Hainanese chicken and more at The Chicken Rice Shop

Late September, my daughter and I got to try a chicken restaurant that seemed new (We learned later that it was not, they opened in 2010). We were then at Robinson's Place-Manila, buying time before our worship service at church. The Chicken Rice Shop looked unfamiliar, arousing our curiosity. We took a quick look at the menu and I saw the magic words that did it for me: Hainanese chicken. Perfect! Just what I'd been craving for the past few days. We were seated in no time and ordered: 

Hainanese chicken plate, P109.

Roast chicken plate, P99.

Hainanese rice, ginger sauce and chili. Behind is what they call 'kecap' sauce, which is sooo delish!

Kuching 3-layer tea. My daughter loved this.

Brewed coffee, P45. Surprisingly good and serving is big, too!

I love this chicken utensil server.

Hainanese and roasted chickens on display.

View of the inside from where we were seated.

The Chicken Rice Shop at Robinson's Place-Manila

So, did I like my Hainanese chicken? Well, yes I did though not as much as I liked it at Hainanese Delights. Came close, however. But what I loved with the chicken was the dark-colored sauce, which, the server told me when I asked, was called "kecap". It's sweet, a little salty and very thick. It was soo good I wanted to lick the mini-bowl clean. Haha! My daughter liked her roast chicken but she absolutely loved her drink - Kuching 3-Layered Tea. It consisted of brewed tea on top, milk at the center and palm syrup at the bottom. Mix it all up and you have a refreshing, great-tasting milk tea. 

I loved my coffee as well - full-bodied but not too strong. The serving was huge - in a mug - more than what other restaurants give. I asked the manager if they could transfer half of the coffee into another cup so I could share it with my daughter and he gladly obliged. 

Would I come back here? Yes, for the coffee and milk tea. :-) I'm intrigued about their baked fried chicken, too! Hmmm..must be good! I just saw it at their Facebook page as I write this. Haha! 

By the way, The Chicken Rice Shop, I learned from the server, is originally from Malaysia. It opened there in 2000, according to Google. :-)

The Chicken Rice Shop also has a branch at UST and at CCP Complex.

Delightful, delectable chicken

Chicken tops the list of my favorite food on this planet, be it fried, roasted, or..well, steamed. When I was in high school, my sister, Ate Lita, would sometimes bring us for dinner to Peacock Restaurant, which offered Chinese dishes and had branches in Makati, Greenhills and Century Park Sheraton Hotel. It was there on those occasions that I loved eating what they called White Chicken - steamed and with whole peanuts underneath. It was quite bland if eaten on its own, but tasted heavenly when dipped in ginger sauce. 
About two years ago, I found a Hainanese Chicken recipe online and discovered it was the same thing as the White Chicken that I loved at the now defunct Peacock Restaurant. But though I got excited that the cooking procedure was simple and easy, I still haven't tried the recipe to this day. Hehe..Then last year (was it just last year?) , I saw several Hainanese Delights branches in malls and thought, "Now I can have White Chicken again." However, it was just last January that I actually did, at the new, lovely and spanking Robinsons Mall Magnolia in New Manila, Quezon City. My daughter AJ was with me and it was the perfect time to go malling as there was an after-Christmas sale everywhere! And as shopping gave us hunger pangs, we went searching for a place to eat and Hainanese Delights at the basement caught my eye. AJ agreed. 
We had:    

Hainanese Delights, P130. Their best-seller.

Hainanese chicken comes with unlimited Hainan Rice.

Beef Brisket, P120 .

My plate.

Ginger sauce with a bit of soy sauce and chili for my chicken.

Dips and condiments..

Strawberry Gelo-Tea, P29.

Jelly at the bottom, mousse on top.

Iced tea.

At first bite of my Hainanese Chicken, thoughts of "It must be love!" flooded my mind. Haha! It was that good! The chicken was very tender and oh-so-delish! with the ginger sauce. The serving size was quite impressive too, huh! Just one cup of the equally delicious Hainan Rice wasn't enough to finish the chicken so I asked the server for additional half a cup. (There goes the diet! Haha!) Meanwhile, I asked AJ how her Beef Brisket Noodles was and her answer was a lame "Okay". I took a spoonful of the soup and my verdict was the same: "Okay, yes.." Nothing fantastic. But my Hainanese Chicken was really great, I enjoyed it so much. For dessert, we had Strawberry Gelo-Tea, which was gelatin at the bottom and mousse at the top. It was well..okay as well, not the kind of dessert that you would go back a restaurant for. But hey, Hainanese Delights deserves a comeback for its delicious Hainanese Chicken.