A Love Affair With Manang(s Chicken)

When I saw the swarm of people waiting in line in front of the stall bearing the sign that said Manang's Chicken at Midnight Mercato, I felt a flutter in stomach similar to the butterflies I get when I'm particularly infatuated with the boyfriend.

I guess I should tell you that I am partial to anything that is chicken. Fried, steamed, boiled, or pureed (just kidding!), chicken is my meat of choice. Seeing a chicken stall so popular was exciting for me, I wanted to know what the fuss was all about. (Not so) Soon after, I had in my hands a container filled with Manang's now-famous Chicken wings.

Inside were six hefty pieces of chicken wings, double deep fried, smothered with Manang's secret soy garlic sauce of your choice (original, spicy, mild spicy, or extra spicy), and sprinkled with a dash of sesame seeds. It was love at first smell. The scent of the deep fried chicken in soy sauce was so tempting that I couldn't help licking my lips in anticipation.

As soon as I sunk my teeth into the fried chicken that had been tempting me all the way from the stall back to our table, I was head over heels in love. Right then and there, I knew it was the beginning of a lasting love affair (I was 'oooh'-ing and 'mmm'-ing so loudly, it was almost embarassing).

Double deep fried crispy chicken with Manang's secret soy garlic sauce (p120)

Since the first time, I've been back for more nighttime tyrsts with Manang's Chicken and have had a foodgasm each and every time. I just can't get enough of Manang's oh-so-delicious, mouth-watering, better-than-other-soyfriedchicken Chicken. My only gripe is that they're only available whenever Mercato Centrale and Midnight Mercato are open for business. Despite that, my love affair with Manang's Chicken continues.

*Sorry for the yellowy pictures. I took these inside the car on the way home. The chicken pieces in picture were inhaled long before I could take better shots.

Manang's Chicken

Location: Mercato Centrale / Midnight Mercato

Contact details: 0920-9210935

Other Info: Manang's Chicken Facebook Page, Mercato Centrale Website, Midnight Mercato Website

KFC Double Down is the Talk of the Town

Everyone's been talking about it since it was launched locally just last Friday. I just had to see what all the hype was about so I dialed 887-8888, KFC's delivery hotline, and had a KFC Double Down delivered for lunch today. And yes, my arteries have survived the onslaught of cholesterol and are fine for now, thank you.

So what's the fuss all about? Why is everyone lining up over at Colonel Sanders famous fastfood chain to get a KFC Double Down or two? Check out this week's talk of the town-

KFC Double Down (p100 over the counter; p110 if delivered)

KFC's latest item on the menu, the KFC Double Down Sandwich is a sandwich with no bread at all. What it has is strips of bacon smeared with a dollop of mayonnaise and melted cheese sandwiched between two juicy slabs of glorious KFC Chicken fillets. And as expected, the Double Down did not disappoint. 

The heavy sandwich is an overload of rich flavors- the taste of the chicken seasoned with KFC's secret recipe combined with the flavorful trio of mayo, cheese and bacon tastes like a delicious party in your mouth. A party not unlike those drinking parties you enjoyed but regretted as soon as you wake up with a headache the following morning. This new food craze is not recommended for the weak of heart. Literally. 

There's no denying that it's not an ideal healthy snack, its ingredients spell h-e-a-r-t-a-t-t-a-c-k-i-n-t-e-n-m-i-n-u-t-e-s. But if you're young and healthy, go for it, the KFC Double Down Sandwich is undoubtedly yummy and addicting. Call KFC Delivery now and don't be the last one to try this delicious treat!

KFC Delivery Hotline

Contact Number: 887-8888

Other Info: -a minimum order of p200 is required

                  -the delivery charge is 10% of the total amount

                  -waiting time is 30 minutes or less

Classic Chicken, Classic Savory

As a kid, I was in love with anything that was chicken and asked for it for every meal that my relatives ended up calling me manok instead of my actual name. I wasn't really very picky with my chicken, but I had favorites. Savory Chicken was one of them. My lola would order a whole Savory chicken (she pronounced it as "sah-vor-ee") as a treat on some days and I'd be happily enjoying every last spoonful on my kiddie plate, even going as far as licking the plate clean.

