Vons Chicken — Restaurant in Castro Valley

I never post about restaurants. I love the yangnyum and I had not eaten at this Vons. I came in on Saturday 5/13 around 6:30. It was such a disappointment. The chicken was almost nonexistent. Super thin and not big juicy pieces like I have had in Dublin and in Berkeley area. It looked like they had pounded chicken flat with a mallet first. It was a little ridiculous to be honest for a $16 order. There wasn’t a lot of sauce either. Very, very light sauce which is sort of funny considering the name of the dish and definitely not what I am used to with this dish. Sauce it up guys and use bigger chicken! I would give it another shot but I kinda wonder if the poor quality and the wait had anything to do with the awkward tipping moment?

I go to pay and at the end of the transaction the cashier spins the register screen. The screen is in Korean. I normally would tip but I am taking it to go A. and B. I just couldn’t read the screen. Usually I just enter a dollar amount with the custom tip button but I couldn’t find it in this case. I couldn’t figure out how to continue and it was getting a little awkward. I had to ask him, “I dont know what this says. what would you like me to do?” They seemed nice. Maybe they will make it right. The photo is of just breading. Very sad plate.

My stomach kinda hurt after eating it. Hopefully thats just the breading bubbling. A little burnt and a...

Food is always nice here. If you live around here please give it a try. It's probably the best chicken on the mission boulevard.

Truly respect the young asian bro who works there. I was a bit rushed yesterday, when I asked how long it took he told me 4 minutes. What? How come he can estimate the time so accurately 🤪🤪. (Most of the restaurants their staff only give you approximate time, like around 5 minutes or around 10 minutes. But ending up the actual waiting time is longer most of the time 🥱🥱) Guess what, he really finished it in 4 minutes even including the packaging 🫡🫡. It's impressive and truly respectful. I guess this young asian dude did a lot of preparation in the kitchen to make that happen. AMAZING!!!👍👍👍 If you are the boss of the restaurant please give this asian dude a rise, he totally respect that. This is the very first time someone told me your food will be finished in 4 minutes, not 5, not 10 is 4 minutes.

PS. Hey dude will you consider being a bus driver? If so the bus will never be late 🤣🤣 just kidding 😂😂. Keep going, I truly appreciate your...

Pretty great option for chicken around here. I have always enjoyed Korean style chicken so when I saw options such as the honey butter or yangyum chicken here I definitely had to try it. Firstly, both the wings and drumsticks are huge and satisfying to eat. At its core it is great fried chicken with just the right amount of crunch without losing its juiciness. Flavor-wise I think both of these options are really good. The yangyum chicken, kind of wish had a bit more gochujang/garu smokiness to its flavor, tasted closer to tteokbokki type of sweet sauce and that added savory bite would have really hit my taste buds right. The honey butter chicken is equally great with a sweet and flavorful bite, though they only add just enough powder to get the flavor... would prefer it coated.

Service is friendly and the front is simply a walk up counter, no dining in, etc. the pickled radish that comes with the chicken is better than alternatives I have been to but is still missing that refreshing bite that I have...