max's chicken and the secret sauce

i attended a friend's baby's christening last sunday. reception was at max's fried chicken in
alabang. the restaurant is all over the philippines with some branches in the US. the restaurant rests on their perfect fried chicken. if you're craving for simplicity, go to max's.

chicken is pressure fried. nothing fancy. spices that i can sense are only salt and pepper. (i wonder if there's msg in it.) this is a recipe unchanged since 1945. well, that's how they relate their history and how my parents remember the old max's. nothing was changed.

added, however, are other dishes. they are now serving sinigang, kare-kare, pansit and the lumpiang shanghai (pictured).

I guess the secret on max's is not only on the chicken, but on the ritual you have to do on every visit. you have to mix these three: Jufran banana catsup, Alexander worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. they never relied on exotic oriental dips or gravies with 11 secret herbs and spices. they are still banking on simplicity. without these three-sauce combination, max's will never be the same.