BonChon Chicken

Korean Fried Chicken, reminded me of the Korean drama that I watched a few years back, "My love from the star". The female main character favorite snack is "Chi-Mc", which is a compound word formed from chicken and beer in Korean. And after the drama get released in China, Chi-Mc become very popular.

Anyways, there is a restaurant in Columbus that served Korean Fried Chicken and recommended by one of my friend. So I decided to give it a try.

Chicken Combo [Wings+Drums]

Fried Calamari; Takoyaki; Potstickers

For the fried chicken, you have the option of wings, drumsticks and strips. You can also pick from their combo, which include both wings and drumsticks. Spicy or soy sauce are the two sauce option that you can pick from. The way the chicken is breaded is definitely different from American fried chicken. As you bite into the chicken, the breading is very crispy. At the same time, you can also taste the juiciness of the meat.

We also order some other appetizers to go along with the fried chicken. Both of the fried calamari and takoyaki is a little bit over cook, that cause the food a bit to the dry side. The other item that I like is the potstickers. Golden coated surface with super juicy and soft filling, such a prefect combination for potstickers.

Beside their famous Korean fried chicken, they also have some entree items, such as bibimbap and bulgogi. If you are looking for some new style of fried chicken, I do recommend you to Bonchon Chicken. Maybe you can try in "Chi-Mc" style and let me know how you like the combo.

Restaurant Info:

BonChon Chicken

3586 W Dublin Granville Rd,

Columbus, OH 43202

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

Another lazy Friday night, my fridge is empty from left to right. On top of that, I don't want to cook for this evening. So right after work, my friends and I head out for dinner. Downtown was our plan originally, but sitting in traffic, searching for a parking spot is not a good idea for me, thus we stayed in the Polaris area. 

On a typical Friday night, everywhere is quite busy, so we waited for about 20 minutes to get seated. One thing I like about BJ's is they have so much variety of foods and drinks. From burger to pasta, and other special cocktails and taps, it is hard to get bored with their menu.

The food didn't take too long to arrive after we placed our order. However, they brought out the wrong food for one of my friend. While my friend waiting for his food to come out, the manager came back and apologize for the mistake. He also offer a soup on the house. The management handled the situation exceptionally well for their staff mistakes!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

New Orleans Jambalaya

Jumbo Spaghetti and Meatballs

Cookies 'n' Cream Pizookies

The portion of their food is pretty huge. I like their Jambalaya because of the amount of different ingredients that they used [Grill chicken and shrimp, sausage, green pepper...] The only thing is they are pretty oily. Spaghetti and Meatballs is way too spicy. So please be cautious if you cannot handle spicy food.

We spend like quite some time in the restaurant chit-chatting. We left the restaurant around 9-ish and there are still a lot of people waiting to get seated. Overall, I like their variety choices on the menu and their staffs is very friendly as well.

Restaurant Info:

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

1414 Polaris Pkwy,

Columbus, OH 43240

Huong Vietnamese Restaurant [2nd visit]

Not too long ago from the first visit, and here we go for the second. I came around 12:30 pm and the restaurant is still packed with people. Even thought this location is not the usual spot that I hang around, but Huong is worth the drive. This time I step away from my normal routine to tried something new. 

Com Tam Suon Bi Trung

Com Tam is Vietnamese rice dish. Pork chops, sunny side up eggs and shredded pork topped on rice. In this dish, Vietnamese would use broken rice instead of any other kinds. It is more choppier than other rice, since it's collected from the breakage rice grain during cleaning. Pork chop is super tender and I can taste that they marinate with lemongrass. Shredded pork is chewy but does perfectly blend right into the dish as you started to dig in. This dish also come with fish sauce to enhance the refreshing opponent.

Bun Bo Nuong + Tom

Bun Thit Nuong is Vietnamese rice vermicelli noodle salads. At the bottom, there are lettuce, cucumber, bean sprout and basil leave. On top, it's the noodles with grill beef and shrimp. Before you dive in, toss in the crushed peanut, then drizzle some fish sauce as dressing. I'm not a big fan of pure green salad; however, I don't mind this style of salad. 

Che 3 Mau; Che Thai

I had been a fan of Vietnamese desserts because they are creamy and extremely rich in flavors. I always want to try their durian smoothies, but due to winter season, they don't have durian. Che 3 Mau is mix with three colored beans, agar jelly, coconut milk and ice. Che Thai is similar to Che 3 Mau, except it contain jackfuit instead of three colored beans. Make sure you mix well before you enjoy this delicious goodness.

Restaurant Info:

Huong Vietnamese Restaurant

1270 Morse Rd,

Columbus, OH 43229

Lotus Grill

I been in Columbus about 6 months now, and there are still tons of restaurant that still waiting for me to explore. I'm amazed that the restaurants that I had been to so far, they are very good in term of service and food quality. That make me more excited to continues my food exploration journey in Columbus. 

Today, there is another hidden gem that had been discovered. Lotus Grill is a Chinese restaurant that located in Crosswoods Commons. Once you step into the restaurant, you can spot the enlarge version of menu listed at the left side of the wall. If you are looking for more authentic Chinese dishes, you can ask for a Chinese menu. Just be cautious that the Chinese menu don't have translation to English, but the staffs are willing to explain the dishes for you.

After you order your food at the front, you can walk to the right and get seated. You can pay the food after you done eating. Their restaurant set up is quite special and all of the table is in line. If you pick the table in the middle of the line, you can sneak peak in the kitchen for fun!

Meatball Soup

House Tofu

Twice Cooked Pork

Stir-fry Shrimp with Eggs

Despite the very bad interior setting, I would consider their menu items as comfort food to me. Sometimes you don't need to use expensive ingredient in order to perfect the meal. Simple ingredients with the dedication from the chef can tie customers back to bubbles of good memory.

Restaurant Info:

Lotus Grill

150 Hutchinson Ave,

Columbus, OH 43235

Northstar Café

Toward the end of February, who can image temperature can go up to the 60F. It's just like someone press the fast forward button, and allow spring to join us in advance. I should not complain too much, since next week may go back to icy cold, winter weather. To enjoy such a beautiful day, my friends and I decide to head out to the Easton Town Center. Before we start our day off, they recommended an awesome place to fill up our tummy first.

Northstar Cafe located aside the Barnes & Noble in the South District. The bright open area and natural decoration gave me a touch of upbeat feeling. We get there around noon, but they are already pack with people. Not only that, there was a waiting line alongside the cafe as well. Even though it's a long line, it moved fairly quick. The staff will periodically comes out to give us the menu to look at while we waiting, just to speed up the order time. Their brunch menu is not big, and that's awesome for indecisive me. You order your food when you get to the cashier, find a table, and they will bring out the food to you.

[From Left to Right]Prosciutto and Poached Eggs ; Big Burrito

I would say that Prosciutto and Poached eggs is my favorite dish from this restaurant so far. Slightly toasted rosemary focaccia, bedded with parmesan, prosciutto and poached eggs. There are a lots going on in my mouth when I took the first bite. The crunchy focaccia, along with the savory prosciutto and the richness of the golden egg yolk. I think this can never go wrong with this combination. 

The Big Burrito filled with eggs, roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed peppers and onions... This was my first time trying sweet potato as an entree, thus I have to dislike this combination a bit. Mainly because I prefer sweet potato for deserts.

This cafe is a prefect spot for you to grab a brunch on the weekends. Additionally to their Breakfast and Brunch dishes, they have variety of freshly baked items from the bakery. One thing to be caution is they are quite busy during brunch/lunch hour.

Restaurant Info:

Northstar Cafe

4015 Townsfair Way,

Columbus, OH 43219