Bonchon Korean Fried Chicken

I noticed while shopping up in Maple Grove recently, that the Bonchon Korean Fried chicken recently opened. The website said they were in the midst of a soft opening, so we visited for a weekday dinner.

We started with the fried rice with eggs, onions, red bell pepper and Bonchon soy garlic sauce. I didn’t care for the bell peppers in the fried rice, but John liked it a lot.

We ordered a medium order of the wings (20 pieces) with half and half of two sauces, the soy garlic and spicy sauces. The spicy was actually spicy too. The chicken was very juicy and tender and I really liked the thin and crispy breading on the wings. Koren fried chicken is delicious. Of course, I don’t’ think I’ve found a type of fried chicken I do not like!

Cole slaw comes with the wings or you can choose pickled radish instead. The slaw was really good and helped tone down the spice of the wings.

The wings are available with only drumsticks, boneless wings or a combo of wings and drumsticks. They also offer a  variety of Asian and Asian fusion dishes on the menu ranging from buns, udon noodles soup and tons of other options.

The service was quick and efficient. It is a rather small sit down restaurant, but you can call in an order to go or get it delivered through Door Dash or similar delivery services.

Note: Bonchon is a chain. In Minnesota, there are additional locations in Uptown Minneapolis, Dinkytown and Mall of America with more locations coming soon.



Bonchon
11708 Elm Creek Blvd N
Maple Grove, MN 55369
Phone: (763) 760-7100
https://bonchon.com/korean-fried-chicken-maple-grove-mn/

Hai Hai

We went back to Hai Hai recently as we had not been there since last fall. We arrive a bit early on a Friday evening and were able to easily get places to sit at the bar. It wasn’t even that full until right before we left around 7pm. There were plenty of people waiting in the entry for dining room tables though.

We started with fried wontons filled with cream cheese, chicken liver pate and a side of passion fruit dipping sauce. The chicken liver pate made the flavor very rich and meaty. We also had the water from cakes again, but I forgot to take a photo of them. Still good though!

We also had the spring rolls, which were a bit different than expected. They had a crunch egg roll skin a line of pork sausage, some pickled carrot and jicama all wrapped in a soft spring roll wrapper with dipping sauce. John loved these. I thought they were just OK.

We also had the Balinese chicken thigh with kale, bean sprouts, coconut rice, coconut cream, crispy chicken skin, lime leaf and spicy sambal with Thai chili and fried shallots. This might be our new go to dish. The chicken was so tender and juicy and the coconut rice was rich and creamy. The dish was a bit spicy, but not too much.

We finished with the Vietnamese coffee pot de crème dessert. It was Vietnamese coffee custard, creme fraiche, coco nib and crispy tuile. A light and flavorful way to finish the meal.

The service at the bar was super quick and speedy and all of the food came out amazingly quickly. So I am still loving Hai hai one year later!



Hai Hai
2121 University Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418
Phone: (612) 223-8640
https://www.haihaimpls.com/

Lucky Cricket

Another revisit for us. Lucky Cricket at the Shops at West End. Sorry for another rerun, but I think this place will take awhile to warm up to for us and everyone else.  I want to like it. I really do. But I'm just more sure. We decided to give it another try because it is close by and convenient.

We started with the pork dumplings. I'd call these solid. We both liked this dish.  

We also had the chicken wings. The sauce was soy based and the wings were nice cooked. These were also solid.

 Next, we had the Peking chicken. the chicken was juicy and cooked perfectly. 

And last, was the kung pao shrimp. the shrimp were so tiny and sad. The sauce had a good garlic flavor, but I just could not get past the sad, sad shrimp. I would not order this again. Not worth the $17 price tag.

The service was a bit on the slow side. We had to ask for plates on two different occasions. They were happy to clear things, but very slow to reset the table. We found ourselves waiting for drinks for one time and also for the check.

Overall, I think this visit was a bit better than our first visit, but it certainly was not great. I'm still not sure anyone really knows what this place is supposed to be. If it is an Asian restaurant, the food needs more work. If it is a tiki bar, the drinks need some work. Maybe it will continue to improve the longer it is open. We can hope anyway.

Link to our first Lucky Cricket visit:
http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2018/12/lucky-cricket.html



Lucky Cricket
1607 West End Blvd
St Louis Park, MN 55416
Phone: (952) 206-6830
https://luckycricket.net/

Lucky Cricket

We get pretty excited for anything tiki themed, so when we heard that Lucky Cricket, a tiki themed place with Chinese food owned and operated by Andrew Zimmern, was opening in the West End Shops in St Louis Park, we were pretty excited. However, the reviews and press have been rather underwhelming so far. But we decided to check it out for ourselves anyway.

