The red thread that ties us together
인연 means a fated connection
The story behind INYUN, Korean fried chicken, matcha and coffee in Brentford, from three friends.
The meaning of 인연
인연 is a Korean word. It means a fated connection, the ties that bring people together when they were always going to meet. It comes from the Chinese 因緣, and shares its root with 緣分, yuanfen, the idea that some meetings are written before they happen. In the old story it is a red thread, tied between the people who are meant to find each other, that pulls them together however far apart they start.
We think about it at the table. 인연 is the friend you keep ending up next to. The stranger who becomes a regular. The people you share a meal with, and the ones you remember it by. The chicken is the reason you sit down. The 인연 is what happens after.
How we fry
Every chicken comes from HG Walter, the West London butcher, then is broken down in house and brined for 24 hours, deeply savoury, so it seasons the meat to the bone and keeps it juicy. Then we fry it three times, hotter each pass, to blister the skin and drive out every last bit of moisture. That is what makes the crust shatter, and stay crisp on the way home.
What is in the coating
- Corn starch
- Fries into a thin, glassy shell that shatters and holds its crunch, even under a glaze, and keeps the coating light rather than heavy.
- Vodka
- Flashes off fast in the oil, so the crust dries and sets quickly and never turns bready.
- Beer
- Its bubbles make the crust airy and lacy, and the alcohol cooks off for extra crunch.
- One secret
- The part we keep to ourselves.
The coating is made with beer, which contains barley and gluten, so it is not gluten-free. See the FAQ for allergens.
Three friends, one bird
INYUN was started by three friends: Nelson, Jackie and Zoe. We have known each other the best part of a decade, and we always seemed to end up at the same Korean places. One night out, over some very good fried chicken, we said the thing everyone says. We could do this better. The difference is we went and tried. We were not starting from nothing: Nelson has run a restaurant before, Jackie has worked as a chef, and some of our team have trained in some of the best kitchens in the world.
We spent a year on it. We tested brines and coatings and oils, batch after batch, until we had a chicken we were proud to put our name to. Then we kept going until it was the best we had ever had. A year is a long time to chase one bird. We would do it again.
A building with a past
The building is Nelson's dad's. It was a family home once, then a small Chinese takeaway, and it had been quiet for a while.
We are bringing it back to life. New floors, new light, a new menu, and the same four walls that have held more than one family's story. Giving the space its next chapter is a big part of why we are here. 인연 again: three friends who kept crossing paths, in a room that was waiting for them.
Where we are now
We are on Brentford High Street, open Tuesday to Friday from 8am and weekends from 9:30am, closed Mondays. Matcha and specialty coffee from open, with the chicken on from noon. Takeaway for now, with dine-in coming for the first time soon. The whole chicken is the heart of it: twelve to thirteen pieces, ten a day, no more. Come hungry, and stay a while.