99 Chicken - Santa Ana

I'm sad to say, but this spot is no longer what it used to be. I have been coming here for years, but with the new owner, the level of service and food have dropped significantly.In terms of service, it's very slow and very service oriented to try to get you to eat and leave as fast as possible. On top of that, the cooks at the fryers were just messing around and on their phones. Before, chat with you and make sure that you had a great time and even more importantly, made sure you walk out with no more room to eat.Food wise, portions have dramatically gotten smaller and the quality/taste has gone down. I'm sad to say, but their soy garlic is not anywhere near what it used to be. On top of that, the crispiness of the fried chicken is no longer what it used to be. Before the fried skin was extremely crunchy, flavorful and most importantly juicy. Now, I just feel it's over friend, to where the skin is crunchy with a hint of being burned and relatively dry.

First timer 3.5* Don't know why I was thinking they served the regular sized chicken wings but these are actually very big as they should be for $28 for 10. To be honest, there were 2 smaller sized wings though but the drumsticks were big. Ordered half half soy garlic and honey garlic and they pretty much tasted the same a bit sweet but could've saved a bit more soy sauce. They were straight from the fryer piping hot. You do get access to a free AYCE salad/condiments bar with seasoned daikon, broccoli, spring salad, shredded cabbage and steamed white rice which helped offset all the fried chicken. 1 unisex restroom in the back and about a dozen tables inside. Service was friendly. You also get plastic gloves at your table and a metal waste container.

Great little place to get Korean fried chicken! And, great value if you eat in. We got a 10 piece of mix chicken and a bottle of soju, and it came to around $50 before tip. For 2 people that’s cheap these days!! Chicken was delicious, and loved the soy garlic sauce. Had to put that on my rice. Rice and salad bar are a nice addition to the chicken.Best part of the place was the server. She was so nice and personable. We’ve had soju before in NYC, and had 2 bottles cause they were flavored. When we ordered 2 she let us know right away to start with 1 cause it is 20% alcohol. The flavored soju has a lot less alcohol. She didn’t have to do that, but we’re glad she did. She was also very personable talking about our thoughts on soju.

I found a fly stuck to my chicken! When I let the older Asian man know (owner, maybe? He yelled at me and accused me of putting the fly there myself, as if I walk around with dead flies in my pocket. So rude and irrational! I hadn't touched the chicken so I asked for a refund because I didn't feel it was sanitary to eat here and he refused to give me a refund and asked me to leave. So I got no refund, and no chicken. Abysmal in the customer service department.

I was Asked by the owner to remove the remaining rice from my meal that was already in my togo box because I was not allowed to take it. Can't believe this place. He would rather I remove the rice and he throw it away than me take it with me. VERY RUDE, DO NOT VISIT THIS PLACE!!!