Three short weeks ago, Bon Chon chicken broke the Thainet with images of a succulent duck-shaped fried chicken that promised sweet relief from the usual steamed bird served for Chinese New Year.
As newgen Thai-Chinese, Russarin Lertpojmanee wanted to be among the bold new order by pre-ordering the South Korean-inspired franchise’s crispy Wai Jao Chicken, but when it was arrived to her mother’s Bangkok home this morning, she soon received photos of the atrocity that arrived
“What I expected to get vs. what I got. Even mom complained about it, my grandmother and dad won’t forgive me,” Russarin wrote online. “Well, at least they stuck a gold sheet on it and gave us crispy noodles for consolation.”
Dump the steamed bird and pay deep-fried respect to your ancestors with Bonchon’s ‘Wai Jao Chicken’
She told Coconuts Bangkok that one of the reasons she wanted the THB688 chicken was because her oldest son would actually enjoy the ritual meal as he really loves Bon Chon. Although she was aware of the small-print disclaimer reading “this picture shown is for advertisement purposes only,” she thought it couldn’t possibly be this bad.
“This morning my son came to me and kept telling me to not let anyone eat it up after the ritual and save some of the chicken for him. I don’t want to imagine whether he’ll still want to eat the bird once he actually sees it,” she said.
Some others who took the deep-fried plunge into trashing tradition shared similar photos of their grisly birds. Many made fun of the skinny brown chicken and thought how their ancestors would feel about it.
Chayapat Aong Him thought it resembled a demon chained and bound under a magical seal.
“I like how they have a gold sheet stuck on it, like they have the chicken under a spell,” Chayapat Aong Him wrote. “It’s like this chicken committed some sins against its parents and after dying became one of the tall, hungry demons from Thai folklore, so Bonchon had to strike it down with magic.”
“It’s good that my family is socially distancing today, or my grandma will be shaking right now,” Yanika Lertpotmanee wrote.
As of noon, Russarin wrote online that Bonchon, having noticed her viral post, called to tell her that the brown color came from its sauce and that they would send her a new chicken. She turned down the offer as the traditional ritual was over. She ain’t mad at them, she said, and will continue to eat their chicken.
Related
Dump the steamed bird and pay deep-fried respect to your ancestors with Bonchon’s ‘Wai Jao Chicken’
