Popcorn Chicken

This place is very popular, so I decided to visit it!
The service was okay it took 20 mins to get my order in. And when I did, I ordered the house fried rice. And when I got this order 20 mins later, the rice was okay however the chicken, beef and shrimp were SOOOO dry, uncooked, and so chewy. It def need to be on the grill more and spices added. Disgusting

So I came here for the second time during my time at riverside and the place wasn’t too bad. First off, I don’t really have too much complaints bout the service and commodity of the place. The workers are all nice and polite upon entering the restaurant. Inside it is pretty small but can’t complain too much about how the place was already built before right? But overall the place is great and perfect for college and high school kids to just hang out and grab some food.
I ordered to satay beef fried rice and it was great. However, the soup that came with it was a bit warm/​cold… But I’m not too much of a soup guy at these places so I barely touched it anyways. I wish they could let you substitute it out for something instead when I asked, but they politely said they weren’t allowed to. The only other complaint why I gave 4 stars is because I wish they had more entrée or other meal options than more of the appetizers that are priced at about $ 4 each.

Very friendly and quick service. The popcorn chicken appetizer was a generous portion. Love the dried basil and seasoning that was on it.
The pork belly entrée was wonderful as the meat is very flavorful and tender. I love how they served it on a bed of rice. The sauce is so good and gives the rice great flavor as well. I will definitely frequent this place. Thumbs up to the owner! Great place and concept!

Awesome food, well priced! Service is hit or miss and the wait time hit or miss. But those chicken nuggets in the sweet chili sauce are amazing.
I think I like the teas and quality of food at Ten Ren’s better, but this is definitely an option on my list.

They give you an abundance amount of food that you have no hope of finishing for a low price. The food had an very original seasoning that you wont find on your food anywhere else. Its hit or miss for most people. But for the price and the serving sizes you cant really complain either way.

I heard many raving reviews from my friends so I was excited to try this place. I was sorely disappointed. The portions of food are huge, I’ll give you that. If you’re really hungry then you will definitely get the biggest bang out of your buck eating here. My meal totaled about $ 7 which is quite affordable.
I ordered the popcorn chicken meal, which included a huge plate of popcorn chicken, soup, tofu, cabbage, and rice. While the popcorn chicken was decent, I found the rest of the sides unpalatable.
I have also tried the rose green tea on a separate occasion and it was pretty good. People seem to like the drinks here so that’s one thing they’re doing well.
Overall I think this place is just okay. I may come here for a quick snack since they’re cheap. But in terms of full sized meals, I prefer Ten Rens which sells similar food.

I think this place is a great alternative from tenrens! It adds more variety to the menu of Asian food offered in Riverside. The prices are affordable and the customer service is on point. Although, the filet dishes take a little longer to be served. The rice dishes are great as they come along with a variety of side dishes! It makes up for a great meal. Their teas are pleasantly good too, however, not as good as tenrens in my opinion. BUT they are cheaper than tenrens so that makes up for it!

Their spicy and salty popcorn chicken makes me feel like there’s a party in my mouth and no one’s invited but me (I don’t get invited to parties usually because i’m lame)
One of my favorite places to eat at the UV. Wish they served more rice with their entrees though! Their signature popcorn chicken is one of the best I’ve had in the area.
The meals can be a bit pricey (going over $ 9 sometimes) but the portions are large. I usually have to take it home with me. The place can also get swamped sometimes and food can take more than 15 minutes (I’ve ocassionally had to remind the servers what I ordered), but that’s how you know it’s fresh.

My go-​to spot in Riverside if I have no idea what I’m craving or want to eat! I’m the dutchess of this place on Unilocal cause I come here THAT much.
This is probably my favorite boba spot here ever since it opened. I can’t drink Boba Tea House or Ten Ren’s the same anymore because the tea just tastes very genuine here, unlike the other places. I also think the food here is so much better too. There’s a larger selection here too! I usually get the popcorn chicken with rice, but the pork belly with rice is also delicious too! Their portions are HUGE so I always have food leftover.
They just started using stamp cards, so be sure to ask for one too.

