Rib & Chicken: Korean fried chicken in Burnaby
Rib & Chicken is a Korean chain for fried chicken and other Korean dishes. While it is not a full-fledged Korean restaurant, they focus specifically on chicken and meat dishes with 6 locations across the lower mainland – Burnaby, Vancouver, Langley, Chilliwack and Harrison Hot Springs.
This review is based on a takeout experience from the Burnaby location. The Burnaby location is a very small shop near a 711 parking lot. In-dining was closed so I assume the restaurant must be small since dine-in is now allowed.
Food
We order several chicken dishes and a rib dish since their name is Rib & Chicken.
Half & half chicken ($21/$31)
The half & half is a classic order for Korean fried chicken. This means they’ll give you 2 flavours and usually they are the original fried chicken and the “special sauce” (yangnyeom), which is a sweet and spicy sauce. At Rib & Chicken, you actually get to choose your 2 flavours, so that is cool. We chose the sweet & spicy flavour and the sweet soy flavour.
The regular size is $21 but you can make it family size for an additional $10. Regular rule of thumb is that the regular is good for 2 people and the family size is good for 4.
Now looking at the chicken in the takeout box, the portions looked small but the chicken pieces are actually quite big once you take one out. These are boneless but very juicy and moist so I was surprised! Usually, only the bone-in chicken is this moist.
Chicken is very saucy so the flavours are strong. The sweet & spicy sauce is more sweet than spicy, so don’t worry if you cannot eat spicy well. The sweet soy was my favourite flavour.
The batter is not very thick, so it’s different from Church’s chicken or Chicko Chicken, which feature thicker and crunchier batter.
Green onion deep fried chicken ($23)
This is commonly referred to as padak. This is comprised of the original fried chicken with a sweet soy sauce and a heaping ton of green onions. It is usually a bit more expensive than the regular chicken orders. Again, you can add $10 to make this family sized.
I liked the sauce that came with it. I often compare Rib & Chicken to Chicko Chicken because Chicko Chicken is currently my top favourite Korean fried chicken spot. The 2 Burnaby locations are also very close to each other so I see them as direct competitors. Compared to Chicko Chicken’s sauce, Rib & Chicken’s is not as thick.
Grilled pork back ribs ($18)
Lastly, we order some pork back ribs in order to try their ribs menu. $18 is for a half size, but you can pay an addition $17 for a full size. You can also choose your spicy level – we chose spicy and boy was it spicy!
I was surprised by how tasty the pork back ribs are. I’m not a big ribs fan, but the pork was tender and not tough at all. It had a nice smoky flavour with a classic Asian twist (like Korean BBQ!).
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: ⭐⭐⭐
In total, we spent around $65-70 for our order for 4 people. We were all full by the end and had a few pieces of chicken leftover. Prices are reasonable and portion sizes are larger than they seem in the packaging. One thing that was kind of strange were the random french fries they threw in there – it’s not enough to say it’s a side order.
Does it compare to Chicko Chicken? I honestly struggle to choose between the 2 because they are quite different. Both are around the same price but Chicko Chicken has less menu offerings (ex. no ribs and other types of Korean food. They literally only serve fried chicken). I would say Rib & Chicken is like a better version of BBQ chicken, even though BBQ chicken has even more menu offerings than Rib & Chicken. Both are more saucy with thinner batter, but the chicken is moist inside.
If I had to choose, I think Chicko Chicken is still #1 in my heart because I love the crunchiness of their batter (and it’s also closer to me). But Rib & Chicken has secured their place as #2 on my list of Korean fried chicken joints in the lower mainland.
Sincerely, Loewe