Bonchon Mechanicsville — Restaurant in Virginia

My wife and I were out getting some craft supplies nearby. We could smell the food being cooked from down the parking lot. I wanted to find out what it was, and I was able to pinpoint it this place. I knew it was this place as soon as we walked through the door. We came in right after the lunch crowd was done and were seated right away. We ordered waters and then started to review the menu. This being my first time at this type of cuisine, I wanted to order something new, and something I could not pronounce. When I choose like this, I do not read descriptions of what is in the dish, so I have no expectations on what to expect. I ordered the bulgogi, zucchini fries (seasoned), and my wife ordered the fried chicken strips with coleslaw. When the food came to the table I was pleasantly surprised to see the dish was a large stone bowl, which was piping hot. It kept my food warm the entire time I was eating. The bulgogi was fresh, not just fresh made, but you could tell they used fresh ingrdients. The carrots that were used had a wonderful flavor. The mushrooms were amazing, and the kale was excellent as well. There were other items in this dish, but the freshness of these really spoke to me. I was happy to find a portion of rice hiding under all of this. The sauce that came with it had a little kick to it, but was not so over powering that it took away from the flavors of the fresh ingredients. The zucchini fries were well done, and seasoned well too. They came with some spicy dipping sauce, which has a little more of a kick than the sauce in my other dish, but was perfect, as it did not hit you so hard as to be too much. I was also able to steal a few peices of my wife's chicken, which was amazing, and went well in the bulgogi. They also had a sign about getting free chicken wings if you check in on a specific social media platform. So, I went ahead and did this. This got me 2 free wings, so I decided to try their spicy wings. The spicy wings are hot, but not in the normal burn your face off way. The use of spices and the other flavors in the sauce used make a delayed heat hit you. In addition to this delayed burn, as you eat more of it, it slightly cools the heat, and then builds slowly on the level, but not to an intensity that is not manageable.

We have determined that this place hits a special spot in the food world for us, and have put this on our list as a favorite place to go. What is more, I was extremely surprised to learn that this is a larger chain of restaurants, and I look forward to testing the food consistently between locations. I hope to find that they eat like a hole in the wall place, but at all of their locations, as I expect them to keep the same flavor consistency and same level to details in their...

When we went in, Millie (proprietor/ manager?) was immediately friendly and told us that there may be a '40 min wait'. The reason was that they had thought the day after New Years would be kind of slow (less crew) and they had a bunch of pickup orders. 'Not a problem', I thought as today was no rush. She immediately sat us down and took our drink orders. While she was gone, I had a chance to look at the 'bare bones', but tasteful establishment. I appreciated the simplicity and functionality of the smallish dining area. My companion remarked about the 'concrete floor' which I thought matched nicely and was not that DEATH TRAP LINOLEUM or "Faux Wood' that most restaurants like TGI Fridays are known for (slip on that floor once if you don't believe me). Millie returned with our drinks and we talked about the restaurant, our shared Asian Heritage, and our affinity for Spicy Food. We placed our orders for Steamed Shrimp Shumai w/ Dijon Dressing, and lunch specials: Bulgogi Fried Rice and Spicy Chicken Bibimpap (also got a lunch side of Kimchi which my companion 'chickened out' of trying later). The food arrived about 15 minutes later (not 40 minutes...yay) and was piping hot and smelled great. My companion enjoyed her Fried Rice, but I will admit that I was a little 'thrown off' by the finely chopped Bulgogi (almost did not see it). My Bibimbap was served in hot stone bowl (yes!) and Millie had given me an extra side of Bibimbap sauce to 'spice things up'. The Shumai was good (my companion kept thinking that we should have had pot stickers...errrrr). My Bibimbap was outstanding and the kimchi hit the spot (didn't finish it as I thought it was to be shared and was full). The flavoring was SPOT ON. The portions were more than enough. $40 for 2 for lunch (including 20%) is not bad at all. And if you think so, then might I recommend dining at Taco Bell or McDonald's...lol. I highly recommend this place even after ONE VISIT. Going to grab some Signature Fried Chicken...

Great food. Fell in love fast. The 40 count with a quart of kimchi coleslaw as the side. AMAZING. When they change the chicken recipe. Ok. We were a little sad. Then they increased priced. OK, we'll pay $50 for this order. To start, the guy was rude on the phone. Then rudely notifies my husband they don't sell the 40 count anymore. Have to do two 20 counts. Okaaay, sure. For the side, can we get kimchi coleslaw. Rudely notifies my husband they don't do the kimchi coleslaw. Only kimchi. Okaaay, sure. Can we get this in the catering quart size? Rudely states no. Would have to do 4 regular sides. Our once delicious meal was $50. Pick up, no delivery. Now it's over $75. We canceled the order. Changing for the worst. We'll move on, i suppose.

Update (hours after posting) Calling my husband and asking him to have me remove my review is off-putting. If I could leave your voicemail on this (or knew how), I would in a heartbeat. I don't believe we visited since the beginning of the year, July hasn't been very long. I had a baby in March. Losing kimchi coleslaw was the final nail in BonChons coffin for us. Changing recipes for the chicken breats was first. Sounds like these changes aren't going to happen, and you are still more interested in us spending $70 compared to $40 is was before moving up to $50. I remember being threatened to be fired if someone accused staff of being rude on the phone. Also, my husband is the reasonable one, so when he tells me he's annoyed with someone's rudeness, that means something to me. I do not recommend going here to anyone...