Best Korean fried chicken in Milan - delivery and restaurants
Fried chicken in South Korea is a real institution, no getting around it. If you've seen a K-drama or traveled to Seoul you'll know it's pretty much everywhere.
Korean fried chicken is marinated before being fried twice, resulting in tasty and juicy, crispy and not burnt.
Chicken meat is historically very consumed in Korea, one of the most popular traditional dishes is in fact samgyetang, the famous soup with gingsen and chicken stuffed with glutinous rice. Following the Korean War, many Koreans specialized in preparing fried chicken to meet the needs of the soldiers (who particularly appreciated it) stationed in South Korea. Many fry shops and restaurants specializing in fried chicken thus sprang up in large centers such as Daegu, which soon became the main chicken farming city.
Over time fried chicken became the nutritious and cheap meal of factory workers and office workers who, starting in the 1970s, increasingly began to pair it with beer to the point that, during the following decade, it became extremely common the practice of chimaek, i.e. eating fried chicken and drinking beer especially while watching major sporting events.
Today this trend has also developed in Milan, so much so that there are numerous realities that also offer fried chicken for delivery: a comfortable option perfect for a quick lunch at work or in the park, or as dinner at home.
If you want to enjoy excellent Korean cuisine then read my guide to the best Korean restaurants in Milan.
DELIVERY
Following the Covid-19, some Korean restaurateurs in Milan organized themselves by opening ghost kitchens specializing in fried chicken, developing recipes in full Korean street food style.
I have selected for you the best realities in the city, also showing you the tastiest accompanying dishes which, I'm sure, you will love.
Omonni
Omonni Korean Fried Chicken is, in my opinion, the best-kept Korean fried chicken delivery in town: the packaging is beautiful and practical, the food is carefully stored.
The kitchen is taken care of by the very nice Mrs. Sun and the menu is stunning.
The chicken is sublime and you can order sunsal (without sauces), spicy yame (hot sauce), honey butter, yamyam (sweet and sour sauce) or ganjang (soy sauce, mirin and sake). The sauces give a touch like glaze on the chicken... finger licking!
The chicken burger is sensational: chicken thigh cutlet, iceberg lettuce, colaslaw and a sauce of your choice from those listed above. The bread is a potato bun and the overall size is really important, as are the rest of the portions.
Colaslaw and sweet potato fries are heavenly and, in addition to these dishes, you can order the delicious homemade kimchi, marinated daikon and steamed, white or purple rice.
There are also menus that include side dishes and drinks.
📍 Viale Murillo 11, Milan 💰 $$$
GAM Pocha
Some of you will probably remember Gam Bistrot Coreano restaurant located in viale Pasubio and which closed its doors during the Covid. Subsequently, Paolo Moon, the owner, opened a ghost kitchen specializing in Korean chicken, thus giving him the opportunity to come back and enjoy his tasty cuisine!
The menu is quite varied and includes several Korean street food specialties such as banchan (kimchi, marinated daikon or cabbage salad), rice (white or seasoned with house sauces) and bunshik among which I absolutely recommend trying the tteokbokki with stringy mozzarella cheese (you can specify the desired degree of spiciness) and mandu (fried and optional with kimchi, vegetables or bulgogi).
The fried chicken is delicious and you can order it without sauces or ganjang (house soy sauce), yang-meon (spicy sweet and sour sauce) and honey butter. Here the sauces are poured into the bottom of the container so that the chicken breading does not get wet and mushy in transit – just give it a stir and your fried chicken will taste just as good as eating it at a restaurant!
There are menus with side dishes and drinks and, among these, I recommend the sujeonggw, or sweet Korean cinnamon punch.
📍 Via Privata Giuseppe Ugolini 3, Milan 📞 339 628 0698 💰 $$$
Pollolo
Pollolo is indeed specialized in excellent Korean fried chicken but, in addition to this, it presents some really interesting typical street food preparations. Any examples? The legendary chicken or pork wurstel corn dog to be seasoned with the sauces of your choice. My favorite is the stringy mozzarella one, without meat.
Other specialties include kimbap (kimchi, fried chicken or tuna), fried chicken rice and sauces, classic spicy tteokbokki and a range of finger foods including onion rings, mozzarella sticks, curly fries, French fries covered in grated cheese and two more Korean specialties: gimmari (fried seaweed rolls filled with vegetables and rice noodles) and sodduck sodduck (skewers with rice dumplings and wurstel covered in sauce).
The fried chicken comes with rice dumplings and you can order it without sauces or yangnyeom (spicy sweet and sour sauce), ganjang (house garlic soy sauce) or sprinkled with spices and grated cheese. The sauces are served on the side so that the chicken breading does not become mushy.
Among the drinks you can find classic or fruit soju and flavored makgeolli.
📍Via Luigi Canonica 71, Milan 📞 366 263 8520 💰 $$$
RISTORANTS
Virtually all Korean restaurants in Milan offer fried chicken: being such an important dish in Korean culture, it would be impossible not to include it on the menu. For obvious reasons, I have tried them all but here I have decided to list the ones that in my opinion are the absolute best.
Dream
Dream is a family-run Korean restaurant in the Porta Venezia area where you can taste the excellent traditional home cooking of Mrs. Angela and her son Moon Sangwon.
All of the dishes at this joint are delicious and the fried chicken is the workhorse. You can order it classic, with spicy sauce, with sweet soy sauce with honey, with grated cheese or sweet and sour enriched with carrots, cucumbers and onions. Unmissable!
🌎 https://dreamristorantecoreano.eatbu.com 📍 Piazza Otto Novembre 3, Milan 📞 02 3669 7986 💰 $$
Okja
Okja is a small restaurant in the Porta Genova area specializing in Korean street food. The environment is very "instagrammable", which is why the clientele is very young.
The dishes offered, alas, over time I must admit that it has gotten worse with the exception of the fried chicken, which remains an exceptional proposal. You can choose it classic sprinkled with crumbled peanuts and seasoned with a sauce of your choice between soy and ginger, spicy or honey. Otherwise in the version with rice dumplings.
📍 Viale Gorizia 8, Milan 📞 366 327 4999 💰 $$
Li-sei Deli
Li-sei deli is a small Korean delikatessen located in Porta Genova. The property is of Korean origin but born and raised in Japan and this characteristic gives the place a delicious and very particular touch.
Here the menu is basic and the fried chicken is definitely the best dish. The proposed versions are: salt, yangnyum (sour and spicy), kanjang (soy sauce), veg mayonnaise or padak (leeks).
Recently they have offered fried chicken in combination with sweet potato and, as an accompaniment, salad or rice.
I suggest you drink it all with one of the house Korean Spritz: omija (magnolia berries), green plum, yuja (Korean citrus), raspberry or idh (Korean pear).
🌎 http://www.lisei.it/ 📍 Via Vigevano 9, Milan 📞 02 4977 5083 💰 $$
