Overall: 3.4/5 We picked up a small order of the soy garlic chicken ($16.99) and a small sweet & spicy chicken ($16.99) with a side of the green onion Wasabi sauce ($1). The sauce spilled on the radish containers so I put the radish in a bowl and made a coleslaw. The chicken themselves were not coated with the usual batter you find on korean fried chicken. This was more like Wing Stop but with better taste & flavor and isn't dry. The sweet & spicy chicken was the better of the two, and the soy chicken tasted better if dipped in the wasabi sauce. If you go here, I highly recommend the green onion Wasabi sauce which was really good. read more

ChiMek - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Wanted to get some bomb KFC that wasn't Bonchon. Up in the Bay, there's not much options for KFC besides Bonchon/Vons so we were pretty excited to try this place out. We ordered Combo #1 which is one small original chicken, one small flavored chicken and a pitcher of beer. Since it's Covid, they changed the pitcher of beer to 2 bottles instead. Not complaining since Korean beer obviously goes best with Korean chicken. We asked for the original chicken to be extra crispy and chose the soy garlic for the flavored one. The fried chicken was still crispy after the drive back home and I love that ChiMek only has wings because I'm a wings gal. The soy garlic was soooo good - super saucy and flavorful and the perfect pairing to the pickled radish. We ordered to-go but they had a nice outdoor dining area, so I'd love to come back to eat fresh chicken and try their other items as well! read more

ChiMek - Small extra crispy chicken and small Soy Garlic Fried Chicken - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

New ownership. No more kimchi bar. Always empty. Quality of food steady declining. Service was booty. The lady had to make three separate trips to get our drink order correct, and she didn't bother informing us where to get our plates for the food that was being served. Oh yeah, the Tip options are 20, 30 and 40 percent lmao. I think we are done with Chimek. Sad because this place used to be great. *To owners response* Oh, so it is assumed everyone is a previous customer and they should know where the plates are located? Ridiculous. Hope you're not losing too much money over this failed investment. It might help if you actually hire driven workers instead of trying to be cheap and using your own family for labor :) read more

Chicken was delicious, we really liked the self-service salad bar where we could get unlimited radish, kimchi, and salad! We ordered fries after our food came out and they still got it out pretty quickly! read more

ChiMek - Tteokbokki (Spicy), Soy Garlic Fried Chicken, Crispy Fried Chicken Wings - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Ordered 3 flavor of wings, Soy Garlic, Chinese Style, Green Onion.. all 3 flavors tasted pretty much the same (Mild sweet soy flavor) - the green onion wings almost tasted like nothing, no wasabi flavor. The wings are definitely not Korean wings anymore after new management. No double fry breading on the wings anymore, and poor sauces. Daikon and Kimchi had to be asked for when it should be standard? Calamari was super bland. Super pricey for not Korean wings that are mid at best. Avoid if you want real Korean Chicken. read more

ChiMek - Soy Garlic (Spicy), Chinese Style (Spicy), Green Onion (All tasted the same...Green onion had no wasabi flavor at all) - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Soy garlic chicken was super yummy (the sauce was bomb, chicken was slightly salty for me). Ddeokbokki was pretty mid, sauce didn't penetrate into the rice cake so it was kind of underwhelming, nothing special unfortunately. It's still a nice spot that opens late and I love that they have a bonchon bar on the side so you can grab as many sides as you want! The bar has kimchi, coleslaw, pickled radish, corn, etc. The sides are decent to me, nothing crazy imo, but my Korean boyfriend really liked the kimchi!! read more

ChiMek - Soy Garlic Chicken - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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Really enjoyed this bar initially unfortunately it shifted quickly. I don't usually leave poor reviews for bars but unfortunately this one was a really bad experience. It was the Warriors game and no one was outside (absolutely no one) and I was going through some challenging times (on the phone) outside the bar. There was utterly no one outside. Our bill is over $100. No one was outside, I was not bothering any person or anyone. Really garbage experience. Toebang is much better quality and experience! read more

ChiMek - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

This is our go to favorite spot for army soup. The portion is big, broth is nice and hearty, goes perfect with rice. The sausage inside is the right kind haha (iykyk) Been here many times and glad to see their self serving kimchi/salad bar is back. Seafood pancake is pretty good too, thick and big with a crispy outside. read more

