If you’re partial to an afternoon of doom scrolling through TikTok, you might have noticed the viral Korean corn dog popping up in-between inspirational life lessons and the terrifying aged filter.
The street food favourite has been a huge hit with food accounts across the app, and now a new restaurant has opened in Manchester city centre dedicated entirely to the sought after snack.
London-born Bunsik has taken over the former Tampopo restaurant that sits in-between the bus station and the ‘gardens’. With three popular branches in London, the corn dog connoisseurs have become a household name in the capital and have now made a move north with their first outpost in Manchester city centre.
Occupying a 2,000 sq ft site, the new restaurant offers the chain’s biggest menu yet. With a wider selection of its corn dogs, queues have already been forming around the block throughout its opening week.
Sweet and savoury, chewy and crispy,Korean corn dogs have been around since the 1980s in Korea and have since gained notoriety in Taiwan, Japan, China, the US, and now, in the UK. The snack is made from either sausage, cheese, or a combination of the two; skewered, dipped in batter then rolled in breadcrumbs before it’s topped with potato, diced french fries, crushed ramen noodles, or crispy rice and cooked to a perfect golden brown in the fryer.
So what’s on the menu at Bunsik?
Bunsik offers a range of classic corn dogs including the the Original Corn Dog (premium chicken sausage with crispy outside); Half & Half (a combination of chicken sausage and mozzarella cheese); Potato Mozzarella version (Mozzarella cheese with potato cubes on the outside) and a Cheese & Cheese(Mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan and cheese sauce with crispy potato cubes).
However, the menu doesn’t stop there. Other highlights include Korean fried chicken, Cup Bap rice bowls, burgers and Ramyun noodle soup. Diners can also try Bingsu, a new dessert made exclusively for the new Manchester restaurant. Similar to ice cream, Bingsu is made from frozen cream or milk, which is grated or shaved to create a fluffy, snow-like dessert.
There are also a number of bubble tea flavours at Bunsik, including; Matcha Milk Bubble Tea, Chocolate Bubble Tea and Strawberry Green Tea.
Bunsik Manchester is now open at Piccadilly Gardens and will soon be available to order through Deliveroo.