This is a good corner of Katipunan Avenue (Quezon City) to visit for weekend getaway. Lunch at BonChon and dessert at Mom and Tina’s Bakery Cafe, both found at the second floor of the Regis Center, right in front of Ateneo.

The restaurant is clean and minimalist, with red and black highlights, pretty much the logo of BonChon. Having a small place with lots of people obviously wanting to eat here means waiting time, and people don’t seem to mind waiting for their turn.

This could mean a number of things and possibly the primary reason is this: the product is good. Koren-style chicken is fried chicken, yet it’s surprisingly not greasy. It feels light to the palate and, even sans the heavy breading found in other fast food chains, the chicken is crunchy.

Two down, one more to go. We’ve encountered 4Fingers and BonChon, we’re just waiting for the chance to visit Chicken Charlie. Anyway, if you have your own ranking of the three, by all means tell us through the comment section below.

The official explanation from the company website (gimme4fingers.com) reveals that 4Fingers represents the four friends who founded the company. It’s a blend of New York subway scene (the restaurant) and Korean-style fried chicken (crunchy, spicy and non-greasy).

It also appears from the website that it was first introduced in Singapore, and the restaurant has branches in Indonesia and the Philippines (SM City North EDSA, near National Bookstore, between the main building and The Block). This means it’s not Filipino, but since there’s a branch in the Philippines and we’ve tried it, we are writing about it here in VisitPinas.

Besides, we are not aware of any Filipino restaurant specializing in Korean-style chicken. There’s the original BonChon Chicken Philippines and Chicken Charlie, but, correct us if we are wrong, we believe they have foreign ties.

The uncertainties above notwithstanding, there are some things we are dead certain — 4Fingers Crispy Chicken is certified crispy, crunchy and delicious. It’s crunchy yet surprisingly soft to the tongue, pretty much like cotton to the skin, even with the chicken’s rich taste. Choose from three flavors — soy garlic, hot and mixed.

There’s Drumstick Rice Box (P99 for one piece), Chicken Rice Box (P139), 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken (P229 for 6 pieces), Chicken Drumsticks (P229 for 3 pieces), Seafood Rice Box (P229), Katsu Chicken Sandwich (P199), and Chicken Wrap (P229). It also serves non-chicken menu items: Calamari & Shrimp (P229) and Battered Chicken (P299). They have a promo for students, eat free or something (don’t quote us, check the promo mechanics at the store) but we were too busy with our crunchy chicken (and we’re not students so the promo doesn’t apply to us) that we forget to check the mechanics.

The restaurant itself is well-lighted, clean and simple. It indeed has the look and feel of the New York subway (ahem, at least from what we see in the movie). It exudes a certain simple warmth that should make guests feel at home and consume a whole lot of Korean-style fried chicken.

By the way, we have encountered BonChon and Chicken Charlie although we didn’t get the chance to take any photos. We’ll do a writeup of these two, hopefully in the near future, and do a ranking. In the meantime, before we have the opportunity to revisit these restaurants and get more taste bud experience, feel free to tell us your own ranking. Use the comment section below.

Jollibee!!!!

That would be the answer of my 4-year old son, delivered with a shout, a jump, a raised hand, a huge smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

The mascot of Jollibee, the largest fastfood company in the Philippines, is a livewire bee. Yes, McDonald’s seems to be the preferred fast food for the members of the upper socio-economic bracket, but Jollibee is bigger than McDonalds in the Philippines.

More importantly, my kid – and many other kids for that matter – love the round bee than Ronald. I’ve read an article about babies and kids having a preference for round-shaped objects and it’s no wonder that Mickey Mouse is, well, round and plump.

I’ve seen the Jollibee mascot countless of times in the countless children’s parties I’ve attended, four of which are for my son. The mascot, even if from different stores, seems to have the same level of energy and the same capacity make kids love them. I must say that the training for the mascot seems to be great (I must also say that I’m not paid for saying all these things).

But it doesn’t end there (my first choice of words is this – “But wait, there’s more”). What I admire about the mascot is its willingness to go through hoops and obstacles to spread smiles on the faces of children, even those in pain.

The last two birthdays of our son, with Jollibee as the usual guest, were held in the same children’s ward of a hospital. There’s more to spaghetti, chicken, hamburger or french fries. The jolly bee would not only go through his usual dance routine, it would also go and interact with the kids – each and every one in the entire children’s ward.

Now, mind you, this is not an easy task. Tubes, cables and steel beams are everywhere. There are more than 50 kids to go to. There is no break. Yet the jolly bee continued on its task of making each kid smile.

I don’t really know if the people under the mascots are compensated enough. I don’t really know if these people hear “thank you” often enough. I do know that I want to say thank you to them and to the jolly old bee that makes the children happy.

Max’s Restaurant’s beginnings started in 1945, after World War II. Maximo Gimenez, a Stanford –educated teacher, befriended the American occupation troops stationed at Quezon City. Because of this friendship, the soldiers regularly visited Maximo’s nearby home for a drink or two. Later on, the troops insisted that they pay for their drinks. This prompted Maximo to open a café where the troops could enjoy food and drinks.

The café initially served chicken, steak and drinks. Maximo’s niece – Ruby, who managed the kitchen, created a special recipe for chicken that became an instant favorite for the GIs. Soon, the Filipino public heard about the delicious chicken – tender, juicy and crispy – and they came too! Max’s Restaurant was born. (From the Max’s Restaurant website)

There are two things I usually order at Max’s — the kamote fries (to have something to nibble while waiting) and, of course, the fried chicken. It’s sarap (delicious) to the bones, as their commercial goes. Perhaps this is one of the great examples of the “truth in advertising” slogan. Here’s how the chicken and the kamote fries look like (photo courtesy of Max’s):

Ahh, now you see why I always order the chicken? I’m not saying that other items in the menu are not as great (try the kare-kare, pancit canton, fresh lumpia and the rest), it’s just that I rarely order anything else when I go to Max’s. I’m just happy with the fried chicken. It’s like If I’m sentenced to death and allowed to request for a chicken, I’d probably request for a Max’s fried chicken. And I’d still be happy. I mean, with the chicken.