Shake Shack K-Shack Fried Chicken Bites And Spicy Caramel Shake Review: These New Items (K) Pop

Korean culture is forever having a moment in America. 2025's sauciest contributions came in the form of Netflix's hit movie "KPop Demon Hunters," which also gave us the soundtrack of the year. The calendar has just barely switched over to 2026, and Shake Shack is hoping to sauce things up in this new year by rolling out its third Korean-Inspired menu. In this latest iteration, there are returning favorites, like the K-Shack Fried Chicken Sandwich (this time with red kimchi slaw instead of white), K-Shack BBQ Burger, and K-Shack Spicy BBQ Fries, and two new items for the taking — K-Shack Fried Chicken Bites and a K-Shack Spicy Caramel Shake.

The fine folks at Shake Shack invited Tasting Table to its own table, within its Innovation Kitchen, to try these old and new vittles that are here to perhaps add a bit of warmth for the remaining winter months. So, after taking plenty of nibbles, do these new saucy chicken bites have a lot of Seoul, or do they totally bite? And after a sensational amount of sips, does this Caramel Shake hit the sweet spot with a nice twist, or is it just too hot to handle? K-pop yourself a seat, and sit back as we reveal all in this dual chew & review and sip & say.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Shake Shack's U.S. culinary team first visited South Korea in 2015, before opening the chain's first outpost in that country a year later. Working with its new partners, the restaurant launched a Gochujang Chick'n Shack in South Korea; it became a hit with the locals and warranted importing its tastiness back to America. In 2021, Shake Shack U.S. launched its first-ever Korean-inspired menu, featuring the Korean-Style Fried Chick'n, topped with white kimchi slaw. In 2024, the Korean-style menu returned, but bigger, better, and spicier. Aside from the return of the chicken sandwich, along came a brand new Korean BBQ Burger and Spicy Korean BBQ Fries, which we found so delicious that it set the standard for food trends that year. 

The success of that menu begat another encore for 2026, and it also allowed the culinary team to experiment even further with Korean flavors to create even shinier new menu items — K-Shack Fried Chicken Bites and a K-Shack Spicy Caramel Shake. These bites are a new take on the white-meat chicken ones Shake Shack already serves, but here, they're coated in a spicy-sweet sesame gochujang glaze and sprinkled with scallions. This makes the first "saucy" venture into the bites for the chain. They come in either a 6- or 10-piece order and are served with your choice of dipping sauce.  The K-Shack Spicy Caramel Shake starts with Gochujang caramel frozen custard, which is then topped with whipped cream and more gochujang caramel.

In a statement, John Karangis, Executive Chef and Vice President of Culinary Innovation of Shake Shack, said, "This menu brings together sweet, spicy and savory flavors our guests love. It's a lineup that reflects the spirit of Shake Shack and the global flavor inspiration that continues to drive our menu forward."

Shake Shack's 2026 Korean-style menu will be available exclusively for ordering on the chain's app starting January 6. For those without the app, all are welcome to order off the menu in-store three days later, on January 9. This limited-time menu will be available at participating U.S. locations, with the exception of Shacks at airports, stadiums, arenas, travel plazas, and museums. It can be ordered anytime Shake Shack is open, including breakfast hours, and while supplies last.

Advanced orders for dine-in, pick-up, or delivery can be placed through the app; otherwise, orders can be placed in-store at the counter, ordering kiosk, or drive-thru where available. These items are completely customizable to add or remove ingredients. Options include swapping out the bun for a gluten-free one, or having it served in a lettuce wrap, or even getting your burger cooked well done.

While prices will vary per location, the suggested retail prices for the new K-Shack items are $6.49 for a 6-piece order of the Fried Chicken Bites and $6.99 for the Spicy Caramel Shake. The returning items, the K-Shack Fried Chicken Sandwich and K-Shack BBQ Burger, both retail for $10.49 each, while the K-Shack Spicy BBQ Fries will run a customer $5.49. Prices and additional fees may apply for delivery or for orders placed through third-party apps.

