Holdaak is one of the most unique chicken shops out right now, and in one of the best ways possible. Hot chicken might be the current trend, but Holdaak stuck to their own style that holds its own amongst the rest.

I was interested in Holdaak when they first opened because it seemed like a Korean spin on the most popular Nashville Hot chicken restaurant in California, from the menu style to the chicken. I was completely thrown off on my first visit, because it is absolutely nothing like hot chicken or Korean fried chicken flavourwise, in the most pleasant way. While they do serve a variety of Korean fried chicken style wings and sauces, the main stars in my opinion are the spicy tenders and sandwiches.

The sandwich is very well balanced with the pickled vegetables, which are a nice change of pace from the typical mayo/vinegar coleslaw bunches found in other chicken shops. They help round out the comeback sauce, which is more mayo heavy and seems to complement carbs much more than any other "signature" sauce I've had. The best way to summarise the sandwich is as if there was a fried chicken banh mi, spiced with hot pot flavours.

On that note, the seasoning of the chicken truly does remind me of hot pot. That's a bit broad, but there's strong umami flavours throughout each bite as if it was powdered with dried up Szechuan stock. I'm not familiar enough with my spices to discern the taste that well, but it's truly unique to Holdaak and keeps me coming back for more. On top of that, the breading has an great amount of texture to it that keeps each bite crunchy.

The fries are cut well thickness wise and dusted with similar seasoning, with the slice of bread buttered and toasted on one side. These are served with every order of tenders and while they are just sides, they're ridiculously addicting and pair well with the sauce. I never really dip toast or fries in these sauces at other shops since it becomes a bit much, but there's a slight sweetness that keeps me coming back for more at Holdaak.

Originally, I found that the breading did not hold up very well and often found myself pulling complete tenders out of their "shell" with my teeth. Despite this, I continued to enjoy the tenders almost every month and over time this no longer became an issue. Props to Holdaak for this improvement over time, while maintaining consistent taste!

Holdaak holds a strong place in my heart now as my go to comfort food. The menu items have strong value and taste, while also being available relatively late at night. I'm glad to see this business expanding and getting the recognition is deserves as well.