ChiMek - Army Soup (2-3 Serving) (Spicy), Seafood Pancake - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Not bad but not great. The chicken pieces were tiny. Original, green onion, garlic soy were all just aright. The chicken comes out quick but the flavors just aren't big and flavorful. The service is decent, nothing special. Ordered the rice cakes with ramen but they forgot the ramen. I'd rather just go to Von's. read more

Went with 9 of my friends and none of us got full! One of them went to the mcdonald's around the corner after to get nuggets!! It seemed like they changed serving sizes for everything. The chicken wings used to be massive yummy crunchy wings, but now the wings are the same sizes as my pinky, with little meat!! The dry rub honey butter fries were still okay but it seems like they cut the serving size in half. I remember the basket used to be twice as big where one fry order could satisfy 3 people minimum. The quality of the fries seemed to have gone down too. The service was fast and nice, but the food to price ratio just wasn't the same as before . Maybe they had a change of ownership or something, but it definitely wasn't the chimek I remembered. Don't come back unless you want to feel disappointed, just go to BonChon or 99Chicken or Vons instead for better korean fried chicken. read more

It's sad to say that the quality of food from chimek has gone down ever since restaurants started opening back up from Covid. They were starting out really strong but fell off as of recent. I will say though their happy hour menu is well worth it and the flavors for chicken are still good. The food consistency is where I have trouble with but I'm still willing to give them another shot read more

My mom and I were driving around trying to find a quick place to eat outdoors. We're just driving along and saw chimek outdoor dining tent so we decided to stop by here. It's about 12:30 in the afternoon and there was barely any customers at all. There was a single couple in the restaurant at the time otherwise that was it. So we walk in and the guy behind the counter asked dine in or take out. We reply dine in. My mom asked where to use the restroom is and she uses it but the guy was like you can use it after you placed your order. Which is fine so I look over the menu. The menu is digital but at the time my phone was not working and dead. So I do walk over to the register which does have a paper menu to look at. I'm ready to place my order at the register when the man behind the counter was saying you can place your order on your phone. I told him my phone wasn't working. Then he proceeds to tell me "what about her phone" as in he is referring to my mom. At this point, even before he was not welcoming at all to start. Neither accommodating to help us out place our order knowing our phone didn't work to see the menu or to help place an order. If you have a register you can still take an order. How lazy can you be? I hope they customer service gets better. It was pretty off putting. read more

Came in for a work Xmas gathering and they were accommodating about a party of 17 super last minute. The server was attentive but the food did not wow us. It was a mix of bar food and Korean food. Portion sizes are HUGE so it is good to go with a group. The fries were delicious and the soy garlic chicken was extra saucy and crispy (get the double fried option). The tteokbokki was strange and someone on our group described it as savory boba texture. It wasn't a hit and was pricey. I regret ordering this. Also wasn't impressed with the kimchi fried rice. Other than that, it would be 3 stars for average food but the service and accommodation made me round up. Portion sizes are huge so better to go with a group. read more

It's evident that they changed in ownership. As everyone else is saying, it's depressing inside. They blast top 100 covers on a loop, and the place looks bare. Food has gone downhill and there is no more side bar where you can help yourself to yummy sides. Save yourself time and go somewhere else -- really sad to see this place change as it use to be my favorite! Won't be coming back anymore. read more

Man, this is some delish Korean fried chicken!! Open late, and noisy and crowded like a bar, but worth the wait! Garlic soy & sweet & spicy really hit the spot! Plus, they had a little salad bar of banchan style noshings to add to my order for a small additional charge. Made our hotel room smell like a restaurant but that's their prob LOL! The East Bay is still our favorite place to get some KFC, and ChiMek is a new fave when were in the area! read more

