Chicken Bee’s signature Korean-style fried chicken offers up surprises
It was my first visit to Chicken Bee, and as usual I had done my homework in advance. I had scouted social media for pictures of the Korean fried chicken joint that opened last summer on Ninth Street near Duke’s East Campus.
On the ground floor of the 801 Apartments building, I found a casual contemporary vibe, minimally decorated except for a colorful collection of glass and ceramic chickens on a shelf on the back wall.
I had checked out the menu, too, and knew what I planned to order. The signature chicken wings — the restaurant’s raison d’être — were a must.
As well-prepared as I thought I was, I was still in for a surprise.
The menu at Chicken Bee informs you that the restaurant’s signature Korean-style fried chicken wings are “double fried” — which, as any devotee can tell you, is a hallmark of the dish. The menu also notes that the chicken is cooked to order, and to allow 25 minutes or so for your order to be ready. Also par for the course.
The 25 minutes is accurate, as it turns out, but the “double fried” part is not. The signature wings are actually fried three times, as our friendly server explained when I marveled at their exceptional crispiness — an especially impressive feat, I said, given such a light batter. Even beneath a coppery lacquer of sauce, you could see the crackly skin through the translucent batter.
This triple-frying technique went against the grain of what I thought to be a defining characteristic of Korean fried chicken, so I asked owner Ji Hoon Kim about it in a follow-up phone call a few weeks later. Kim, who had operated a similar concept in northern Virginia before selling it and coming to North Carolina to open Chicken Bee, confirmed what the server told me.
Signature wings come with your choice of sauce (traditional soy garlic, spicy garlic or half-and-half) and are served with one or two sides, depending on the size or the order (Pickled radish is traditional, and ought to be one of them).
Chicken Bee also offers its take on Buffalo wings. Like the signature wings, they’re available in orders of six, 10 or 20 pieces. Unlike the signature wings, they’re fried just once with no batter (“naked”), and offered with your choice of eight sauces, from classic Buffalo to mango habanero.
If you’re wondering whether Chicken Bee actually double-fries anything, you’ll find the answer on a separate page of the menu. There, under the heading Whole Chicken Fried, you’ll find seven listings, each with a different sauce or topping.
Choose one of the same sauces that are available on the signature wings, or shake things up a bit with, say, Korean Red (a popular choice made with gochujang chile sauce) or the Scallion Top, a refreshing change of pace glazed with a light wasabi-lemon-teriyaki sauce and showered with ribbons of scallion.
“Whole Chicken” items are also available in half-chicken portions, and are served with the same side dish options as the wings. And yes, there is a difference in the crispiness of the double-fried and triple-fried wings. But you’d probably have to taste them side by side to tell the difference. I certainly wouldn’t let it deter me from ordering that Scallion Top chicken again, or even trying the Creamy Onion.
Rounding out Chicken Bee’s something-for-everyone menu is a handful of Korean entrees, a couple of Japanese noodle dishes, and a mystifying hodgepodge of appetizers. Mystifying, that is, until you realize that the fried mozzarella, zucchini sticks, sweet potato fries, onion rings and fries are offered as an enticement for nearby Duke students.
If they’re smart (and I hear they are), they’ll skip all that stuff and opt instead for either of the Korean starters: mandu (deep-fried veggie dumplings), or a generously filled seafood scallion pancake with a textbook craggy golden crust.
When it comes to entrees, I’d skip the kimchi fried rice, a bland rendition that contains more frozen vegetable mix than kimchi. Udon noodle soup is a more rewarding option. Or build-your-own bibimbap: Choose one base (white rice, spring mix or sweet potato noodles), one protein (bulgogi, spicy pork, spicy chicken or fried tofu), and two sauces (yum yum, teriyaki, wasabi cucumber, gochujang).
But after sampling my way across the menu over the course of two visits, I know what I’d order next time. Well, sort of. Depending on my mood and who’s with me, I could go for the signature wings or a half-chicken. Either way, I know it will be worth the wait.
Chicken Bee
810 Ninth St., Suite 130, Durham
984-888-5561
Cuisine: Korean
Rating: 2 and a half stars
Prices: $
Atmosphere: casual
Noise level: moderate
Service: friendly and eager to please
Recommended: signature wings, whole (or half) chicken, mandu, seafood pancake
Open: Lunch and dinner daily.
Reservations: accepted only for large parties
Other: beer only; accommodates children; limited vegetarian selection; wheelchair accessible; limited street parking, additional parking in the deck behind the restaurant.
The N&O’s critic dines anonymously; the newspaper pays for all meals. We rank restaurants in five categories: 5 stars: Extraordinary. 4 stars: Excellent. 3 stars: Above average. 2 stars: Average. 1 star: Fair.
The dollar signs defined: $ Entrees average less than $10. $ Entrees $11 to $20. $$ Entrees $21 to $30. $$ Entrees more than $30.