Editorial review•May 5, 2026
What Chef-Owner Jacob Jung built at Frying Pan is a very specific argument: that Korean and Nashville fried chicken traditions don't just coexist — they actively improve each other. Jung and co-owner Sunny Jung launched the concept as a food truck in 2017, worked Gastown, then brought it to a permanent brick-and-mortar at 1101 Denman Street in the West End, a neighbourhood that rewards exactly this kind of casual, licensed, counter-service spot. The menu is tight and unambiguous — this is a fried chicken sandwich operation, full stop, and it doesn't apologize for it. At price level one, it's competing on quality and conviction, not breadth.
The three sandwiches driving Frying Pan's reputation tell you everything about how Jung's kitchen operates. The "OG" Hot Chicken Sandwich is the Nashville anchor — fried chicken breast, spicy sauce, spicy mayo, slaw, and sweet pickles, a combination that diners consistently point to as the reason they make the trip from outside the West End. The Pa Dak Sando is the crossover argument made explicit: soy sauce, house mayo, chili powder, green onion, and slaw on a toasted bun, a Korean street food template applied to the same fried chicken format. The Double Decker goes further, stacking chicken thighs (not breast) doused in soy and yangnyeom sauce — yangnyeom being the glossy, sweet-spicy Korean fried chicken glaze that has its own devoted following. The thigh swap on the Double Decker is a deliberate choice, and regulars seem to notice.
The move here is to know which heat level you're committing to before you walk in — the spice calibration across these sandwiches isn't decorative. The former Fatburger space is fully licensed, so this works as a dine-in lunch or an early dinner before English Bay. The food truck at 505 Burrard runs separately if you're downtown. Order the Pa Dak Sando if you want to understand what makes this kitchen distinct from every other hot chicken spot in the city.
Carlos Mendez, Food & Drink Editor