Bone-in fried chicken at Amsa Market in Seoul: Gimssi Chicken

There's one thing I always end up buying whenever I go grocery shopping at Amsa Market: dakgangjeong (sweet-spicy fried chicken) from Gimssi Chicken Amsa Market Branch. I started out just grabbing it as a quick market snack, but the price is easy on the wallet and the portion is generous, so now I stop by pretty much automatically whenever I'm at Amsa Market. It's famous enough to be called one of Seoul's top three dakgangjeong spots, and on weekends you'll see a line every time you walk past.

What kind of place is Gimssi Chicken Amsa Market Branch?

Gimssi Chicken Amsa Market Branch sells dakgangjeong and fried chicken inside Amsa Market. It's right where you'd expect it, visible as soon as you walk in through Gate 4, so it's easy to find. Dakgangjeong works great as a late-night snack or a beer side dish, and it's easy to pack up and take home to eat.

My family usually stops here after grocery shopping and eats it once we're home, and it's also a handy option when I'm trying to find something my kid will eat. Weekends tend to be busy, so there's often a line. Still, if you order first and do a lap of the market for groceries, the time passes quickly. That's exactly what we did this time — we placed our order, picked up what we needed around the market, and by the time we got back, our order was pretty much all packed up.

Medium-spicy dakgangjeong: the sauced rice cakes steal the show

Whenever I visit Gimssi Chicken, I almost always order the dakgangjeong. I go medium-spicy, which is enough kick without being overwhelming, so it's easy to eat without any pressure.

And personally, my favorite part of Gimssi Chicken's dakgangjeong is the rice cake.

The rice cake tucked in between the pieces of chicken soaks up the sauce so well that it has real depth of flavor. The chicken is good, but honestly the rice cake is what I end up thinking about afterward. I actually wanted to order extra rice cake next time. So if you're hunting for the best dakgangjeong at Amsa Market, don't just eat the chicken — make sure to try the rice cake tucked inside too.

How was the bone-in fried chicken, ordered here for the first time?

I'd always ordered just the dakgangjeong before, but this time I added bone-in fried chicken for the first time. And it turned out to be way better than expected. Honestly, completely my style.

The outside is crispy, and the flavor has that light, savory quality of old-school Korean fried chicken rather than the newer styles. Best of all, the meat itself was tender rather than dry. If the dakgangjeong is all about the fun of sweet-spicy sauce, the bone-in fried chicken lets you properly taste the crispy batter and the soft chicken meat on its own.

My 4-year-old ate the bone-in fried chicken really well too. The dakgangjeong can be a little spicy for a kid, but the fried chicken is comparatively mild, so it worked great for eating together with my child.

How to handle the weekend wait at Gimssi Chicken

Every time I go to Amsa Market on a weekend, I'm struck by how many customers there are. It varies by time of day, but lining up to order is common. That said, you don't have to waste that waiting time.

We usually order first, then wander around the market doing our grocery shopping. Once we've bought everything we need and come back, the order is ready to grab. Pairing it with your market shopping makes the wait feel like no time at all.

A combo that works for a late-night snack or with beer

Since it's not too pricey, it's easy to pick up for a late-night craving at home, and it also pairs nicely with a beer in the evening. Order the dakgangjeong medium-spicy for a pleasant kick, and the bone-in fried chicken is crispy and light, so ordering both together works well since the flavors don't overlap.

If you've got kids like we do, it also works to split things up — the bone-in fried chicken for the kids, the dakgangjeong for the adults.

Honest review of Gimssi Chicken, an Amsa Market dakgangjeong spot

It's such a familiar menu for our family that we buy it almost every time we're at Amsa Market, but the bone-in fried chicken I tried for the first time this visit was an unexpected discovery. I used to think only the dakgangjeong was the good one, but this time the bone-in fried chicken actually suited my taste even better. It has that crispy old-school fried chicken style with tender meat, so even my kid ate it well.

The dakgangjeong at medium-spicy was still the most satisfying — pleasantly spicy sauce, plus the rice cake was so good that I'll probably order it again next time. If you visit Amsa Market on a weekend, you'll see enough customers that there's a visible line, but it's easy to manage if you order first, browse the market, and come back to pick up. If you want to combine your grocery run with picking up delicious takeout chicken, it's worth stopping by Gimssi Chicken Amsa Market Branch, a dakgangjeong favorite at Amsa Market. That's a wrap on our weekend with the kid!