Buk Chon Korean Cuisine — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Read some reviews and was very excited to sample another Korean joint in the city but I would say the experience was slightly lackluster.

First of all, AC. I don't know how or why, but I was legit sweating the entire time eating there (and no, not because the food was spicy). Could the outside be even cooler than the inside? I don't know, but it was a little unbearable for an indoor dining experience in a hot humid summer time.

My friend and I tried the following dishes:

Korean fried chicken (sweet chili) - 3.5/5. It was the popcorn boneless chicken. It's crispy on the outside. Good snack and app but it's not quite as satisfying as other Korean fried chicken I have had at other joint

Beef bulgogi - 3.7/5. Probably one of the most popular dishes I saw on the reviews. Was very excited to order but it came out a little dry and not as flavorful as it should have achieved

Soondubu (Tofu stew) w/ seafood - 3.8/5. Love that there's a lot of content (tofu and seafood) in the stew but the spice level needs to get turned up a lot just to live up to its potential.

All in all, nothing is wrong about the food. But it certainly feels white washed, by a huge degree. When we walked out, all we were thinking was this joint somewhere else that really brought us that feeling of authenticity and satisfaction. And we should just go...

Found this place spur-of-the-moment, leaving the PMOA. My friend loves Korean food and this place came up among the first top picks. AND YOU'LL KNOW WHY BY THE END OF YOUR MEAL! 😍🤤

For appetizers we had the Korean Fried Chicken with the Sweet-Chili sauce. You had a choice of that or honey soy. So I went with the kick of spice.

Now when I tell you the Chicken was PERFECT!... it was PERFECT! Not over fried, not too much sauce, garnishes just right (muah!) Chef's kiss!

Our other appetizer was the Pork Bun! One of my favorite Korean dishes. Their bun was sweet, like a potatoe hamburger bun taste, and pan fried it seems. The meat was so tender & juicy. The spicy kick was just right, not too much, not too little. It was perfect off set with the lettuce garnishing.

Final stop, main entrée.

I had the Pork & Chorizo Kimchi paella with the veggie fried rice, extra egg. OH MY GOD!! This dish was an explosion of flavor and love to my taste buds! The spices, the rice, the perfect eggs, EVERYTHING! I wish the dish never ended! It was ha da down one of the best Korean dishes I've had in a while.

The portions were good, the plates and presentation were amazing, the pricing is even better, I couldn't have been happier with my experience...

Service was horrible. Basicallyignored after the first time the waitress came over before our wine was even open to ask if we were ready to order dinner. Eventually, we ordered appetizers and they came and we're good. When we were ordering dinner, I asked for a dish with an add-on of tofu which I did not think would be a problem since they have tofu as an add-on for several other dishes. This particular dish was offered with beef or seafood as an add on. She said they could not do it with tofu. I asked why, if the beef or seafood was already mixed into the dish and she said no we just don't offer it that way. That was an absolutely ridiculous response to a customer's request in a restaurant which was 90% empty. We ended up ordering an entree to share, and then sat there after we ate with empty plates But nobody came over to clear. After about 10 minutes I called the waitress over and asked for our check. ...