 It was a cold and snowy day, perfect for a quick tiki getaway!

John had the Ancient Mariner drink that included rums, pimento, grapefruit and lime. I had the mai tai. The mai tai tasted ok but I was not thrilled it was a frozen drink.

Later, I ordered the Cherry Zinger drink that actually arrived in a tiki mug. This was local vodka with cherry, almond, lime and secret bitters.

For food, we started with sheng jian bao, crispy pork dumplings with vinegar, soy, ginger dipping sauce.

 Next, we had an order of fried rice. It was OK, nothing great.

Up next, the crispy glazed 18 hour ribs with hunan peanut chile sauce. The ribs OK, pretty tender, but not a ton of flavor or spice. We maybe should have added some of the chile oil on the table to the sauce to spice things up a bit.

The Szechuan wontons were last to arrive, I think the serer forgot to put the order in as they did not arrive until we asked about them.

 John had green tea ice cream for dessert. It was topped with fruit and toasted coconut. 

Overall, the service was a bit off. He forgot one item until we asked for it and things felt rushed overall, like he was trying to turn the table. But it was not that busy when we arrived or left, it was late afternoon. So it seems like a new place that is still working out a lot of the kinks and issues. Hopefully the food improves quickly, or this will be a short lived venture.

On a positive note, the room is really cool and has lots of fun touches all around. Might be a good spot to just stop in for a drink or apps before a movie, rather than a full meal.



Lucky Cricket
1607 West End Blvd
St Louis Park, MN 55416
Phone: (952) 206-6830
https://luckycricket.net/

Hai Hai

There’s been a lot of buzz around town since Hai Hai opened in Northeast Minneapolis last fall. It is owned and operated by the people that also own Hola Arepa, another popular eatery in South Minneapolis. We tried to arrive early on a Saturday afternoon to beat the crowds, but everyone else had the same idea we did. We just added our names to the wait list and enjoyed a drink while we waited. They do not take reservations and it is not that large of a place, though the back patio will make it quite a big bigger once the weather improves. So, be prepared to wait. We waited about 45 minutes I think.

MSG Margarita So Good 

bar

Lychee Keen

We started with fried wontons filled with cream cheese, chicken liver pate and a side of passion fruit dipping sauce. The chicken liver pate made the flavor very rich and meaty.

Next up, were the water fern cakes. I wasn’t sure what we were ordering here, but I had heard these were a must try. They are steamed rice cakes with mung bean, ground pork, crispies, scallion oil, nuoc cham and Thai chili. Essentially, these are rice in a bowl, with a bunch of stuff on top and they are quite delicious. The toppings add a ton of flavor and texture and overall it is a light and flavorful snack. They really are a must try item!

Next up was the fried Brussels sprouts from the vegetables section of the menu. They are cooked with nam jim herb vinaigrette, roasted green chile paste, pork belly and puffed rice. The pork belly added an earthy flavor to the fresh and flavorful brussel sprouts. These were excellent and not spicy or anything, just very flavorful.

Next, we went with the sugarcane shrimp under the assembly required section of the menu. These are shrimp mousse cooked on sugarcane skewers with lettuce, herbs, rice noodles, peanuts and nuoc cham. Somehow, I missed the fact that this was shrimp mousse and not whole shrimp. The shrimp mousse ended up tasting a bit fishy. This wasn’t my favorite item of the night.

We really enjoyed Hai Hai and thought it was a fun dining experience with new and interesting foods, to us anyway. The cocktails are excellent and we found the service to be willing to offer menu suggestions and help whenever needed. The place is mobbed and busy, so I don’t imagine lingering is encouraged, but we didn’t feel rushed at all. The busy atmosphere ended up feeling fun and festive. I think we need to return and try a few more items on the menu like the crepe and the fried rice.


Hai Hai
2121 University Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418
Phone: (612) 223-8640
https://www.haihaimpls.com/

Big Bowl

We decided to stop into Big Bowl over the holidays, while doing some shopping at Ridgedale. I had not been to a full service Big Bowl restaurant for some time and it sounded good on a cold, snowy day. We do visit the Big Bowl Express at Byerly's on a regular basis and while it is good, it is not exactly the same. We had a short wait for a table, but the wait time was much shorter than what was quoted.

John ordered the kung pao chicken. He asked if he could get it without peanuts, since he doesn't care for nuts in his stir fry. The waitress was happy to comply and it arrived as ordered. The chicken was very juicy and tender with a spicy, savory kung pao sauce.

I usually get the kung pao chicken, but I decided to try something new this time. The cherry bomb shrimp was very good. The shrimp had a light breading on it, but not too much and the shrimp were cooked perfectly, though a bit on the small side. The sauce was sweet and spicy. When I ordered, the waitress asked if I liked spicy food and I said yes. She said she checks because some people find the dish too spicy, though I thought it was perfect.

