Garlic Pork Rice Meal and More at Manang's Chicken in Ortigas Center

First time I tried Manang's Chicken was at Mercato Centrale. Claiming to be the 'Ang Bagong Fried Chicken ng Pinoy', Manang's Chicken is proudly local. I don't know about their tag line but their chicken reminds me of Korean fried chicken with all the flavored sauce going on. I have a number of favorite restaurants in Manila dishing out really good fried chicken, and I may not be downright crazy about Manang's Chicken but I wouldn't mind having them once in a while. Also, I love the fact that they are a local brand and it is good to support your very own.

Recently, I was invited to try the new products of Manang's Chicken, the Garlic Pork Rice Meal, side dishes, new dip, and a sweet dessert. I have not dined at any Manang's Chicken restaurant so I deem it's a good chance for me to check out some of their goodies aside from the chicken which i have already tried.

I was in Ortigas area one time so I decided to visit their store located at the AIC Gold Tower near Robinson's Galleria. It's a very small place which I find somewhat similar to a small office canteen but the service was warm and welcoming.

I had the Garlic Pork Rice Meal (Php109) which is said to be their newest product. One meal comprised of a serving of big slab of pork fried into golden perfection and covered with crunchy garlic bits. It comes with equally big serving of rice, a savory sweet dipping sauce, and a glass of iced tea. I am not really big when it comes to fried pork especially that of pork chop since I find it a tad tough to eat but surprisingly, Manang's garlic pork struck a fine balance. Crunchy on the outside and juicy tender on the inside. It has the distinct savory taste of a fried pork that still stood out despite being coated with lots of fried garlic. It was a good meal, something they should be proud of aside from their chicken.

Another new products are their side dishes. I opted for their coleslaw (Php29) and macaroni salad (Php29). Their coleslaw I find rather simple, it's not something mind blowing, but it's not that bad either. Same goes for the macaroni salad. I consider side dishes as important as my main meal so I'm a tad picky at that. But most of the foodies I asked were pretty cool with Manang's side dishes (See, I asked opinions for side dishes, I am really taking things like this seriously I tell you).

Manang's Chips and Dip (Php69/large with 2 dips) isn't really a new product, I think they have this natural potato chips with dips for quite a while now, but it is definitely something cool I find about Manang's. Instead of the usual fries, why not potato chips? I dig that. Their rendition of this well-loved snack is a tad thicker than usual so it is more filling and somewhat satisfying to the bite. You would pop one chips after another because of how good it tastes and not because of how thin it is.

Now the new product that goes perfectly well with their potato chips is Manang's Spicy Ketchup. What used to be two choices of dip namely garlic mayo and creamy chips, now comes in three variants with the addition of the spicy ketchup. It's no secret that I am not a big fan of anything spicy, but the level of kick of this ketchup is something I can tolerate.

Then for dessert I had their Red Velvet Sundae. It is literally red velvet cake topped with soft served ice cream and some candy sprinkles. I haven't tried Manang's other desserts so I have no point of comparison but I could say that this one is okay, especially if the cake at the bottom was already soakedf up with the ice cream, it's like eating red velvet pudding, not a beautiful sight to see but it sure is yummy. Manang's Chicken has a lot of branches already, so if you happen to be in the area near one of their stores, you might want to pay a visit and try their new offerings.