I THOUGHT I could breeze through the supermarket and be at the checkout in no time. Unfortunately, my stomach was already grumbling, churning acids on emptiness. I realized I couldn’t even push the cart anymore so I conceded it was time to grab a bite. Besides, with the 800-gram Marca Pato Edam cheese ball that I’d throw in my cart later, it would prove impossible for me to push any cart on an empty stomach.
Max's fried chicken on my plate. I'm not good dealing with bones, so I intentionally carve portions that just have meat and skin. Doesn't that golden, crunchy, crispy skin look so enticing?
Whenever I would find myself in the malls, one of my and my family’s top considerations for a satisfying meal is Max’s. Growing up, this restaurant – together with Savory and all the other haunts in Ongpin – witnessed my formative years. In turn, I do remember witnessing my grandmother – in a number of occasions – camly canceling our orders and walking out of any branch that had miserable wait time.
Perfectly done – my favorite "Ampalaya Con Carne," my ultimate gauge in comparing Max's branches all across the metro!
A close shot of the "Chicken Sisig." Notice the sliced finger chilies on the foreground. I remember picking out the chopped bird's eye chilies ("siling labuyo")... just one of those days when I couldn't handle the heat!
On this particular Max’s meal, we asked for a spread that consist of our usuals – Ampalaya Con Carne (bitter gourd with beef tender tips in a savory fermented soy bean sauce), Chicken Sisig (tender chunks of white and dark chicken meat and liver in a really spicy soy-mayo sauce served on a sizzling hot plate), and of course, Max’s signature Fried Chicken. Don’t get me wrong, I so adore KFC fried chicken. And I would always find myself ending up lickin’ my fingers and gulping down their gravy. But there are just some days when nothing but real fried chicken skin goodness – and crispness – will do.
Max's "Ampalaya Con Carne" live up to its name – it does have both the vegetables and the meat in good measure! So love this dish!
I piled both the vegetable dish and the "Chicken Sisig" on my plate!
Like most Filipinos, I’ve done the rounds of most Max’s branches in the city. And I have to say that while the quality and the taste have remained consistent across, there’s this one branch way south of Metro Manila that I consider tops! My personal favorite Ampalaya Con Carne serves as my gauge.
Weird that it’s not the fried chicken! But come to think of it, that dish is “copy exactly” all throughout.
This is how I take my Max's fried chicken – doused heavily with ONLY worcestershire sauce!
I washed everything down with bottomless iced tea.
we always eat in Max but have never tried the ampalaya with con carne kasi masarap magluto si Nanay non eh… will try next time… thanks for sharing.
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partner! missed eating at max’s with you (and everyone else who had the privilege of joining us!=P) i particularly remember that time when we thought of making scented candles after some famous filipino dishes (patent pending ;o))
….i sure hope you blog about it, if and when it happens! mwah! 😀
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