hello everyone this is Running on Empty Food review well hello ladies gentlemen and everyone
watching welcome one and all to this newest edition of Running on Empty Food review series
I'm your host the report of the week I am excited as a matter of fact it transcends excitement this
is this is practically a dream come true and I I'm at the point I almost can't even physically
contain myself so if you see me just like flip the table over and just start going crazy it is
what it is international travel it's one of those things that I'm sure all of us think about to you
know one extent or another right we'll sometimes think about some Far Away place and we'll think
what if right what if one day I could go over there and I could see the SES try the food just
experience it you know take it all in in but sometimes let's be honest it could be a hassle
right it could be cost prohibitive the airports the flights organizing the itinerary right all
that could be stressful it could be hectic it could be overwhelming overbearing you know in
my case I'm here in the United States South Korea is uh is quite a ways away the other night I was
thinking about South Korea I was thinking what if right what if maybe one of these days but that
at the time was just a thought you know it was just something that I was just thinking about it
wasn't a reality and then what happens today what happens when I check to see what the latest fast
food releases are Shake Shack has released their new Korean style menu this is a dream come true
I said to myself you know what for forget forget any sort of trip I could just go down the street
right now and experience a taste of South Korea at Shake Shack really it is a dream come true
they have released at least two Korean style items a chicken sandwich and a burger and yes
I'm going way over the top with the introduction here and that is intentional nonetheless this is
an interesting item though I'll be honest I have fun with these sorts of things sometimes but it's
a unique looking item and I am looking forward to to trying it out today I'm going to be trying
out the chicken sandwich because I've seen the chicken sandwich get the most promotion that seems
to be the one that's advertised most heavily the burger you know it gets some talk but again every
everyone's talking about the chicken sandwich I got it right here that's what be trying out
in tonight's review Shake Shacks Korean style fried chicken sandwich so what exactly is on
it what makes it Korean style well here's what there is to know about it it features a crispy
white meat chicken filet that's the base it has a spicy and sweet goou Jang claze I'm sorry if
got the pronunciation of that wrong I I tried though to get it right not to get it wrong has
a spicy and sweet glaze it has sesame seeds and it also has a kimchi SLO on top of it as well so
it has some of these flavor combinations that they describe as authentically South Korean and uh of
course we will see but uh it's had mixed reviews based on what I have seen some people really like
it some people hate it some people feel it's you know somewhere in the middle I'm not one to get
Shake Shack all that often I've gotten them from time to time but uh in in the years I guess that
I've tried Shake Shack there have been some good items and there have been some bad items and if
my memory serves me correct one of the last items I tried out from Shake Shack was horrible and it
was really disappointing it was this burger it was just God awful and uh we will see we'll see
how this one is one thing that I should mention that if anything I I can't say I'm the happiest
about is the price this sandwich by itself just a sandwich so this isn't a meal $11 that's how much
it cost bucks just for the sandwich by itself a lot of people say that Shake Shack is a bit
overpriced and truth be told $11 for this sandwich and it is not the world's biggest sandwich either
that's a bit disappointing but nonetheless going to try it out of course and uh then that'll be
that comes in the little box right there you could see there's a hot dog with some toothpaste on
it it's about to get real and let's
see oh I could really smell the
glaze yeah you could really see it it's definitely
thoroughly coated could see some of the sesame seeds as
well
getting a little close up right
there yeah definitely I could already I could already smell the
glaze
all right I think that's all that there really is to uh say about it
I think you know what's on it I know what's on it and now we'll see what it
tastes like it is the Korean style fried chicken sandwich from Shake Shack going
in
sorry for cutting the eating segment out this time around I just wanted to
make sure I had enough time to really discuss this so before I get into the
assessment I'm actually going to have to get up because you'll see and I'll talk
about this in a little bit but you'll see this the glaze really definitely gets on
on your hands a bit it's one of those sorts of glazes that's sticky too so I have to go
and wash my hands right now because a standard napkin or cloth will not do so I will be right
back all right now with certified Clean Hands let's get into this so this is one of those items
that's interesting but to be straightforward this is one of those items that likewise I
wouldn't say that I'm necessarily crazy about it but I don't hate it either uh to me it has some
good characteristics but then it also has some things that kind of I either feel are lacking
or maybe I wish were emphasized a bit more and uh again there were certain expect that were met or
exceeded and there were some that really weren't so again let's get into it first and foremost I
don't know what do you think should we start with the good or the bad or just go go through it all
guess we'll go with the good first so generally speaking the favorite my favorite thing about
this is the glaze and that I would say is the most prominent flavor in this as well uh you definitely
taste it in every every single bite and I think that was overwhelmingly apparent even just upon
visual examination of this because you could see that the chicken filet was thoroughly coated I
could smell it I could tell that it was going to be potent and I most definitely could taste
it and it left its Mark but that was probably the best thing about this it's a very enjoyable glaze
and I think it hits just the right note as far as the spiciness as well as the little sweetness that
it has uh likewise way I notice it the spice hits you first this time around it's not overwhelming
mind you sort of like moderate I would say and it does linger a little bit as well but it's Pleasant
it's a flavorful spice and then it has this nice sweet note that then comes in a little later and
the sweet note is not as persistent as the spice is uh but it complement it quite nicely and both
notes of this glaze uh likewise complement the chicken and uh again that's probably the best
part of this the glaze is enjoyable there's a good amount of it and it really carries uh
