A Deliciously New Discovery: Holdak

The first time I heard Holdak, I thought it's the way how chicken sounds that's the reason why the restaurant is named as such.

After seeing the big wall on the restaurant, that's when I discovered the true meaning of Holdak which is a Korean phrase that means to fall deeply and madly in love with chicken, Korean fried chicken that is!

A short skit was presented by the Samahan ng mga Bitter or in English "Organization of Bitter People" which by the way, you can follow them on Twitter @bittercorp. Even though the skit had a story, they somehow had infused the menu of the restaurant to the skit making us, the viewers, do nothing but salivate at the yummy-smelling food.

Samahan ng mga Bitter

Before I make you drool with my deliciously new discovery, I would like you to take a tour on how the interior of the restaurant looks like.

THE INTERIOR
Since Holdak specializes in authentic Korean styled fried chicken, the interiors give you a feel that you're being transported to the streets of Korea! Holdak first opened in Busan, South Korea as a small family owned restaurant in 2003 and afterwards grew all over Korea with branches in countries like China and Japan!

THE MENU
Aside from Korean Fried Chicken, Holdak also offers other food items like fries, Korean pancake, ramen, salad and a variety of Korean ice creams!

THE EXTRAS
Curry Fries has a hint of spice and curry taste that tickles the taste buds. One has to eat it while it's hot so that the fries are still crunchy outside.

Holdak offers 2 types of ramen. The regular ramen and cheese ramen.

Ramen (regular) is a bit salty with a hint of spice and a bit of curry taste. I like how their noodles has a bit of curl (like those in cup noodles) but they're cooked al dente!

An order of ramen

The Cheese Ramen is more flavorful than the regular ramen because of it's cheesy soup! It's perfect for cheese lovers like I am. The aroma is very appetizing and reminds me of cheese popcorn. Like the regular ramen, it also has a hint of curry and spice. It's just perfect for the rainy days! Also, the egg in the cheese ramen just makes it a lot better! :D

A bowl of cheese ramen 

A closer look at the ramen! See the curls?

THE REAL KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
The stars of Holdak! It's the fried chicken that made this restaurant famous. Ready to know the different flavors of Holdak's fried chicken?

If you've watched the story on the video above, the girl chose Padak as her favorite. Padak has a sweet zesty sauce that taste like it's mixed with honey topped with spring onions and some red chili. To eat it, one must ensure that there's spring onions in every bite to make the chicken more flavorful! For those who love spicy food, eat it the way Koreans do, add the red chili to your every bite. This is actually the majority's favorite and mine too! It's the best-seller at the moment!

Padak

Can you see the glistening sweet zesty sauce?

Eat it with the spring onions and a bit of chili!

Yang-Nyam is the original Korean fried chicken recipe of Holdak. It's also the favorite of Carl Tan, the President of Holdak Philippines. He and his friends would take out boxes of chicken to eat while watching a movie during his stay in Beijing, China.

Yang-Nyam has a lot of sesame seeds that gives the chicken an extra crunch in every bite!

It has a bit of spice too but more on the sweet and sour side.

Spicy Yang-Nyam is the spicy version of Yang-Nyam for those spicy lovers who love chili! The Koreans actually love this!

Do you see the chilis?

It's very spicy so it's really good when paired with cheese ramen!

Jack Daniels is also one of the best sellers since a lot of people love this drink! I think this dish might be good to be paired with Jack Coke! Unfortunately, Holdak doesn't sell liquor since it's a family place. The Jack Daniels fried chicken actually doesn't taste like alcohol. It is topped with caramelized onions cooked in Jack Daniels that's light and sweet with a hint of soy sauce!

Jack Daniels 

Crunchy, sweet and salty!

All chicken meals come with a serving of rice.

Ready to eat? Are you getting hungry now?

Want to meet the creators of Holdak Philippines?

The team behind Holdak with Carl Tan at the middle who craved for the real Korean fried chicken and brought Holdak to Manila!

This restaurant is a deliciously new discovery that I'll surely go back to! Three things why I love their chicken: 1 - It's boneless, 2 - It's juicy and flavorful and 3 - It's crunchy yet soft inside.

Joyfully Yours fooling around with Rhea Bue and Bella Morcen

With Rhea Bue again!

With my former colleague Omar Itay.

Holdak is located at G/F Mezza Residences, Araneta Ave cor. Aurora Blvd. For more details, "Like" them of Facebook: HoldakChicken and Instagram: @HoldakPh.

Hungry? Holdak delivers! For deliveries, call 354-2195 with minimum order of PhP250. Order soon and try my favorite Padak then let me know if you like it! ;)