I wish this place opened up before I graduated from UCR! This location used to be a Fatburger during my college days but they have since closed down and Popcorn Chicken took over their spot in the University Village.
Popcorn Chicken offers a variety of Taiwanese food selections with a many fried snacks and entrees to choose from. I got the Minced Pork Dry Noodle, a good selection of you’re feeling for some noodles without soup. I like the flavoring of the sauce and the salad mix.
For fried snacks, we got popcorn chicken, tofu, squid balls, and cheese sticks. They also have ketchup, sweet chili, and sriracha sauce for the snacks. Portions were filling and the food was delicious. The popcorn chicken was definitely one of the best I’ve had around the area and the prices were also reasonable too!

The way better version of Ten Ren’s. ‘Nuff said.
Better food, better service, better drinks. The portions are nice and large too! Out of all the times I’ve eaten with friends, none of us were able to finish.
Will most definitely be back for more of those specially brewed teas and great food!

Good food. Good popcorn chicken. The dishes aren’t worth 9 dollars though.
The restaurant is a little bit crowded, and the tables are way too close to each other. Sometimes it gets a little claustrophobic.
I got the beef udon noodle, and it was pretty good. The house udon noodle and beef udon noodles taste like chow mein/​teriyaki sauce. I really like their popcorn chicken. Do not get the spicy popcorn chicken, it is WAY too hot. I like the mild one. The mild has a little bit of a kick to it too. They offer you sweet chili sauce with the popcorn chicken. I wish they had more sauces to choose from.
My boyfriend got the pork cutlet, and it came with rice, salad, tofu, and egg drop soup. It was around 9 –10 dollars. My noodle was around 9 dollars. The popcorn chicken on the side was 4 – 5 dollars. I think it is a little bit overpriced, considering that the portion sizes are a bit small.
They give you a small cup of water when you come in, but they make sure to always come around often to offer more water if it is looking empty. The waiters/​waitresses are students in their early 20’s, I think. They are friendly and nice. Great service. The food doesn’t take too long to come out either. If you order a drink, it comes in a pretty glass jar.

This place is located in a movie theater parking lot. It’s pretty close to the school and several hotels.
5 spiced pork belly, heap of it rice with veggies [beans sprouts and a cabbage and mushroom]. I kind of wish that the pork was crispy. The taste was really good, but I’m used to crispy pork belly. The meal comes with a soup. The soup was tasty nicely seasoned corn peas.
I have to admit that the popcorn chicken was probably one of the best I’ve had. I would get it again.
The Tea is sweeten, so if you like regular then you have to request it.
Over all I’d get the popcorn chicken again, well maybe 2 orders to go, lol.

Customer service at this place is A-​1 but I’m guessing that’s because it’s a brand new place — hoping that it’ll stay this way, but that’s definitely hard to do when the greater portion of your customers are obnoxious college students…
I ordered the Popcorn Chicken (medium-​level spiciness)/ Rice plate. The plate of popcorn chicken is a fairly nice serving that comes with a bowl of rice, plate of veggies, a bowl of egg drop soup, and either a side dish of corn or bean sprouts. I thought that it was a good amount for the price and the chicken itself was flavorful and tender — none of the that over-​fried popcorn chicken muck you might find at other boba places. Didn’t get a chance to try their boba or teas but definitely will next time I’m around!

After coming here way too often (I have class in the movie theater), I’ve realized I only gave them 4-​stars. This place deserves 5.
Service is great and all of them are super friendly! Joked around with one of the workers that I was basically going to live here because I came four days in a row haha. David and Rebecca are the best!
Food, oh man, I have never been disappointed one time yet! They occasionally get my drink order wrong and forget I said a milk tea and not regular tea but it’s not a huge problem, I like it either way. From the popcorn chicken, to tofu to steal the food has always been great.
I only wish I could cook like this.

