Taiwan Popcorn Chicken - Irvine

Food is good, and they have self order kiosks in store so you can either order on kiosk or order via their online app. Chicken filet bento box is so good. The meat is very tender and flavor is very authentic.

While it can be labelled as snack food, the galleria of Taiwanese fried foods at Popcorn Chicken pack a heavier punch than most trendy restaurants at food halls. Ordering used to be done through a scantron, which I may prefer now as some cashiers don't always capture what your order is. That hiccup aside, there are just so many options that you're unlikely to find anywhere else. The biggest standouts were the taro items (taro egg ball and taro mochi(? cake , cartilage, and oyster. The taro egg ball, our favourite and often sold out, is a dense ball of taro battered and fried, with an egg in the center. It's not comparable to anything I've had before, and the starchy sweet taro contrasts so well with the seasoning used at the store. The egg just adds additional richness! The other items are just what you'd expect. The main attributes that make Popcorn Chicken stand out are the quality of the fry (using some kind of starch such as tapioca giving it a bit of a chew and ruffled texture on the exterior, and the seasoning. The seasoning reminds me of hot broths at hot pot condensed to powder form, and mixed with the salt and pepper seasoning on fried pork chops. This isn't your typical basil and garlic popcorn chicken, this is something that would hold strong in a bowl of rice. The only knocks I have against Popcorn Chicken is the consistency. It seems that some days they're much more heavy handed on the seasoning and spice, and others they're incredibly light despite providing the same level of desired heat each time. Which is unfortunate, since that's what makes the food stand out and keeps me returning. Be sure to ask for the sweet and sour dipping sauce! This isn't provided unless asked for, with no charge!

So glad we stumbled upon Taiwan Popcorn Chicken the other night. Having grown up in Taiwan, this store is literally the fried carts commonly found in day/night markets in Taiwan. If you're not familiar with these fried carts, they will literally throw everything and their kitchen sink into the deep fryer, fresh, for you. Everything just tastes better freshly fried, and that includes popcorn chicken (the name of the store), calamari, oysters, and even pig's blood cake. They do sell other stuff like bento boxes (also filled with fried goodness) if you're looking for more of a meal. Parking is quite good as it is located within a large strip mall.

Popcorn chicken taste was great and well cooked. Sausage was a tad strange, but still good and the waiting time was not bad. I looked quite extreme to add basil to the foods that are basically unusable.

Real Taiwanese popcorn chicken place. Many options and I really like the fried oysters.