Oftentimes, I find myself craving food from different places I’ve visited before — bamboo shoots from Taiwan, laksa from Singapore, pastel from Camiguin, fresh seafood from Bantayan — at random times and hours.
One of the constant cravings I’ve had lately, for some reason, has been Korean corndogs. Have you tried the kind of Korean corndog where you hear the crunch of the buttermilk batter before reaching the ooey-gooey mozzarella cheese that seems to stretch endlessly, no matter how far you pull away? Yes, specifically that kind.
That craving haunted me for months before I stumbled upon a place that sells Korean corndogs exactly as I described them.
ICHA, a franchise of Korean snack bars in Cebu, offers the loveliest corndogs that taste just like the ones I’ve tried in Korea. The batter and cheese are as they should be, and they come in a variety of flavors — some with sausage and cheese, others covered in bits of potato fries. The snack bar has a range of Korean snacks on its menu, specializing in its signature corndogs, which customers say pair well with its Tteokbokki dish.
Recently, the brand opened its first premium food stall in SM City Cebu’s Food Hall on the third floor, where they introduced “Sagye” as part of its new journey, offering a premium version of what ICHA represents.
Sagye — meaning “Four Seasons” in Korean — symbolizes the variety of flavors, akin to the changing seasons. Meanwhile, ICHA, which means “it’s cold” in Korean, was initially chosen as the brand name to “bring a refreshing chill to Cebu with Korean dishes.”
ICHA opened its first branch in 2017. Now in its seventh year, it has expanded to nine different locations in Cebu: SM City Cebu, SM Seaside City Cebu, Ayala Central Bloc, Parkmall, Robinsons Cybergate, Robinsons Galleria, USC Talamban Campus, Gaisano Country Mall and GMall.
Ted Lee, the man behind its recipes and a representative of ICHA, shared: “Our hope is for ICHA to become a more approachable brand for people of all backgrounds across a wider area throughout the Philippines by consistently delivering the authentic taste of Korea through high-quality dishes.”