The Chicken Rice Shop | Love. Laugh. Live.
One of my favorite things to eat is chicken. I can literally live on eating chicken every day if I could. There are so many ways to cook it and every recipe I’ve tried has been very good. One particular favorite for me is Hainanese Chicken. Whenever I find a place that serves it, I make it a point to try it. I loved it in Museum Cafe in Makati and I was impressed that Kenny Rogers came up with a less expensive version a year or so back — too bad they don’t have it anymore.
I was out doing errands for work when I came across The Chicken Rice Shop at Harbor Square in Manila. I was very excited to try it after I heard that the place is a franchise from Singapore that is owned locally by the same people who own Pancake House, Teriyaki Boy, Sizzling Pepper Steak and Dencio’s. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.
For one, my order took so long to get to me. I understand that it is only prepared when I make the order but considering how long I was made to wait you’d think that I’d get a very appetizing meal but I didn’t.
The chicken were in tiny pieces, like it was overcooked and fell off the bones. The sauce it sat in didn’t have that much flavor and speaking of that, the additional sauces/dips were very little and it just wasn’t enough for me. The rice was a little oily for me. The soup was nothing special either. To say that I wasn’t happy would have been an understatement. I could eat it, but it wasn’t an amazing experience. I would have been happier with a two-piece Chickenjoy from Jollibee to be honest.
To give the place some credit, I did like something from their menu. Their Nyonya Pai Tee got me curious because of the pictures and the name so I ordered a serving of it. The bread casing was very crispy and light and the vegetables were cooked just right. I loved it even without the sauce that came with it. If there’s one thing that I would definitely go back for in this restaurant it would be this. I liked it so much I even searched for a recipe online to try and see if I can replicate it! As disappointed as I was about the chicken, I think I will still give The Chicken Rice Shop another try. I talked to a friend who has been to the place and he recommended their Honey Barbecue Chicken. I’ll give that a try the next time I go there and see if it’s as good as my friend says it is. I’ll be staying away from their Hainanese Chicken though.