ChiMek - Salad bar style snacks & banchan - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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I think chimek is a solid 3 to 3.5 stars. There was only one waitress working there when we went so it took a while to get our orders taken, get seated, etc. but not a huge deal. We ordered fried chicken and mozzarella sticks. For the price the mozz stick order was small, and the cheese wasn't the nice, stretchy, chewy cheese in typical mozzarella sticks. It was more rubbery and broke apart easily. They did come out super hot and fresh from the fryer, but I would probably pass on these. We also ordered the soy garlic and medium hot original wings. The soy garlic sauce was pretty good and tasty and definitely looked legit. The flavor was not bad as well and actually probably one of the tastier soy garlic sauces I've had, probably due to the copious amount of diced garlic. The original wings were alright. They came with a buffalo-type sauce that I wasn't a huge fan of. Both orders were really hot and really fresh out of the fryer. However I kept getting this taste/smell of not fresh chicken, kinda like that stink which was super off-putting. I would argue that was the worst part of the experience and makes me not want to come back. I was also sad there was no free side bar :( They also use a really thick batter on the chicken which is not really korean fried chicken style, and the next day the leftovers were really hard and dry. Frankly if you're looking for the true Korean fried chicken experience, this place is not it. It does seem excellent for larger groups even if the environment is kinda sparse. read more

We paid $37 for a 2-3 person serving of spicy pork, and this will feed one person. Unacceptable. read more

ChiMek - Spicy pork belly for 2-3 people? Unacceptable. - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

1 year later and still 5 stars. Kimchi jjigae soup really hit the spot on a cold and rainy night, with some Buffalo honey chicken for my husband. I don't know why I forgot about coming here, but will visit again soon! read more

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My first experience was when they first opened. It was a pretty jumping place Sports bar with some good fried chicken with an Asian fixings bar. Visited it again and to be honest, it was okay. First thing I noticed was how empty it was. On a Sunday football day. So the atmosphere was dead. They didn't have a national NFL sports package either, which was weird I guess because they are a Sports bar (but I know it's expensive so not being overly critical). The thing for me was the wings were just okay. Kind of 'meh' dried fried. We all know you can have those great fried chicken moments, and this was not one of them. Overall, I had some rice and kimchee with some beer too. My wife had a noodle soup of some sort and helped me eat the chicken. This is probably my farewell visit. Definitely felt like I regretted wasting my calories there over something better. read more

ChiMek - Korean beeeer - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Love, love, love chimek! My best friend and I stopped by chimek around 10PM, which as an added bonus was during their happy hour! There was no wait since there was plenty of tables available. The inside is spacious with bright neon lights and plenty of TV monitors- good for larger crowds and games if you're into sports. But the foood is where it's at. My friend and I ordered a small soy garlic chicken, and a dry rub fries in the cheddar and sour cream flavor. Verdict: AMAZING. I'm a sucker for fries, and these fries were goooood. Crispy, with a nice crunchy coating- the perfect snack food. The chicken was really good too. I love all things garlic, and I appreciate that the chicken came over a generous serving of sweet, garlicky sauce which paired perfectly over rice. They do have a side bar where you can grab kimchi, radish, salad, corn, coleslaw, and rice (among other salad bar items). Honestly, nothing special about the salad bar. I'm 100% certain that everything from the salad bar came directly out of a can, aside from the salad and carrots I guess. But I also do not mind at all because the rice is free! (At most chicken places, you'll have to pay about 3-4 dollars for a serving of rice) For a party of two, it only costs us about 22 dollars total before tip. Not only is chimek really affordable (we got a dollar off fries during happy hour!) but the quality of the food is great! Everything about our visit was amazing. I'd definitely return and recommend for others :) read more

ChiMek - Spy Garlic chicken and dry rub fries! - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

ChiMek is a good place for meeting friends. The staffs are friendly and fast service. We ordered Sweet and Spicy Fried Chicken, Soy Galic Fried Chicken, Tofu Seafood Soup, and Tofu Beef Soup. We love Sweet and Spicy Fried Chicken than others. Soy Galic Fried Chicken is good - recommend adding more spicy, it will be a good choice. Soup is ok. Beef Tofu Soup is sweeter than Seafood. This flavor is strange to me because I haven't tasted like that before. Overall: Food: 4.5/5.0, and Service: 5.0/5.0. read more

