Krave Asian Fusion Restaurant — Restaurant in Irvine

Came through for a birthday and was pleasantly surprised by it's proximity to work. It was a literal 5 minute drive! I've had this place bookmarked for quite some time, so I was very excited to try them out for their much acclaimed KFC (Korean fried chicken).

They have an amazing lunch special deal and the menu had plenty of variety - a lot more than I had expected. I thought they were just a place for KFC, but they had ramen, bibimbap, burgers, katsu and more. I was a little stumped on what to try as a first timer, but I stuck to my first selection with the 8 wings with fries lunch combo for $9.99.

You can get more than one flavor, so I decided to get half black peppercorn and half soy garlic. For your fries, you get a choice of ranch, ketchup or sriracha ranch. When the food arrived, there was a bit of a mix-up - not sure if it was the fault of the server or ours, but a few plates got swapped. Since most of us have never been here, we didn't know what things were supposed to look like.

My plate ended up being the soy garlic and mango habanero. My friend across me somehow ended up with mine after switching with another person's plate previously. It was a game of musical plates and we didn't know what things were until everything was half eaten. I was sorely disappointed that I never got to try the black peppercorn, so my experience here could have been better. However, the soy garlic wings were quite tasty and the table favorite.

For the lunch deal, it was pretty good and way more filling than I thought it would be. I wished I had more time to explore the menu, but maybe I'll return when I'm not crunched for time...

Loaded Kogi Fries are French fries topped with sriracha cheese sauce, marinated ribeye, scallions, and jalapenos. The fries are crispy and make a great base for the toppings. The bulgogi is tender and uniquely flavored just like bulgogi should be. The silky sriracha cheese sauce seals the deal with a slight kick of heat. This is the ultimate Korean fusion comfort food! Rating: 5/5

Korean fried chicken is a different technique of frying chicken using a twice fry method similar to Belgian frites. The skin comes out crispier while the chicken is itself is less greasy. The technique also seals in juices for tender, juicy bites. The soy garlic sauce is the most flavorful of the sauce choices. It has an excellent balance of saltiness from the soy and the sweet, yet bright flavor of the garlic. Chinese chili sauce is similar to a sweet chili sauce found in most Chinese and Filipino cuisines and not overly sweet. Spicy sauce is a medium-hot level of spiciness that yields a slow burn which migrates from the tip of the tongue and down your throat. Black peppercorn sauce is a little bit on the sweeter side with a nice balance of pepper. Try them all and decide for yourself! Rating: 5/5

Bibimbap is a hot stone bowl filled with rice and topped with seasonal vegetables, marinated ribeye, and an egg yolk. This is Korea’s version of beef bowl. The bulgogi is definitely the star of this dish with its tender texture and marinated flavors. The yolk adds a richness similar to tamago meshi in Japanese cuisine. The vegetables add texture and brightness with a balance of acidic pickled flavors....

Food and service could both use improvement, but overall my experience was all right and I don’t think it warrants any stars off because I’ve only been here once. Wings were very lackluster in seasoning. The soy garlic wings had barely any sauce on them and I was told by one server after I requested a side of soy garlic sauce that they cannot give out soy garlic sauce on the side. Another server said the same and told me I could request them to brush on extra sauce when I order after I told her the wings seemed to be barely sauced. The Taiwan 5 spice wings also lacked seasoning. The wings were fried nicely but due to lack of seasoning, they had a heavy grease taste. I was told by my friend that last time they came, their soy garlic wings were much better, so maybe it’s a kitchen consistency issue. Chicken katsu was delicious - the portion does feel quite small for the price though.

Servers were on their phones most of the time which makes sense because it wasn’t busy, and it seems like they have a very hands off approach to their tables. It would have been nice to be checked on earlier on during the meal and not have to flag down/walk up to the counter for things, but maybe because it’s a chill place that tables perhaps usually like to be left alone.

Place is very clean and...