bar

SOMETIMES, not all things that come great in packaging really have something great coming out of it. In view of that, no matter how unassuming a name sounds, no one should immediately think little of its quality.

So when a restaurant is called Chicken Bar, is it right to imagine all dishes in the bill of fare (OK, menu) to be barely different chicken recipes? No, because there is a place located in Shangs Island Town Center that does not solely rely on the wonders of chicken to complement its name.

“I just wanted to open a bar,” starts Korean owner Tony Jung, “and everyone loves chicken, right?” he continues. He likes to impress upon the notion that this place is not just a restaurant where people get to enjoy hearty meals but a bar where there is plenty of reason to enjoy hang outs in groups.

Chicken Bar is a family owned business, in which Jung is the manager while his brother Teddy and mother Julia, both share the throne in the kitchen as chefs. It’s not so surprising that the place usually attracts families to come together inside.

Korean folks dominate the number of guests of Chicken Bar. From time to time, Japanese also dine at the restaurant as much as Filipinos do. Essentially, chicken prepared in various delectable ways dominate the menu of this restaurant with the most popular to customers are the saucy chicken offerings.

Upon entrance to the cozy restaurant, the diner may choose to sit on conveniently set up chairs and tables. Either that or, since the person has worked up the guts to get in a Korean place, might as well try the low table setting.

A bowl of kiran chim is served as soon as a guest or a group settles down. Just do not get all confused by the looks of this fare; it is actually made of scrambled eggs sprinkled with black sesame seeds. What is most important about this is that it comes for free with any other order.

Well-liked by most diners is the yangyum chicken. Simply translated, it means sauce chicken, a whole serving consists of crispy fried chunks of chicken speckled with sesame seeds. This dish may also be prepared as meon yangyum or spicy sauce chicken, needless to spell out the difference.

Still there are those who would prefer the simplest flavors, thus there is the equally appetizing fried chicken without all the savor fuss. A plate of radish and cabbage drenched with mayonnaise in another goes with chicken orders like this. Moreover, diners usually go for these to go with soju or any drink.

If anyone thinks a Chicken Bar can only offer chicken deals, then he’s wrong. One of the scrumptious alternatives is the bulgogi salad. It is simply beef salad, made of shredded beef, mushrooms, spring onion and flecks of sesame seed.

Jung has been in Cebu for a year and a half, though he decided to open Chicken Bar in October of 2012. He is proud to say that “we’re not just any restaurant because we don’t usually serve rice unless especially requested by guests.”

Chicken Bar opens at 4 p.m. and closes at 3 a.m. The place is usually busiest at 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., thus, doing justice to its brand as a bar, where people don’t just dine when they are hungry but have fun even during the most unholy hours of the day.