this sandwich if you ask me but then to everything else so number one the quality of the chicken for
the most part it's okay but there were a couple weird things about it which you know this is one
of those things that I'm not going to make a big deal out of because it's not you know again it's
not the end of the world or anything like that um but if you could see on the crosssection here
the chicken filet was just strange texturally so it's like there is this flat sort of fet right
there but then half of it is more like pulled uh chicken that's kind of molded into a sort of
Patty and as a result when you just when I took a bite out of it out of this area it sort of just
fell apart and uh made it a little difficult to eat because I bit in and then it was like the
chicken filet just totally disintegrated which I wasn't expecting at all I was expecting it to
have you know some firmness and consistency and I guess this is just the way that they do things at
Shake Shack but I was just expecting a little more structure I suppose cuz again when I bit
in and it just fell apart completely and uh half of it just fell back into the box and uh and it
was just bizarre I just was not expecting that so you know the chicken itself tasted all right
for the most part it was a bit on the salty side though and that goes for the chicken itself not
the glaze but the chicken actually was just a little it was more salty than I wish that it
it should have been in my opinion I wish that were less salty I'm trying to say because that
glaze also has a little bit of saltiness but the chicken itself is just a bit a bit too too much
sodium if you ask me so the chicken is so so I could live with it I could deal with it but is
this the perfect chicken filet far from it and uh I guess I was a little disappointing but the
other thing that disappointed me I think more so was the kimchi law uh the sad thing about that
is that I couldn't really taste much of it I was really hoping that there would be a much
more prominent uh note to it and that it would be more flavorful than it actually happened to be um
because what I noticed is that I couldn't really taste any of it it was just very very weak as far
as the flavor was concerned I couldn't really notice it at all texturally I could notice the
difference of course but as far as any flavor of its own I it was really just missing in action and
that's disappointing again as nice as the glaze is that's pretty much the only thing you could
really taste that and some of the saltiness of the chicken which again was also falling
apart and then another issue as the chicken was falling apart the uh breading was just sliding
right off as well and I know that just happens sometimes but again I was just hoping to enjoy
it in a more complete Manner and I've had this happen before but uh I just wish that it was a
little more structured in that regard so I could just take a bite experience all the ingredients I
just at once uh rather than bite in have it fall apart have the breading slide off then taste it
being a bit overly salty as far as the chicken goes but enjoying the glaze but then not being
able to taste the kimchi and uh is it acceptable sure you know it's I I it's it's okay but it's not
one of these items that makes me think that this was $11 well spend oh yeah I can't wait to go back
here and buy this again from now on I'm just going to go and and eat the sandwich exclusively until
they discontinue it or anything like that there's definitely some things that could have been better
about this so that's disappointing really the more I think about it the only thing this really has
going is the glaze and that's it if it weren't for that glaze I don't think I would really give this
a good review then I would be saying the chicken is weird it's disappointing it's overly salty I
can't taste the kimchi you know the sesame seeds are just there as a decorative uh addition for
the most part so I can't really taste those at all the bun at least at least there's some structure
to that the bun is soft it's chewy but uh the bun is fine for what it is so I guess that's
another another plus it's good on the bun but uh yeah it has its it has its positives and its
negatives and uh if it weren't for how good that glaze is I would say otherwise that the negatives
would outweigh any positives so this is like a middleof the road sort of item if you get this
understand that the glaze is where all the action is that is the single best part of this sandwich
everything else don't count on it if it's better than this that's excellent but do not count on it
and don't count to uh despite how good the glaze is don't expect to feel some sort of relief or
satisfaction at uh the fact that you spent $111 on this I think it's very overpriced if you ask
me again Shake Shack has a bit of a reputation for that but uh disa points me I don't think
this is $11 well spent it's an average sandwich at best again I always appreciate these sorts of
establishments trying something new branching out a bit and trying some different flavors and again
that glaze has potential no doubt but the kimchi the fact that it was barely discernable uh was
disappointing to me and the quality of the chicken uh left a lot to be dissolved because again I I
don't want to just sit here and you know have a little bow of glaze and dip the bun in it and
just enjoy that you know I want it to complement the chicken I want the chicken itself to be good
enough that it doesn't require this glaze to just drag it across the Finish Line the fact that the
chicken was so overly salty that sort of worries me a little bit because I've had some really bad
experiences before with items that seem a bit too salty so uh fingers crossed there and uh yeah it
has some positives it has some negatives I guess the fact of the matter is that it kind of cancels
out somewhere in the middle but definitely some room for improvement is needed and uh they've got
they've got a good base they need to work on the chicken a little bit they need to really
work on the kimchi but keep the glaze where it is they did a great job with that but uh does
need some improvement elsewhere and again it is too overpriced for my liking so therefore out of
10 not the best but not the worst has some good qualities some bad qualities as well and uh yeah
need some work but I'd say it's still interesting for what it is it's something different from the
usual again so I would say if you have a a Shake Shack in your neck of the woods you want to try it
while it's here maybe go down give it a shot this is one of those items I think that it's
like may as well get it once just to say you got it see how you how it is ETC and then call it a
day at that so therefore out of 10 I'm going to give the Shake Shack Korean style fried chicken
sandwich a six out of 10 yeah it's it's barely okay but it needs some work and that's all that
I have for you thank you for watching and until next time I'm your host the report of the week