BBQ Chicken Philippines, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Address: UG, BGC Central C3, 7th Ave, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines
Opening Hours: Sunday – Thursday 11:00am – 10:00pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00am – 11:00pm
Instagram: bbqchicken.ph

There are probably a few restaurants in Manila that serve dishes consistent in quality. Most of which, in my 10 years of experience, serve food good at its first month, then slowly nosedive (or more like crash and burn by the third month). These restaurants with poor track record don’t really survive longer than 2 years; 3 years is considered a miracle.

Foreign brands, on the other hand, present a glaring reality in Manila’s restaurant scene — abysmal 99% of the time. Come fly to Singapore and try Din Tai Fung, Tim Ho Wan, Putien, and Crystal Jade, and you’ll find that Manila’s dishes are nowhere near the standard expected of these F&B giants. Remember Halal Guys opening in BGC? I don’t even want to go into Olive Garden, Denny’s, and Randy’s Donuts. (I did say the quality of Randy’s donuts will significantly change over the course within 6 months of its opening. Now, see what happened to their Maple long johns. I don’t even want to talk about them right now.)

With this, I conclude that foreign restaurants opening in the Philippines only bring their logos and branding on the country shores, but forget to reign in the quality of their dishes. Simply put, they all suck.

So does BBQ Chicken fit into the above rule? I find that this Korean chicken joint breaks that rule. I ate at BBQ Chicken several times to determine its quality, one during peak hours and the other during lull times. Both times rendered the chicken so perfectly battered, chicken meat so tender and juicy, and the secret sauce to die for. While the dishes are all flaming hot (and Filipinos aren’t that much of a spicy food eater compared to other Southeast Asians), this is one restaurant that seems to draw in more crowds than ever. I doubt its because of the Kdrama fandom. Or Crash Landing on You nostalgia. Or Lee Min Ho dreams. This is all about the chicken.

The rest of the dishes at BBQ Chicken are forgettable. The Korean pancakes are the silliest pancakes ever made. They shouldn’t exist at all. The Caesar Salad is standard. And the Soondubu Jigae’s fiery power heightens the already spicy palate of your dinner. A glass of nonalcoholic rice milk calls to vanquish the spicy aftermath on your tongue.

But one thing is for sure, I truly, truly hope the chicken quality doesn’t fade. I’m trying to be optimistic despite 10 years of witnessing Manila’s restaurant scene.