I’ve now eaten here 6 times in the last 2 weeks lol! The popcorn chicken, I think, is really good. It’s actually more like chunks; they’re hearty pieces and not heavily breaded like American fried chicken. I have a very big appetite and I can never finish my plate! The little sides I could take or leave though, maybe there’s nothing like takuan or sunomono in Taiwanese cuisine, but even something simple like potato salad would be better because right now I’ve been getting bland bean sprouts, room temperature to luke warm egg drop soup, and a corn and green bean mixed vegetable bowl, all of which would be much better left off the tray to begin with haha. I sometimes have gotten the cabbage but that’s mediocre as well.
*If you think sriracha is spicy, you probably don’t want to get medium or hot spice on your meat
I’ve also tried the pork chop, sausage, and pork belly entrees and the calamari and they’re all also good as well. The house milk, green tea mango, and passion fruit black teas are very good! I like the atmosphere they’re cultivating, casual-​trendy kind of style, really laid back with comfy booths, however the chairs they’re trying to use feel really flimsy and cheap looking.
I’m sure people lost their job from this replacing Fatburger, and it is just yet another Asian option in the university village, but overall I think it’s a nice addition to university village. It’s very similar to Lollicup and by far better than Boba Café.

Finally, an Asian place that serves the typical asian food from a boba joint. I came here with low expectations, but surely I was proven wrong. The restaurant was very warm with about 10 – 12 small tables. The place was loud and filled with college students as it is located in the UV. The shape of the place is like a bean so hopefully you’re not too far on the end!
We ordered the popcorn chicken combo. The chicken pieces were large and crispy. It came with a bowl of rice, egg drop soup, and 2 vegetable sides. Also, we ordered the dry pork noodle. It was amazing and very delicious. A little on the salty side because I didn’t mix the noodles well. The green tea was very good. It is more on the Asian side with a high tea flavor.
I took one star off because the service could be better. The waitress forgot our water and sauce. I am assuming they are new and trying to get a hang of the place still. Also, they brought out my order first and 15 minutes later brought out the popcorn chicken. By that time, my order was lukewarm. It’s a regular courteous to bring the orders out at the same time…

I love love love popcorn chicken! It was really busy around dinner time and the waiter kept talking to me in Chinese haha. He was really nice though. Our order was taken however their system went offline and they had to rein-​put it, sad life but we waited patiently and enjoyed the wonderfully crispy chicken. It wasn’t overtly oily like some other popcorn chicken places. I only wished that they had more pickled items like kimchi or maybe that’s just because I’m Korean. It really is a hidden gem in Riverside since there aren’t many good Taiwanese restaurants.
A nice place to catch up with friends and eat pretty authentic asian food in the UV Plaza!

3 stars because the service sucks SO MUCH! I don’t understand how hard it is to take orders and GIVE THE RIGHT FOOD TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE! I ordered Togo and 3 people who ordered after me got their food and I’m 100% sure they gave my order to the other person. Do they not have a system going on?! And I didn’t even place my order yet and nobody asked me, instead 4 people were cleaning 1 table! Even when you dine in the food takes forever to come out.
Other than the service though, the food is good! It’s the best popcorn chicken you’ll get in the area. It’s well seasoned and crunchy. The beef noodle soup is also pretty good. The beef is soft and tender. Sometimes the noodles can we undercooked or over cooked. The teas are also surprisingly really good.

When you call your establishment Popcorn Chicken, you’d better deliver!
If this is what to expect from a soft opening I am looking forward to the grand opening at the end of November. I was told that their menu would increase in size too, but in the meantime check my photos for the current offerings.
Since the restaurant is in University Village I will probably be a regular based on today’s service experience and value to food quality ratio. Located in the former Fat Burger space the interior is modern minimalist with long lines of faux wood with simulated aging and a hint of blue. Parking can be a challenge sometimes, but as long as you don’t violate the sacred Denny’s reserved spots you’ll be fine.
Food: the Tawainese Pork Belly was cited as delicious in an early review so I decided to start there, and a side of the restaurant’s namesake.
Verdict: the pork belly was a tad overdone but retained moisture and most importantly, flavor. I detected overtones of allspice and star anise in the marinade. The side of rice was fresh and perfectly cooked. Cabbage and corn rounded out the plate. Only $ 7.95 and a lot of food to boot. The popcorn chicken was also excellent. Moist inside and crispy out with a pleasing black pepper seasoning. I’d rank their version 10x over Ten Ren’s who is slipping in all categories lately, and neck to neck with Boba Tea House’s rendition.
Service: polite and attentive. They are still training but I think they’ll be able to handle the pressure when the news spreads of their opening. Over the years the similar places have slipped in quality and for other reasons, namely Lolli Cup and unfortunately, Ten Ren’s. I look forward to another visit very soon!