ChiMek - Soy Garlic Fried Chicken - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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Came here as a late night option, so yay for here being open late! (I think most of the Korean places around do that though, because I was using Yelp for the late night options around me...welps). Got seated almost immediately and made my way to the salad bar after reading on reviews about it lol. They have some options (salad, popcorn, kimchi, corn, coleslaw, etc) and it's good to nibble at before the orders come in. Had the fried shrimp with fries, kimchi fried rice (with spam add $3), chinese style chicken wing. For the shrimp, it was so so. Breaded shrimp deep fried. The fries were good though, and I feel like getting that as a dry rub would have been ideal. They were well done and they were plenty. Get the fries! LOL. The spam kimchi fried rice was plentiful and had excellent flavor; the kimchi did not oversalt or overspice it. The extra char from time spent on the plate was fantastic. I loved it. Flavor-wise this was the best thing that I had here. Would have been a 5 for this place if ... ..I did not get their chicken wings. They were so-so, flavor was alright, chicken was moist. Too much of the sauce as a rub, which kinda made it a bit of a turn off. The Chinese style was forgettable. Wouldn't actually come here to try their wings, I feel there are other options that are better. Service is good for the time of day; they came by to check up on us to see if we needed anything. Plates, utensils, everything else are at the salad bar. Yelp check in offer, if I remember correctly exists. Don't remember on the top of my mind.. read more

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We ate here last night for MNO. It was a little rowdy bc the warriors were playing. It's super loud and hard to have a convo in there. There is a self serve area with rice, salad, pineapple, radish, kimchi, popcorn and other items. We ordered: Pork belly: tasty, flavorful sauce, thinly sliced pork belly. It was a big serving. Garlic wings: nice and crispy. Good flavor. Another wing with red sauce: same texture as the above. I preferred the one above. Drinks: the yogurt flavored soju was yummy. The other moms had beer too. Service was good. Everyone ended up paying $25 each so not bad at all. We were all super full when we left. read more

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Friday night, I ordered garlic parmesan boneless wings, honey butter wings, and Dry Rub Fries (Sour Cream with Cheddar Cheese). I would say to skip on the boneless. The garlic parmesan boneless had no taste. The honey butter is a MUST get! Omg? It tasted like a lollipop; I couldn't stop eating. The fries were okay. The honey butter though, is worth coming back for! Service was quick as well! I did pick up. For a Friday night, they were busy inside the restaurant. They do have outdoor dining available. read more

Great chicken! Very juicy. The chicken we got all came in regular wing size not KFC size. I generally prefer the smaller sizes of the wings/drumsticks so I didn't mind. They were still large for in-class size. Some flavors were just ok but nothing was bad. They have a bunch of other krn bar foods if chicken doesn't strike the mood Flavors: Spicy BBQ curry- You get a hint of bbq and curry but both don't overpower the other. I could have done with a bit more curry flavor but others thought it was fine. Sour cream and cheddar- probably everyone's least favorite one. It has a ton of cheddar powder on it. You don't taste the sour cream at all. Soy garlic- pretty standard krn fried chicken flavor. You can't go wrong with it. Friends liked it cause the sauce wasn't too thick compared to some other spots. Overall, the chicken was great and if I was in the area I wouldn't mind going again. read more

This Review solely based on the taste of the food and the value. I was craving some Korean fried chicken and I found this place on Doordash. They had a Sweet and spicy chicken which is Yangneom-Chicken. The problem here is that it was not a fried chicken. It was baked chicken that covered with the sauces. I had no Idea I would be a roasted chicken with sauce on it. The flavor of the sauce was okay, in fact it was not spicy at all. Just sweet. The chicken definitely needed more brine, the smell was pretty bad after a bite. No utensils or napkins in the bag. The portion is okay, it's quiet a bit more pricy compared to the other brand in the area. Overall, it did not taste like fried chicken, it was baked chicken. Probably would not order again read more

ChiMek - Sweet and Spicy Chicken - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Great food, Amazing selection of Beer.. Perfect to unwind with friends and catching up on sports. Perfect sports bar with amazing Korean chicken and specialty dishes read more

