Half-and-half chicken to go near Hwagae Market: Jadam Chicken Hadong

Hwagae Market sits right on the line between Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces, and I picked a Hadong chicken spot nearby as my late-night snack — Jadam Chicken.

Where is Jadam Chicken Hadong Hwagaejangteo, and is there parking?

Jadam Chicken Hadong Hwagaejangteo is located near Hwagae Market, so it was easy to stop by while touring Hadong. There's a parking lot right next door, and Lotte Mart and Mega Coffee are also nearby, so you can grab groceries and coffee at the same time.

A chicken shop where a robot does the frying

A robot fried chicken shop — isn't that surprising? Robots really are getting closer to our everyday life now. At this Hadong chicken restaurant, you can actually meet the cooking robot in action. Unfortunately, when I visited, the robot wasn't running. I think it probably only gets switched on when orders pile up.

Jadam Chicken makes its chicken with animal-welfare certified birds, which make up only 6% of chickens in Korea. I think that's a big reason why, despite being a latecomer franchise brand, its recognition has shot up so fast.

Master kkwabaegi at Jadam Chicken: takeout only

This Hadong chicken shop also sells master kkwabaegi (twisted donuts). There's a king kkwabaegi and sesame-rice donut set on the menu too, but the twisted donuts are takeout orders only.

Indoor tables and outdoor seating at Jadam Chicken

There were several tables set up inside so you can eat chicken right at the store. There are also outdoor tables outside. With the cool autumn season here and the mosquitoes gone, eating chicken outside should be pretty nice.

The menu board and ordering the half-and-half chicken

Here's a photo of the Jadam Chicken menu board. Mapshellin (spicy-rated) chicken seems to be trendy these days. Still, I went with the most basic of basics, half-and-half chicken, since this was my first time trying Jadam Chicken and I wanted to taste the standard menu first. Besides the chicken options, there were also various sides like tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), fried fish jerky, cheese potato, cheese balls, and french fries.

This is the robot cook of this Hadong chicken restaurant, Jadam Chicken. If you're lucky, you can catch the robot in action. I ended up taking home the half-and-half chicken fried by the owner directly and enjoyed it at the lodging. Now I'm suddenly curious what chicken fried by the robot would taste like.

Looks like actor Jo Jung-seok must have been the ad model — a sticker of him holding chicken greets you. While waiting for my order to be packed, I got bored and took a photo of the country-of-origin display board too.

Domestic, animal-welfare chicken for both bone-in and boneless

When ordering, the owner asks whether you want bone-in or boneless, and both are made from domestic chicken. That's something I really liked. Boneless chicken often comes from Brazilian chicken at most places, whereas Jadam Chicken, using animal-welfare certified birds, really stood out for sticking with domestic chicken.

Eating the half-and-half chicken and fried fish jerky back at the lodging

Just looking at the photo of the half-and-half chicken, doesn't the skin look super crispy? The chicken came out fried just right — not too dry, not too oily.

And then there was the fried fish jerky with its crispy texture! It tasted almost like a snack — I kept reaching for more.

If you order the half-and-half at this Hadong chicken shop, it comes as a full set with salt, sauce dip, honey mustard dressing, pickled radish, and a cola.

Proudly printed on the packaging was the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' "Animal Welfare" certification mark! Jadam Chicken elevated its quality with 100% domestic chicken, well-being pickled radish, and Himalayan pink salt.

Because it uses broiler chickens raised healthily on animal-welfare certified farms, the chicken pieces felt a little smaller, but tasted all the more delicious for it. The well-being pickled radish is said to be made without glacial acetic acid or saccharin. The mineral-rich Himalayan pink salt also felt like a detail they really cared about.

Why Jadam Chicken works as late-night food on a Hadong trip

Visiting Hwagae Market is basically a must while touring Hadong. Grabbing late-night food at the nearby Jadam Chicken and doing some grocery shopping at Lotte Mart lets you use your travel time efficiently!