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Dok Dok Chicken in K-Town: Korean fried chicken and fried Twinkies

A plate of chicken from Dok Dok Chicken in Koreatown.

A plate of chicken from Dok Dok Chicken in Koreatown.

(Cecelia Hae-Jin Lee / For The Times)
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Name of restaurant: Dok Dok Chicken. Its website states that “dok” means chicken in Korean, but really, I’d spell the word for chicken “dak,” instead.

Concept: Korean fried chicken. What else do you need to know?

What dish represents the restaurant, and why? The fried chicken here may be the closest to what you’ll find in South Korea.The coating is the usual double-fried/extra crispy with juicy bird meat inside. The pieces are Korean- not American-sized. So, a four-piece plate is good for one person. There are several sauces to choose from, including the honey butter that recently was all the rage in Korea chip favors. But the spicy garlic is the way to go, because it’s not too spicy and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Purists may want to go sauce-free.

If you didn’t get enough deep-fried goodness, add a side of potato wedges, a fried hard-boiled egg or a batter-fried Twinkie dessert.

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Who’s at the next table? Young Korean women share a basket of fried chicken, while daintily holding their lunch with chopsticks (It’s considered rude to lick your fingers in Korea.). K-Town construction workers quietly wolf down their lunches before heading back to work.

Appropriate for...: Lunch, dinner and delivery for those nights you’re binge-watching your entire Netflix queue. Grab a family meal to get more sauces and ddeokbokgi on the side too.

Service: You order at the counter, but your food is delivered to your table on surprisingly understated faux-wood trays.

What are you drinking? Your choice from a variety of bubbly sodas is a good way to cut the grease. Both fountain and canned pops are available. Also, house-made shikhe (a lightly fermented sweet rice drink) is available after your meal if you don’t opt for the fried candy bar for dessert.

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Info: 401 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 351-9963; www.dokdokchicken.com.

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