Home of the Green Chicken!
Just recently, my friends and I drove around Quezon City in search of something new. We ended up at Palm Grill, a restaurant specializing in all things chicken, located along Tomas Morato.
To tell you the truth, I'm not a huge fan of chicken. I do like KFC (but not so much Jollibee or McDonald's). I also like S&R's Roast Chicken, but not much else, when I think about it.
So when I found out that Palm Grill was all about chicken, I was initially disappointed. I thought it was just going to be another regular chicken joint, but to my surprise, it's not!
Since the owners are very hands-on with their restaurant, we had the pleasure of talking to them and knowing more about Palm Grill. Owned by Miguel Moreno and Nelson Canlas, Palm Grill offers four main types of chicken - fried, roast, green, and labuyo. I know the first two sound pretty common, but you'll be surprised.
Oswalda's Fried
The Oswalda's Fried is a homage to Historian Oswalda Cabel - owner of the recipe and grandmother to Miguel.
This turned out to be one of my favorites as I really liked the flavor of the chicken. It has a kind of tangy taste to it due to the herbs and lime it was cooked with. I also thought the skin has a better crunch compared to the other dishes.
Olympus Roast
The Olympus Roast is their version of roasted chicken that is served with the family's own recipe of sweet-tangy peanut sauce.
Personally, I thought the chicken was okay to eat on its own. The peanut sauce is perfect for those who love kare-kare, but for those who don't, you always have to choice on whether to dip it in or not. I do recommend at least trying it, since it's really what makes the Olympus Roast unique.
The first two already exceeded my expectations, but we haven't even gotten to their specialty, the Green Chicken, yet.
Green Chicken
Turns out, the Green Chicken is the favorite comfort food of Miguel's family. It is inspired by a famous indo-malay dish, slow cooked in coconut milk and 7 asian spices then grilled to perfection.
If you're the type who likes laing and pesto and all that good stuff, you will definitely love this one! It is truly simut-to-the-bones, no doubt about that!
For the order sizes and prices, you may refer to this:
* Solo (1/4 piece chicken with free rice and one side): Php 229
* Duo (1/2 piece chicken with two free sides): Php 339
* League (1 whole chicken with three free sides): P649
And for the sides:
Plain Jasmine Rice | Turmeric Rice | Sweet and Tangy Melon Slaw | Momma's Macaroni Salad | Roasted Cauliflower with Orange Slices | Cucumber Salad | Olive Pita Bread
Must try: Turmeric Rice and Cauliflower with Orange Slices!
Lastly, the Labuyo Chicken. For Php 189, you get four really spicy pieces of chicken wings and plain Jasmine rice.
I recommend having a glass of water nearby just in case the heat is too much for you. It's crazy spicy at first, but I promise, it gets better after a couple of bites. It also comes with some kropek, just to contrast all that labuyo taste. I guess it's their version of buffalo wings, with the spicy taken three levels up. Don't let that scare you though, it's definitely worth trying.
For dessert, try the Cocoroon. It's Php 60 a pop, but it's out of this world! I couldn't help but go oohh and aahh after every bite because this was just SO GOOD! It's like a macaroon and leche flan hybrid with some cool mango sauce on top. Masarap talaga, I swear!!
The final question - did I like it? Heck yeah, I did! In fact, I loved every single dish I got to try that evening. I'll be back, Palm Grill.
Palm Grill is located at 175 Tomas Morato Avenue cor. Scout Castor, Quezon City.
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