The "successful" opening of the first local branch of Korea's "most famous" brand of fried chicken, bb.q Chicken, in November 2022 at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig came as no surprise. After all, this is the fried chicken that has been featured prominently in popular K-dramas, such as Goblin, a.k.a. Guardian: The Lonely and Great God; The King: Eternal Monarch; and Crash Landing on You. Any fan would get curious, at least, to try it.

"Up to this day, we still get lines outside the store, especially on weekends. It's very successful," Vanessa Singson told Daily Tribune in an interview at the opening of bb.q Chicken's second store on 16 July at the Robinsons Magnolia Mall in Quezon City. Vanessa is part of the LCS Group of Companies headed by her father, former Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson. One of its conglomerate businesses, LCS Group Korea, has partnered with the global franchise group Genesis BB.Q to bring the Korean brand into the Philippines.

Pinoys' continued patronage of bb.q (which stands for "Best of the Best Quality") Chicken goes beyond curiosity and is actually based on quality. No wonder it now has 3,000 stores in Korea alone since it started operations in 1995, plus more branches in 57 countries.

"It's not very salty," Singson said of the Korean fried chicken offered at their restaurant. "It's also cooked in olive oil. Sa Korea, 'yung chicken nila, they don't eat it with rice. They eat it alone. Sobrang flavorful na ng chicken, pero hindi maalat. Also, our chicken is very fresh."

Not just chicken

The restaurant's signature dish is the original Golden Fried Chicken (four pieces: P495; eight pieces: P945), which can be truthfully described, as written in the menu, "juicy and tender inside, light and crispy outside." It also comes in chicken strips that are breaded and fried to similar golden perfection. If you want more fire, there's the hot crispy chicken. It is flavored with the masala blend of Indian spices.

For sauces, you can choose from Secret Chicken (using bb.q Chicken's secret sweet sauce) or its fiery version, Hot Spicy Chicken, or maybe Cheesling Chicken (with "unique" cheese powder), or Gangnam-Style Chicken (a combination of garlic spicy, sweet spicy, sour and salty).

Non-chicken eaters can also enjoy a wide variety of Korean dishes, from Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) to Sundubu Jjigae (spicy soft tofu stew) and Dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken, similar to afritada). There are also

Korean

-inspired pasta and side dishes, as well as rice meals, salads, desserts, and drinks.

Singson's personal favorites are Ros Seafood Pasta (P429) and Ros Seafood Tteokbokki (P379). Ros refers to the creamy tomato-based sauce that's quite popular in Korea.

"The menu is tailored differently here, but the main is chicken," she explained on how they came up with their own selections compared to other bb.q Chicken restaurants in and out of Korea. "Ang the same sa lahat is the chicken." She also reiterated her father's declaration in his opening remarks after cutting the ceremonial ribbon to formally open the restaurant, that bb.q Chicken is open for franchising.