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I've been here one other time and the service at this location is phenomenal. We were seated promptly arriving around 9pm! To our surprise they have happy hour every day from 9pm-10pm! I love me some deals. We ordered a large set of flavored wings - soy garlic and Chinese styled wings along with onion rings which were $1 off. Wings came out piping hot, but to our surprise, it wasn't super crispy. The soy garlic was good as expected. The Chinese style wings, which was recommended by a friend, tasted very VERY similar to it. I do not recommend getting these two flavors together. Both have a slightly sweet and savory light glaze with chopped green onions, garlic, and pepper. They pair great with the complimentary white rice and kimchi+radish! I personally had a great meal but would like to note that my boyfriend did not enjoy the wings. He's a fan of wings with stronger flavors. If you're used to chicken like BonChon, San Tung, and Vons - the sauce for this chicken is not as strong BUT it'sdefinitely worth a try! read more

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Like Vons? Love Bon Chon? Be prepared to FALL in love with this non-franchised business, ChiMek! It's got all the goodness of KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) with your choice of dry rubs, or saucy wings...and a happy server who will walk you through the menu. I came here for lunch, and was astonished that it was pretty empty! I was told that the lunch specials are the same size as the dinner portion, just a reduced price...so we ordered the Bulgogi spicy pork Rice Roll off the menu. And did I mention? There is an all you can eat salad bar. It's stuffed with pickled daikon (my personal favorite), yummy coleslaw, rice, and POPCORN! I was super pleased with the honey buffalo wings and the Bulgogi Rice Roll. Next time I'll try the plain Korean Fried Chicken. Oh, ChiMek...I'll be BACK! read more

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I love coming to Chimek when dining with a large group. You can order large batches of chicken wings and fries to share, and unlimited sides of kimchi and radish, which helps to balance out the rest of the food. The combo's are also good if the group wants drinks. My favorite flavors for wings are the soy garlic and honey butter. I've not ordered the specialty dishes or soup here before, though they seem like good dishes if you need something hearty to balance the drinks. There are TV's for the people in the group catching up on sports games. Otherwise, it is also a great place to hang out and chat. The earlier you come in the evening, the better the seating you can pick! read more

I'm such a sucker for good salad/sauce bars! This place has an amazing selection from carrots and slaw to corn and perfect sour kimchi. I ordered the mozzarella cheese sticks, they were firm and thick with white mozzarella cheese! The fried calamari tasted like a perfectly crisp donut with chewy calamari inside. The sour cream w/ cheddar cheese dry rub wings were so tender, juicy and salty - now is that not the BEST combo! The cheesy dry rub gave me cheesy Cheeto vibes. I swear these puppies are double fried because they're stupid crispy. The sweet & spicy wings were my favorite! They are sweet not very spicy at all and extra sticky topped with chopped nuts! I dipped the calamari in the sweet & spicy sauce, great idea! One of my favorite places to take friends and blow their mind with the unique delicious Asian influenced chicken wings! read more

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Ate this after seeing Queen B at Levi's Stadium as I wanted my KFC (Korean fried chicken yall) and this place was open late. Spacious seating- reminded me of a sports bar kinda feel but only Korean. This place is kinda divey but the chicken was goood. Service was friendly too. Chicken- We got two different types- dry rub and more saucy/wet. Dry honey butter- this one was sweet, which I liked a lot. The chicken could've been more moist tho, I guess you kinda get drier chicken with dry rubs. Sweet & spicy wings- this one was nice and sticky. I loved the disposable gloves on the table to use with these. The flavor wasn't too spicy as the sweetness evened it out. Kimchi soft tofu soup - this was decent. I really wish there was the egg to put in tho :/ Sides - idk if it was only my table but we noticed the salad bar sides were more vinegar tasting for the radish, coleslaw and even the corn. These weren't great ‍ Rice and utensils are also here so you grab what you want. Parking was nice and spacious. Another cool thing was they have Listerine and disposable cups in the bathroom for after dinner heh. read more

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I enjoyed the food from here. The sweet and spicy wings erred so tasty and not so spicy that you could not handle it. I also enjoyed the Kim chi fried rice - you get a good sized portion with your order. I knocked one star off because they make seasoned fries but out way too much seasoning on it ! I enjoy a seasoned French fry but it was just too much. We had the curry fries and I know they'd be much better with less spice on it. Overall great place and I'd love to go back and try more dishes. read more

