Bunsik: We tried out the viral Korean corn dog spot in Piccadilly Gardens

Piccadilly Gardens has been busier than usual this week thanks to a new Korean street food spot that has people queuing outside the door. They are all there to try out the new viral food – Korean corn dogs.

Following on from the success of Netflix’s Squid Game and the global popularity of Kpop in recent years, these corn dogs are the latest Korean export to take the world by storm. Bunsik opened in Manchester last weekend and it seems to have had a constant stream of customers. This is their first location outside of London, where they have three successful stores.

The menu is small but varied, and it’s definitely unique in terms of the Manchester food scene. It features as its star attraction a variety of different corn dogs, filled with cheese, hot dogs or both, but it also offers ddukbokki ( Korean rice cakes), a selection of fried chicken options, including burgers, and rice dishes.

We went along to try it out for ourselves and, overall, we were not disappointed. Our order consisted of three different corn dogs, a portion of the original ddukbokki and dakgangjeong, which is bite-sized pieces of fried chicken in a spicy and sweet sauce. All the food was cooked to order, but we did not have to wait long for any of it.

Proof of the freshness of the food is evident in the excellent cheese pulls you get from the cheese-filled corn dogs. Two of our corn dogs included cheese: the potato mozzarella one, which is covered in small cubes of potato before going into the fryer, and octo legs corn dog, which has cheese in its top half and hot dog in the bottom, cut  to look like octopus tentacles poking out the bottom.

Our final corn dog had to be the original one and this was probably my favourite as the saltiness of the sausage balances well with the sweetness of the batter, which is just the right thickness. All three come with your choice of condiments - we highly recommend the spicy Buldak mayo. They are a little bit messy to eat, but that’s all part of the fun of it, and the crispy outside combined with the soft fillings give them a very satisfying texture.

The other items we ordered were also both new to us and we were excited to try them. The ddukbokki have a soft and chewy texture, similar to gnocchi, and it comes in a sweet and tangy sauce. And the sticky chicken popcorn was incredibly moreish. There are also different portion sizes to choose from, depending on how hungry you are.

It is the kind of place that is great for a mid shopping trip treat, quick weekday lunch, or even after a trip to the pub – although it closes at 8pm, which might be a tad early for some revellers. It’s not really designed for sit-down meals as the seating inside is limited and it’s very busy (and you also have to be a fan of Kpop, which is played from a large TV screen in the entrance). But that doesn’t really matter as there is an abundance of outdoor seating in Piccadilly Gardens. We will definitely be returning for more corn dogs and to try out some of the other authentic Korean street food items on the menu.