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.

capricciosa: rosemary chicken

we visited capricciosa again at greenbelt as we invited a good friend to dine with us. we had the salmon spring rolls and the shrimp and spinach rigatoni. you can never fail on these two when visiting capricciosa.

last time we went to the place, the whole place is smoked up with the appetizing grilled scent. it was the rosemary chicken. it doesn't sound exciting but it's worth a try.

surprisingly, we got a good serving of a flavorfilled rightly roasted chicken. chicken is deboned and was marinated with rosemary, toasted garlic and some soy to improve color. placed in the oven to slowly cook through then pan fried in olive oil on high! the dish is served with the chicken drippings and a slice of lemon to add zing. well, that's my best guess on how it was prepared. i asked how they prepared it but they told me it's a corporate secret. yeah right.