Lunch at Max's
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 2:25PM 
After breakfast at home Friday, we headed to Max's for fried chicken. The highlight was having our first halo-halo, the classic Filipino dessert whose presentation and combination of ingredients mimicks a pantry disaster of sorts, but more on that in a minute. Born in 1945, Max's is a Filipino fried chicken restaurant chain. It got its start when a Filipino teacher named Maximo Gimenez befriended American troops stationed in Quezon City during WWII. Gimenez opened a cafe to provide soldiers food and drink and his generosity grew into a sit down restaurant. Since opening its doors to franchising in 1998, Max's has expanded to the US (California and New Jersey) and Canada.
Whole Family Chicken (P459 = $11.15) - Max's fried chicken is offered in three sizes: regular, family, and spring. Max's was our introduction to Banana Ketchup, which is exactly what it sounds like. Or rather, it's banana flavored ketchup. It's a common practice to mix the banana ketchup with worcestershire sauce and use that as a dipping sauce for your chicken. Despite multiple locations, Max's does not have a flagship from which product is shipped (like KFC, Popeye's, etc.), so there might be variations in your food from visit to visit. Our bird was slightly drier that it should have been, but the kick from the "unique blend of secret spices" yielded all the flavors you want in fried chicken.
Pinakbet (P175 = $425) - Ampalaya, okra, sitaw, eggplant, squash, kangkong with pork, shrimp, and bagoong alamang. Pinakbet is from the northern Philippines, but variations exist throughout the country. The use of bagoong alamang makes the dish unique to Manila. Ampalaya is bitter melon, a fruit of Indian origin that spread to the rest of Asia in the 14th Century. The fruit lives up to its name and, with an abundance of health benefits, has long been regarded as a remedy for a variety of illnesses.
It was bound to happen: Rice puffs, cheese, ube ice cream, ube halaya, leche flan, candied jackfruit, coconut sport, nata jellies, green jellies, chick peas, adzuki beans, white beans, candied cherries, tapioca balls, shaved ice, and milk. Filipinos revere Halo-halo with the same passion and vigor that Philadelphians have for the cheesesteak and New Yorkers have for pizza. Some say Razon's does it best. There's a school that thinks the Philippines' biggest Chinese fast food restaurant chain Chow King holds the crown. Icebergs has a strong following. Some prefer the measured execution practiced at Milky Way. For some it's Max's. We won't have time to taste them all, but a single spooful pulled from the colorful abyss served at Max's won us over. The surprising success with which everything comes together makes for a whimsical dessert that delivers something different with every bite.
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Reader Comments (2)
Thank you for the information about the history of Max's restaurants. I admit I don't it before, and this is my first time to know it. :D
You're welcome, Justin. Thanks for reading!