 The store front at the Bicutan branch

Savory Chicken's fried chicken has a distinct taste that no other restaurant has replicated up until now. They seem to have gone away for a while because my most recent memories of Savory Chicken were the random trips to the Binondo branch when my lolo from Davao would be in Manila (he also pronounced it as "sah-vor-ee"). These trips were few and far between and couldn't have been less than 7 years ago. But they're back now and in full force. Branches have sprouted in many malls of the city, giving us chicken lovers more chances to have a go at their special fried chicken.

 Classic fried chicken from Classic Savory (p345)

They're now called Classic Savory and one of their newer branches is tihe one in SM Bicutan. Caught sight of the store about a month ago and I've been meaning to eat there since. And then came one Sunday when my family came to visit and we had no food in the house. It was the perfect excuse to head to the mall to finally try the food at Classic Savory.

The restaurant was surprisingly full for a late dinner on a Sunday, families are usually headed home by that time to rest and prepare for work/school the next day. We had to wait for a good 20-30 minutes to get us a table. But boy, it was well worth it. I am happy to report that their Savory Chicken is as good as I remember it to be. If anything, it's more flavorful now. The skin is light and crispy while the meat is tender yet firm with that delicious Savory secret flavor that I still can't identify but absolutely love. You can tell that I'll be going back to Classic Savory for more feel-good chicken dinners!

Budget Meals - Big Daddy's (BIG) Chicken

If you're in Greenhills Shopping Center and you get some major hunger pangs but you have just a hundred pesos left in your pocket, I suggest you look for Big Daddy's Chicken for a cheap and satisfying big meal.

This was my situation last weekend after window-shopping at Greenhills tiangges. I was looking for a place to grab a quick dinner when their sign, the brightly lit orange logo that had 'CHICKEN' in huge block letters, easily caught my attention.

Taking a quick look at their menu assured me that this was a place well within budget, so I promptly got a tray and decided on what to order.

Big Daddy's Chicken's sign says HELLO! EAT HERE!

Big Daddy's Chicken serves huge slabs of chicken (or pork) chops coated in crispy golden breading together with rice and soup. As a twist, you can choose one of these as flavoring for your chicken- spicy, lemon, nori or plum (yes, the fruit).

I like my food with a bit of a kick, so I decided to get the spicy flavored chicken with rice and soup (p85). I was debating with myself whether to try out the plum flavoring (just because it sounded so weird) but in the end I stuck with spicy.

Perfectly spicy!

The first thing you notice when you get your plate is the giant slab of chicken chop. From the picture's angle, it doesn't look too big but trust me, it is. The chicken is fried to a golden crisp and I liked the spicy chili powder they used (reminds me of the chili flavoring from Ersao- another fast food joint I want to revisit).

See that big chicken slab?

Here's a picture of a different meal- the original chicken with pasta (p90). The pasta wasn't anything special, it's your typical spaghetti noodles in creamy white sauce. While the unflavored chicken was also good, I still prefer the spicy flavored one.

All in all, it was a yummy and very filling meal for less than one hundred pesos. Sulit!

The idea for Big Daddy's Chicken came from Taiwan's famous street food called Ji Pai. These are huge pieces of fried breaded chicken chops that can be bought from food carts along the streets for cheap. It turns out that the ones from Taiwan are even bigger, looky-

Taiwan's famous Ji Pai are insanely huge.

Chicken-All-You-Want at Max's Restaurant!

Max's is celebrating it's 65th anniversary and there will be a month-long chicken fiesta! Starting June 17 up to July 17, Max's Restaurant will be offering a Chicken-All-You-Can promo. For only 165 pesos, you can avail of this fantabulous anniversary offering and eat all the chicken that you want and can!

I've always been a fan of Max's best-selling chicken and this, for me, is an awesome way to celebrate 65 years! Thank you, Max's!

Dude on the poster is kinna cute. Anyone know who he is?

Terms and Conditions:
1. Chicken will be served in quarter pieces, and parts will be based on availability.
2. Add P39.00 for bottomless Pepsi Softdrink.
3. Promo period is from June 17 - July 17, 2010 and from 6 PM to 10 PM only.
4. Promo valid for dine in only. Not available for take-out, delivery and bulk orders.
5. Cannot be combined with other offers. No sharing. No Leftover. Chicken will be served after each piece has been consumed.

Source: Manila Life