Noori Chicken, a Grand Rapids Korean restaurant, serves fried chicken in Korean sauces. Pictured here are fried chicken strips with mild and sweet sauce. (Audra Gamble | MLive)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — After surviving opening right before the COVID-19 pandemic began, a Korean restaurant on Beltline Avenue is steadily growing in popularity.

Noori Chicken, located at 2321 E. Beltline Ave. NE, offers Korean fried chicken wings, drumsticks and strips with a variety of sauces including soy garlic, sweet and mild, supreme and hot sauces.

The restaurant, which opened in March 2020, was only open for a short time before it had to shut down due to COVID-19.

“We opened and then had to close after two weeks,” said owner Steve Hyun. “It was a difficult time, we were only able to do takeout, but we survived and are getting better and better.”

A Korean restaurant on Beltline Avenue called Noori Chicken serves Korean favorites like bibimbap and bulgogi. (Audra Gamble | MLive)

Along with its popular fried chicken, the restaurant offers dumplings, coleslaw, egg rolls, bubble milk tea and fried rice. Noori also serves Korean specialties like buldak spicy chicken, bibimbap bowls, Korean beef barbecue (bulgogi), and japchae, which is stir-fried glass noodles.

“Sixty percent of our sales is the fried chicken and the most popular sauces are the soy garlic and the medium supreme,” Hyun said. “Those are the signature items.”

Hyun said he often gets asked about what makes Korean fried chicken different from other types of fried chicken. In general, Korean fried chicken has a lighter, crispier coating than American fried chicken. But Hyun said the difference is easier to taste than explain.

“A lot of people ask what makes it different,” he said. “I start by telling them about how the sauce is different and then I end up just saying that you have to try it and find out yourself.”

Noori Chicken is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and is closed Sunday.

Noori Chicken on Beltline Avenue serves specialty beverages including bubble milk tea and Korean Milkis soft drinks. Pictured here is a mango bubble tea. (Audra Gamble | MLive)

Hyun said as a Korean man himself, he aims to provide a good experience for diners new to Korean cuisine.

“For a person who has never tried Korean food, it could be a little bit intimidating because traditionally it’s very spicy,” he said. “We try to have spicy and non-spicy dishes. It’s a great place to try something new if you’ve never tried Korean food.”

A full menu for Noori Chicken is available online at noorichicken.com. Online ordering is also available.

Grand Rapids Ballet season starts this weekend. Here’s what is planned.

Father-son duo opens Kurdish restaurant in East Grand Rapids

Chick-fil-A to replace Golden Corral in Grand Rapids area

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.