THE CHICKEN RICE SHOP IS IN MANILA!

Filipinos enjoy eating chicken in so many different ways. They fry it, barbecue it, boil it or bake it. Add heaving servings of rice to the plate and Pinoys are truly a happy lot.

Now, there’s another way to embrace the tantalizing taste of that well-love fowl.  Malaysia’s famous The Chicken Rice Shop has joined the Pancake House Group to give Filipinos a new way of relishing chicken. And like its Malaysian counterpart, The Chicken Rice Shop in the Philippines uses a traditional secret family recipe originally from Hainan Island which was handed down through several generations.

Indeed, the restaurant is the Pinoy chicken lover’s dream come true. Its signature dish, the Hainanese Chicken Rice, owes its distinct flavor from an exacting cooking process.  Delivered daily, locally sourced fresh, not frozen. The chicken is boiled in a pot seasoned with herbs and dipped in iced cold water. It is then ready for serving.  A piping hot chicken serving sauce heats up the chicken pieces served on a bed of cucumber slices.

Rice, the other component of Hainanese Chicken Rice, is prepared in a similarly special way. Garlic and other herbs are sautéed with chicken rice oil in a rice cooker. Once the aroma of garlic and ginger has been released, uncooked special rice and triple A rice are added, along with spices and water. Afterwards, the cooked rice is mixed again to even out the color and flavors. This chicken rice is automatically served along with the Hainanese chicken and other chicken dishes, unless the diner specifically requests otherwise.

But beyond Hainanese Chicken Rice, this casual dining restaurant also serves its very own roast chicken, deliciously tender with its own blend of herbs and spices. Those crazy over chicken drumsticks can try the Honey BBQ chicken, uniquely flavored deboned chicken legs. Chicken is also braised and curried.

Diners can also start their meals off with appetizers like Nyonya Pai Tee, crispy pastry shells filled with shredded vegetables and chicken meat accompanied by a tangy sweet and sour sauce. Likewise, the Kerabu Mango (sweet, spicy and salty green mango salad with fish sauce and rock sugar) Golden Fortune Wings (chicken wings) and Golden Fortune Rolls (vegetables rolled in wonton wrappers) are good meal openers. A variety of dishes from noodles to beancurd to vegetables enhance the chicken-based food offerings. Also available for families and friends are group meals complete with chicken, rice, appetizers, soup and drinks.  Uniquely Malaysian beverages like the Famous Kuching 3 Layer Tea and Teh Tarik are also served to quench the thirst after a big chicken meal.

Visit the first The Chicken Rice Shop in the Philippines, located at the ground floor of the Padre Faura Wing, Robinson’s Place Manila.