ChiMek - The spicy sweet chicken wings - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

During pandemic: Called to place an order. (Used the website to remind me of their offerings.) Was easy to do. Pickup and payment at the counter for pickup was easy too. Employees were wearing masks. We ordered the honey butter chicken... and it was delish as always! (They have a tent set up in the parking lot for outdoor dining.) Pre-pandemic: We enjoyed families (with up to 14 people) meals here - the long tables made it easy to eat with a big group! We loved the little salad bar at the side - the picked radishes were my favorite! My husband loved the slaw. My kid's appreciated the white rice. :p The various happy hour deals were nice too! :) read more

Honestly wouldn't have found this place if it wasn't for my friend recommending it to me - it's a pretty small shop in a plaza that didn't seem too popular in my opinion. Chicken was phenomenal though! We got the soy garlic and garlic parma, and both the flavors were on point. They were also crisped very nicely. We ordered on uber eats, and arrived a little earlier than said on the app but the food was already ready! Definitely will come back again. read more

ChiMek - Soy Garlic + Garlic Parmesan - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

I was going to hit up Bonchon in El Camino but a friend wanted to try out ChiMek. Definitely has more flavor options for wings! Wasn't busy at all early Friday night. The place is pretty big: plenty of regular 4-6 seaters in the middle and high top tables along the border, TV's in each corner with games playing. They've got combo wing deals with pitchers of beer or soju, save a couple bucks that way. Most importantly, access the complimentary salad bar in the back with steamed white rice in the rice cooker, popcorn (yah, I know), lettuce, baby carrots, kimchi, celery, canned corn (mushy), pickled daikon cubes, cole slaw, and jalapeños. $12.99 for a small order of 8 original crispy fried chicken wings, $13.99 for flame tossed flavored or dry rub. We got soy garlic, honey buffalo, and sweet & spicy. I liked the latter more than their soy garlic. Bonchon still wins in that dept, along with crispier wings. Honey buffalo was just mild. Sweet & spicy barely tasted spicy so that was fine w/ me! Don't let the chili pepper flakes in the sauce fool you. They provide gloves at the table so your hands will remain clean. Waiters are nice and one joked he'd be nice and allow me to use the 10% off check in offer after delivering the bill. It's either a whole pitcher of iced water for the table or smaller container for duos. Open late! Until 2am and midnight on Sundays. read more

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HANDS DOWN SOME GOOD WING$$$$$$ for a really good price that takes you to FLAVATOWN!!! I doordash'd this place for my first time at the business too; completely exceeded the standards for all KFC places out there!!! what i really liked the most about this place is that even during COVID times, they're still open during the late nights! i know that we're supposed to be inside, but we need some places open to have some fun inside!!! got the soy garlic bone-in wings (small -1lb), popcorn chicken (also 1 lb), as well as the garlic parmesan fries IT WAS HEAVEN ON A PLATE!!!! and all worth the money as well 10/10 RECOMMEND! read more

ChiMek - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Mhmmm I like the food here! Super generous portions At first I thought this place was a little pricier compared to other korean chicken joints ... but they give you so much food which made up for it! Kimchi Jijgae Soup I really liked the flavors (super kimchi-y) ...It was more like soondubu bc the tofu was v broken down, nothing like the picture at all Soy garlic Fried Chicken (Boneless) they rly give you a lb for the small order... omg. I sampled like a piece and I think it could be crispier but it was flavorful Honey Butter Chicken (Boneless) Same as the soy garlic .. not too crispy but flavorful Might wna try the dry rub fries next time read more

ChiMek - Kimchi Jjigae Soup (Spicy) w/Rice - Korean Near Me - Santa Clara, California

I had to go there after work. Food was so so. Wait is long. Staff unresponsive. Can try but it is definitely not the best available food.

Ordered honey butter wings & soy garlic wings. Large size wings. Higher than average wing cost at about $2 /wing but huge, massive sized wings. Would definitely return. The honey "butter" seemed a little caked w the butter powder but was a tasty treat. Shared w co-workers & all were happy. read more