A 6-piece order of the K-Shack Fried Chicken Bites contains 490 calories, 19 grams of total fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,590 milligrams of sodium, 60 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugars, and 20 grams of protein. It contains the common allergens wheat, soy, and sesame. Meanwhile, the K-Shack Spicy Caramel Shake has 890 calories, 45 grams of total fat, 27 grams of saturated fat, 270 milligrams of cholesterol, 620 milligrams of sodium, 103 grams of total carbohydrates, including 97 grams of sugars, and 21 grams of protein. It contains the common allergens milk and egg.

Before I delved into the K-Shack Fried Chicken Bites, I wanted to become reacquainted with its forebear — the K-Shack Fried Chicken Sandwich. That sandwich features the same sticky sesame gochujang glaze coating its chicken, topped with diced scallions, but is additionally decked out with kimchi slaw. Those cooler veggies complemented the nice glaze, and together made for many tasty bites.

The K-Shack Fried Chicken Bites are free of the Martin's potato roll buns and the kimchi, so the sauce and the scallions had a lot to prove, going it alone here. The bites themselves looked kind of small, but after I picked one of their sneaky heft revealed itself. I leaned in for a whiff, and the finely diced scallions led the way in the scent department.

While the bites didn't come with a fork or a wooden pick to assist their way from the paper boat to my mouth, I didn't mind getting sticky fingers by doing the dirty work myself. What I was rewarded with was essentially what Shake Shack's Chinese food would taste like. Yep, it's like chowing down on a plate of sesame chicken, with a lean sauce that hits a happy medium between sweet and spicy, sure not to offend any palate. While orders supposedly come with dipping sauce, I had none at the ready, and the bites were great enough on their own that they didn't need additional saucing.

It's very hard to doubt any hand-spun treat crafted by the team in Shake Shack's Innovation Kitchen, but if there was one to maybe raise an eyebrow at, it would probably be the K-Shack Spicy Caramel Shake. The thought of a spiced shake sounds like a gimmick, and yet one that practically begs to be tried.

The top of the shake had the standard white mountaintop of whipped cream and was further decorated with a loose, checkered drizzle of the gochujang caramel. Below lay a thick sea of what almost could pass for a peach creamsicle shake.

Before jumping right into the shake itself, I used my straw to suck up some of that gochujang caramel. The first notes always hit with that familiarly fine flavor of caramel, but then, a switcheroo came about. A nice dash of spice followed through that felt like sucking on an Atomic Fireball, leaving that punchy cinnamon aftertaste. So far, so great. It got even better once I finally made contact with the shake. Wow, just wow. Here, the sensations ran in reverse, with a throat-tickling spice kicking things off, and a chaser relief bringing up the rear, as the cold custard calmly cooled things off. My mouth couldn't wait to repeat this taste sensation again and again, and before I knew it, my cup runneth empty.

It was a no-brainer to riff off the succulent K-Shack Fried Chicken Sandwich by using the same glaze with Shake Shack's Chicken Bites. The K-Shack Fried Chicken Bites hit the same nice notes but allow the sauce to shine even more without the kimchi slaw. I hadn't had the regular Chicken Bites in sometime, and was allowed to try a fresh batch and compare them to the glazed ones. The regular ones had a thin, snappy crispness to the skin, and the ones with the K-glaze lost a little of that. That's to be expected and is no real knock. Perhaps in the future, Shake Shack can offer the sesame gochujang glaze as a standalone sauce, much like the Korean BBQ sauce that tops the burger and comes standard as a side sauce with the K-Shack Spicy BBQ Fries.

The K-Shack Spicy Caramel Shake was the riskier venture, introducing spice to a shake for the first time. At our visit to the Innovation Kitchen, the team revealed that the idea for this shake was actually born from a previous round of K-Shack food testing, and the desire to have something sweet — but with a kick. After plenty of experimentation to find the ideal level of spice, the team has delivered a truly unique dessert that challenges the mind and rewards the mouth. I was only given a half portion that I gulped down with ease. 

Like Oliver Twist, I dared ask for "more" on my way out. The team obliged my request again, and as I left Shake Shack, sipping away at this amazing shake, I continued to warm up to the spice, which was already helping alleviate my winter blues. This new K-menu is a winner, with the K-Shack Spicy Caramel Shake as its crowning achievement.