Bao Chick

There are few things more universal than the appeal of fried chicken – whether it’s plain, spicy, or saucy, bone-in or boneless in nuggets, tenders, or pieces of breast meat, pretty much everyone at any age (save vegetarians) loves at least one recipe, maybe several. Located inside Irvine’s Trade Food Hall, Bao Chick caters to public demand by specializing in two main items: American or Americanized Chinese fried chicken dishes, plus dumplings known in Chinese as bao. Wings can be ordered by the half-dozen across six flavors, with two types of chicken wraps, steamed eggs, and beef burgers also advertised. Several types of fries and drinks are also available.

The major draw at Bao Chick is arguably their “original chicken sandwich,” a $13 monster designed to shock in crispiness and awe in size. You can choose from white meat chicken breast or a dark meat chicken thigh, as well as your preferred level of spiciness, and if you ask verbally, you can have them hold the mayo they’d normally put on the sandwich along with fresh lettuce leaves. What you’ll get is a piece of chicken roughly three times the size of a Chick-Fil-A patty – enough to dwarf the sweet accompanying buns, and golden with lionfish-like fins of batter protruding from every angle. Less salty and decidedly crispier than a Chick-Fil-A original but with occasional drips of oil, it comes with two optional seasoning containers (spiced salt and chili oil) to amp up the heat. Without them, the sandwich is more exciting in texture than flavor; with the spiced salt, it’s punchier, though not quite as sublime as Chick-Fil-A’s perfectly calibrated spicy chicken.