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.

Love the music, love the chicken

I mention Kenny Rogers to my kids and their eyes widen, roast chicken on their scheming minds. But say the name to my mom and most likely, she'll be singing "I will always love you". Hahaha! Truth is, both me and my mom love the music of Kenny Rogers.  But my kids don't know who in the world he is.  Surely, though, they know how yummy roast chicken is at this restaurant that bears his name, which the world-famous country singer co-founded (with former KFC owner John Y. Brown Jr.)  in 1991 . Ever since my children were small, Kenny Rogers Roasters has been our favorite family restaurant and we would always go for an order or two (when the kids got bigger and the youngest came) of a group meal consisting of one whole roast chicken, four cups of rice, four side dishes, four muffins and a pitcher of iced tea. However, it had been about three years since we last ate at Kenny Rogers so when I broached the idea to the hubby and kids one Saturday, not one opposed it as everyone had missed their roast chicken. So two roast chicken group meals we had for dinner at the new and lovely Robinson's Magnolia mall branch.  Our group of nine (with us were two of my nephews and my eldest daughter's beau)  had a nice, filling dinner.

Roast Chicken Group Meal, P675.

Delish! The best roast chicken for me.

Colorful, yummy muffins.

Iced tea.

The roast chicken was as good as my taste buds remembered. For sides, we had corn and carrots, coleslaw, steamed vegetables, mashed potato and fresh fruit salad. Sweet ending was provided by muffins that came in four different flavors. 

Meanwhile, more recently, I added Kenny Rogers Roasters to my list of to-go places for coffee after discovering that they now serve my poison. And they do have good latte! It's perfect with their sandwiches and pasta. My daughter and I dropped by another Saturday at Kenny Rogers Roasters - SM City Manila and had:

(I just used a point-and-shoot camera for the following pictures, thus, the paler colors.)

Roast chicken sandwich, P110.

Spaghetti Carbonara, P125.

Potato and Bacon Salad, P50.

Cafe Latte, P60. 

Strawberry sundae, P60.

We loved everything especially the Bacon and Potato Salad. Yummy! Now we have added reasons to visit Kenny Rogers Roasters.