The service was friendly and prompt throughout our visit.  The restaurant was very busy, but our server never seemed overly rushed.

Big Bowl is probably one of the best dining choices available at Ridgedale right now. A couple other restaurants in the mall recently closed, Origami sushi for one, so hopefully they get some interesting new choices added soon.


Big Bowl
Ridgedale Center
12649 Wayzata Blvd
Minnetonka, MN
952-797-9888
http://www.bigbowl.com

Zen Box

Zex Box is a very popular, very tiny Japanese outlet located in the skyway system. I think they maybe have 4 or 5 tables inside the restaurant, which is not really an issue because most people take it to go.

They offer a variety of combo plates and rice bowls. My favorite menu item is the gyoza
(chicken dumplings). They come with any bento set or combo meal you order and they also have a combo that is all gyoza. On my most recent visit, I ordered the Bento #2 Chicken Kara-age that comes with chicken, gyoza and a small cabbage salad and ginger dressing. The ginger dressing is really good too, it makes a good palate cleanser at the end of the meal. The gyoza are always really good because they are just a bit crispy and they pour a bit of soy sauce over the top as well. The chicken dumplings are boneless and have a slightly crispy skin and then they pour what they call kamikaze sauce over the chicken and the rice. The sauce is a bit spicy with some garlic flavor for that extra kick.

Zen Box is a nice change from the usual Asian offerings in the skyway and it is very popular, so go early or be prepared to wait in a bit of a line.

Deals & Discounts: There are no coupon deals that I have been able to find, though they do offer a frequent diner card. After 10 punches you get a free bento set.


Zen Box
601 Marquette Avenue South #204
(Six Quebec building, skyway level)
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 341-3313
http://zen-box.com/

Curry and Noodles

We stopped by Curry and Noodles one night for dinner since we had to go down to Hopkins to drop off John's car to get fixed. I had read about it in a few places and thought it sounded like something different.

Only one other table was occupied when we arrived, but it is a pretty small place. I noticed a few people stop in to pick up carry out orders during our visit though. A couple other tables arrived while we were there but it was very quiet overall. The service was good and we did not wait for anyting or feel rushed.

They have a very expansive menu and I had a hard time deciding what to order. I ordered the tandoori chicken. It wad very tasty and had good flavor infused throughout the chicken pieces. They brought out a bowl of extra sauce, but it did not really need it since it had a lot of flavor on its own. It was presented attractively on a sizzling platter, but some of the chicken pieces became dried out sitting on the platter. I think I would order this item again though. I'd just remove the chicken from the platter as soon as it arrived at the table. We also ordered some garlic naan, which was very tasty with a lot of pieces of garlic sprinkled on top.

John ordered the garlic chicken and liked it a lot. The sauce was spicy, but not overly hot and he asked for it with medium spice. (They ask how spicy you want it when you order.) It came with white basamati rice that was very good with the garlic chicken.

Discounts: I have not seen any coupons or deals for Curry and Noodles. Their lunch buffet is probably a good value, but I have not had a chance to try it yet.

Curry and Noodles
802 Mainstreet, 
Hopkins, MN 55343-7627
952-681-7834
www.currynnoodles.com

Wok in the Park

We visited Wok in the Park on May 21st on our way home from an afternoon at Canterbury Park.

I went with a variety of appetizers for my meal. I ordered the Puffs in the Park, which is a different cheese puff special every day. Today, it was filled with garlic and black bean curd I believe. I also got a couple of crab rangoon since they were short one puff for a full order. I guess I got the last order of puffs for the night. The manager came by to explain the situation, which was fine with me. Both were really good, the crab rangoon had some actual crab inside and a tasty dipping sauce. These were much better than other places I've had crab rangoon. The cheese puffs were really good, as well, the garlic was detectable, but not overwhelming and the dipping sauce was a sweet red berry sauce of some kind.

I also got an order of egg rolls. They did not look that great, since I prefer an egg roll with a thin rice paper exterior, but these were good anyway. The filling was excellent, lots of meat inside and I really liked the slightly spicy dipping sauce. I ended up taking most of these home and reheating them in the toaster oven the next day.

JS had the Slayer Sir Fry with white rice. This smelled like garlic when it arrived. It is a stir fry with beef, mushrooms, peapods, carrots, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and onions in a garlic sauce. He said it had a good garlic flavor and it was a bit spicy, but he liked it a lot and would order it again.

Discounts: I have not noticed any discounts for Wok in the Park.

Wok in the Park
3005 Utah Ave S
St Louis Park, MN
952-657-5754
www.wokintheparkrestaurant.com