Cycle 3 – Item 242
3 (Mon) September 2012
Chinese-Style Fried Chicken
2.0
from Chow King
in my hotel
(Casa Bocobo Hotel)
-Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-
solo
Research Trip to the Philippines: Day 1 of 3
- Day 1 (3.242 Chinese-Style Fried Chicken)
- Day 2 (3.243 Seafood Platter + Pancit Bihon + Ihaw Pusit)
- Day 3 (3.244 Steamed Crab in Chili Sauce)
In Manila. Here to meet with the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific in developing a tool to assess health legislation in countries across the region. If all goes well, I should be jet-setting around Asia for the next few months in continuation of the project, same project that brought me here twice last year. I’ll be in town until Wednesday night.
DINNER
On the flight coming in (PR 469), I was presented with a choice of “beef” or “chicken” and chose the latter. I was hoping for something Filipino, but it turned out to be a vaguely Korean-tasting bulgogi-ish soy-sesame stir-fry of dry chicken and mushy veggies. One of the worst in-flight meals that I’ve ever had.
MIDNIGHT SNACK
Chow King is a Filipino-Chinese fast food restaurant chain. Offers noodles, fried rice, fried chicken, and dumplings. About 1 million locations across Manila, 1 store on every street corner.
Not to waste any time upon arrival, I checked into my hotel and immediately went out in search of a late-night snack. I ended up at Chow King, just a block from the hotel. Having seen it everywhere on previous visits, I’d always wanted to try it. I got an order of chow mein, pretty bad – it had some kind of weird processed meat thing, which I couldn’t tell was supposed to be sausage or fish cake – and an order of fried chicken, also pretty bad but still pretty good – it came with steamed rice, which I didn’t know what to do with. At least they were cheap, just 175 pesos total (about US$4).
Welcome to Manila.
(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See also RESTAURANTS IN THE PHILIPPINES)