Manang's Chicken Tomas Morato

Manang's Chicken
2nd Floor Lansberg Place
Tomas Morato, Quezon City
+63 (02)376-5058

Last Saturday, I was invited to a special event at Manang's Chicken. I was excited about this event because I only got to see and taste Manang's Chicken at the food bazaars (last was at the Best Food Forward Event). The event was held at their Tomas Morato branch.


Manang's Chicken started decades ago, when "Manang" (the family cook) served it and became a big hit with the family. As the years passed, they started serving it during family occasions and guests would all love it. The family thought of selling the chicken, but didn't really took it seriously, until in 2010, after Jill Borja (President and CEO of Manang's Chicken) got to read a blog asking concessionaires for Mercato Centrale. It was through that weekend market that they were established their name and it is now one of the successful businesses that started its humble beginnings by selling at weekend markets and bazaars.

A look at Manang's Chicken's timeline:

• December 2010 - Started selling chicken at Mercato Central
• January 2011 - The company became more serious about the business and set up Giabella Foods Corportation
• June 2011 - Established their first branch in Ortigas
• September 2011 - Established another branch at Katipunan Avenue
• November 2011 - Opened two more branches at SM Megamall Food Court and one along Taft Avenue
• December 2011 - Opened their branch at SM North EDSA
• January 2012 - Opened another branch at Glorietta 4 (Food Choices)
• February 2012 - Established their own commissary somewhere in Laguna (as they used part of their house as their office / commissary)
• March 2012 - Opened their latest branch at Tomas Morato Avenue.

Future plans for the company includes opening two more branches - one at BF Homes Paranaque and another at Visayas Avenue (Quezon City). They are now also thinking of going into franchising.

Quite an awesome story of success, eh? Anyway, leading the team of Manang's Chicken are two sisters: Jill Gerodias-Borja (pictured above), the President and CEO of the company and Jenilee Gerodias-Slagle, the Chief Operating Officer (Commissary) and is the one handling the food side of the business. 

The Tomas Morato branch was very easy to find. From EDSA Kamias (or Kamuning), I just rode the jeep going to Pantranco and as soon as jeep turned right to Tomas Morato, you will be able to see that big Manang's Chicken signage after a few minutes (maybe even seconds).


The dining area wasn't really that big, but with a good placement of tables and chairs, it looked spacious enough that it can accommodate big groups of people.


Their counter is clean and it allows you to have a peek into their kitchen, which is also clean. With the exception of the soft ice cream and the potato chips, the kitchen staff only cooks whenever an order is placed, to assure freshness of the food.


Their main product is of course Manang's Chicken, which is served with three kinds of sauces - Original, Mild Spicy, and Extra Spicy. The secret to the chicken is the sauce, and when I had my first taste of the chicken, I chose the Original one, just to know what all the rave was about and it had a mix of saltiness and sweetness. Well, I wasn't over the top giddy about it, but I did like the total packaging of the dish - no need for gravy and/or ketchup... the sauce is enough.


The Ultimate Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Well, most of the invited guests already tasted Manang's Chicken sometime in their (or our) lives, so for the event we were served something new on the menu. Well, not that new, because they first had the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, which is a fillet of chicken cooked the Manang's Chicken way (yes, your choice of sauce) on a bed of coleslaw in an authentc pan de pugon bun. That sandwich was a good way to snack at an affordable price, or a good food to eat for people who are watching their calorie intake while still enjoying the same kind of Manang's Chicken people love, but of course, for some people, that pan de sal sandwich might be a little too small for them, so for people who wanted to have a sandwich as a big meal instead of eating the rice meal, they introduced this sandwich. Still the same concept, only that it was made bigger.

It was my first time to taste the sandwich and I liked it better than the rice meal - maybe because of the coleslaw and that the sauce weren't too much. What I loved about was that the chicken fillet was thick and it was the real thing - not some chopped up chicken meat pressed as a patty. The sandwich itself was a very filling meal, and for 109 pesos (sandwich only), it was already a good value for money as we all know other burgers can be a a lot pricier than that. If you want it as a full meal (with regular chips and a glass of drink), you pay only 135 pesos. Still reasonably priced, I say.


Chips and Dips. One of Manang's Chicken's food that I couldn't get enough of. It was thick, crispy, and less greasy! They offer two kids of dips - Garlic Mayo and Cheesy Cheese, and while I liked the cheese one more, I found that it was more appetizing alternately dipping the chips between the two dips.


Velvet Sundae. The star of the event. Manang's Chicken is all about making fancy food to be "maka-masa", and taking inspiration from brownie a la mode, which we all know can cost a lot, they now offer the Velvet Sundae, which is a "symphony of moist velvety cake and fudge-covered vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips." Like most of their food, the cake is baked fresh upon ordering (the base of the cup was warm). It was indeed a heavenly dessert - having a cake and ice cream (with the fudge and choco chips) all at the same time. The price? 49 pesos.

But of course... don't expect your Velvet Sundae served on a fancy plate like this - they just served it this way because it was the first time they served this dessert and we were the first few people to try it out.

To know more about Manang's Chicken - their products, promos, newest offerings, and the list of their branches, please check out Manang's Chicken Facebook Page.

Big thanks to Manang's Chicken for this invitation.

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So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.