Robina Chicken House

Location: 351 B Roosevelt Ave Q.C.
House Specialty: Chicken Barbecue

Standing their ground against the onslaught of well financed mall based competitors, Robina House is a testament to good roast chicken. By the way, this is one of the many entries about chicken places. Here in Manila, people are so fond of chicken (mostly roast or fried) that you will be practically be overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices of chicken joints to try out. I am a native of this city and I haven't got the opportunity to visit all those places that serve or specializes in chicken. But I'm still trying haha.

Near Waltermart Mall. Near EDSA and Roosevelt corner.

The Munoz branch which is located in one of the most busiest major intersection in EDSA is one of their only two branches which I frequent. According to their Facebook page they started in 1978.

I first got a taste of their delicious roast chicken as a kid way back in the 80's. My parents would occasionaly brought home this wonderful chicken as dinner ang I get to enjoy eating while fantasizing about Star Wars, Krull, Excalibur or other equally awesome movies back then. If you grew up eating chicken from awesome restarurants such as Robina House your palate tend to get biased against fast food chicken.

This awesome rotisserie will greet you at the entrance.

Fast forward to October 2015, I visit again this chicken joint for the nth time before lunchtime to avoid the rush and order the half chicken (120 pesos) and two servings of plain rice (15 pesos each). I wait for the order taker to announce in their P.A. system: "isang half chicken paki roast". You see, their chicken are slow roasted in roasters that are encased in see-through glass showcase room in front of their restaurant. Once they are done, they keep it warm by transferring it to the "coldest " part in their roaster and wait for the order. Once you order a roast, they will then expertly torch the cooked bird for several minutes until the skin is well done. That way it is guaranteed that you will get a nice caramelized crispy skin everytime.

Wondering what a good roast chicken in the Philippines would taste like?

They serve it in a plate already chopped for your convenience and you will see the delightful juice oozing out. Right away you will see that the meat is tender and moist. The chicken's taste is on the anise/garlicky side. Very savory and it does not come with the artificial smokey flavor as what you taste in a lot of fastfood roasted products. Also they do not taste something like sweet brine (think of the taste of hamonado) which is my pet peeve, in my opinion that kind of sweet marinade is best with ham. The chicken comes with their version of ketchup which I think is based from plums or something like that. This magical sweet spicy sauce goes really well with the roast chicken without spoiling your taste buds or overwhelming your tongue with sweetness. The two items taste perfect together.

A typical pansitan setting in Manila. Note the wall of boxes that they use to package the chckens for take out. There's a lot of them at the back.

I've never been to their second branch in Makati. But in the Munoz (Roosevelt) branch, the place is worn down (but not too much) and looks like a typical panceteria in the 70's or 80's. One look at their long seats will evoke the famous quip "natulog ka na naman sa pansitan". The place has certainly been through a lot and you can tell by the seats and the retro steel water pitchers that they haven't done much renovation.

This is one of those joints that really specializes in their house specialty. I did tried ordering other items in their menu like the camaron rebosado (battered shrimp) and chopsuey but they don't taste nothing compared to their roast chicken. You are better off just ordering their house specialty if you just have enough to order one meal. It seems their chicken is setting the bar too high that other items in their menu pale in comparison.

Here's to more Robina's barbecue for many years to come. I would love to see this joint out live that establishment masquerading as "inasal chicken" or those roasters using sweet ham marinade in their recipe.

And lastly, the aroma is something else. It does not smell of any artificial flavor. Just a whiff of those roast chickens will let you know that you won't be regretting going out of your way and trying out this homey joint.

Service: You wait for the roast chicken to be served to you within a reasonable time. The same goes when asking for the bill. The place may have seen better days but it just goes to show you how long they have been serving good roast chickens.

Menu: Well... You are better off just ordering their house specialty hehe. But feel free to try the other items in the menu, it might just only be me. Whenever I eat there, someone is always ordering pansit. Hmm... I'll try it next time.

Value: For 135 pesos you get half a chicken and two servings of rice with soup. Compare that to your favorite fastfood and you will just get 1/4 chicken and one rice and a small sofdrink cup. This is a winner!

What Food Spots say about Robina House:

RECOMMENDED
We urge everyone to try it out!