Legit Bacolod Inasal at Chicken Deli!

CHICKEN DELI 240 Narra St., Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel. No. 903 01 08 Business Hours: Everyday 10am-9pm Facebook | Email | Web Site

Next up, we review the newly opened Chicken Deli located at East Narra Events Place, Marikina!

Despite the restaurant being fairly new in Marikina, it's actually one of the go-to places when it comes to Inasal Chicken in Bacolod since 1983. They have then expanded to more than fifty branches across the country- mostly in provinces and rural areas, but they're now starting to also dominate the metro!

They are located in East Narra Events Place, a nifty and spacious commercial building located right behind St. Scholastica's Academy, and beside St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Narra st., Marikina City. Just click on the map above or just check it on Google Maps or Waze for easier navigation.

Their branch in Marikina is quite big. Just by looking at the photos below, one can already imagine just how many groups they can accommodate- they even have a private function area for meetings and parties. The place is properly air-conditioned and has its own wash area and bathroom. For the net junkies out there, they also have free Wi-Fi. Parking? There's plenty in the building and along the side of St. Scholastica.

Chicken Deli mentions they are proud of their strict methodology where their dishes are prepared with only the best and freshest ingredients, aimed to be cooked to perfection. With their chicken inasal recipe coming straight from the famous Lacson street of Bacolod and their sauces comprising the traditional chicken oil, soy sauce and sinamak- a special mix of vinegar, it's just having Inasal the right way.

Besides their chicken inasal meals, they also have a wide array of other dishes categorized into Pinoy Classics (Kare-Kare, Pork Sinigang, etc.), Pampagana (Talong, Kangkong, etc.), All Day Wow (Various merienda choices), Panghimagas (Desserts) and Fiesta Salo Salo (Group meals).

They have a lot of other stuff in their menu, but here's what we had!

PAMPAGANA

Binagoongang Kangkong / Kangkong with Garlic - P45

The veggies are indeed fresh and crunchy. Their home-style bagoong and garlic sauce makes it a real treat worthy as both appetizer and side dish to the main meal to come. Affordable as it is, it can already be shared by a number of people. Same goes for their Talong KBS (see Fiesta meal below for photo) for P49!

CHICKEN INASAL w/ UNLI-RICE

Chicken Pechopak - P112, Paa - P99, +P15 for Regular Drink, FREE Soup and UNLI RICE

The main event: Chicken Deli's main attraction! Freshly cooked, we can see the meat is clean and juicy, and there's little no to burns despite it being flame-grilled. Upon getting a portion of the chicken, I was surprised for it to be quite soft and tender. I dipped it to the sauce I prepped containing the holy trinity of the famous sinamak, soy sauce and chili, and paired it with my chicken oil and sinigang soup-soaked white rice. I then take a bite from this supposed indulgence. And wow. For a hundred pesos, this is good stuff.

PINOY CLASSICS

Kare-Kare - P229, Sinigang na Bangus - P199, Pork Sisig - P199

All of these are prepared home-cooked style. As in they use raw ingredients as much as they can and avoid those wonder powder mixes when possible. True enough, I was able to spot it with how savory, thick and peanut-y the Kare-Kare was. It contained both beef and tuwalya and I was surprised it had such a big serving for only P229- bang for your buck!

The same goes for the P199 Sinigang na Bangus. It's not as sour as the usual recipe I'm used to, but I think other people will appreciate this softened taste (like my mom.) Again, they're generous with the bangus meat as well as the veggies. The Pork Sisig is crunchy and very tasty! It's a bit pricey in my opinion, but you'll get your money's worth as it's definitely one of the better ones out there.

PANGHIMAGAS

6 pcs. Turon Sticks - P55, Pinoy Halo Deli - P75, Banana Macapuno Halo - P99

The Turon Sticks were okay, a bit hard to chew and take a bite out of but it's sweet and tasty. The condensed milk-ish sauce and sesame seeds compliment the fried lumpia and banana tandem. Both Halo-Halo variants were good as well, but I liked the Banana Macapuno variant more as it had more flavor to it.

Also do try out their Leche Flan- it's pretty legit! Not in photo: Sago't Gulaman and Leche Flan.

FIESTA SALO SALO

Fiesta 1 - 2 pcs. Paa Inasal, Pork Sisig, any Pampagana (Talong KBS in photo), Kare-Kare (not in photo- see Pinoy Classics), 4 Rice, 4 Reg. Drinks

Good for 4-5 people, their Fiesta group meals showcase most of their bestsellers with the constant items being the Chicken Inasal, rice and drinks. You can choose one of any appetizer, choose between Pork Sisig and Liempo, and choose between a full order of Kare-Kare and Sinigang na Bangus. It says 4-5, but I think this would be perfect for 2-3 very hungry people. I recommend this for you guys to get a taste of most of their dishes.

VERDICT

First things first- let's address the elephant in the room, shall we? Here's the big question: compared to the dominating inasal fastfood chain Mang Inasal, how does Chicken Deli compare to it? Let's face it, a lot of people will ask that as the two brands are borderline similar at a glance.

For starters, Chicken Deli has a wider variety of food to choose from. The fact that they have home-style Kare Kare, Pork Sinigang and Sinigang na Bangus makes them more of a restaurant than a fastfood chain. And despite being that, they still have a ton of rice meals and snacks to choose from starting at P49 so whether you're going in solo for a light budgeted snack or a big hungry family looking for a feast, you're good.

When I said 'not' a fastfood chain, I also meant they cook their food as they are ordered, and not prepared beforehand. Granted it would take more time for your food to be served to you, the wait is worth it.

With regards to their chicken inasal, I can say Chicken Deli has theirs cooked in a cleaner and better manner. I love Mang Inasal, but there were a number of times I got served with chicken that had a lot of burns. Of the three times I already ate here, they were pretty consistent with their chicken.

Wrapping up, I liked the Chicken Inasal, Pork Sisig, Kare Kare, Sinigang na Bangus, Leche Flan and Banana Macapuno Halo very much for both their taste and price, and will be coming back here for more of them!

with Chicken Deli Marketing Officers John Buan and Vincent Pagalilawan, Neri Ann of Nheng's Wonderland, Armi Pineda of Homeschooling is Cool and two branch staff

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. The food was free but the article is still the writer's own honest opinions.