Delivery Snippets: Tai Koo HK Roast x 24 Chicken x Baked by Machew

TAI KOO HK ROAST

Tai Koo HK Roast has always been a reliable and convenient solution to any roasted meat craving that hits me during the work week. Its quality may not be top-notch, but it definitely can compete in terms of value-for-money. I love how the restaurant allows you to pair all its meats with either rice or noodles; and also gives flexible options to combine two different kinds of roasted meat in a single serving.

ORIGINAL TAIKOO PLATE (P290.80)

However, if such flexibility in option is still not enough to cure that craving, Tai Koo HK Roast curated the Original Taikoo Plate which aims to give your indecisive self a little taste of everything. Slices of Char Siu, Soy Chicken and Pork Belly are laid atop of white rice glazed with a sticky and sweet soy sauce. Two pieces of fried siomai and a whole adobo egg serve as hefty sides to this feast-in-a-bowl. Cap off the meal with a piece of a buchi as dessert. If you don’t know what to get OR if you just can’t seem to narrow down what you want, then the Original Taikoo Plate is a must-try for you.

Tai Koo HK Roast

Date of Delivery: September 24, 2020 via Foodpanda

24 CHICKEN

24 Chicken has been crowned by a lot of people as one of the best Korean-style wings in Manila. Situated near universities, 24 Chicken gained popularity thanks to its affordable price point and convenience. Despite its success and expansive growth, the branches of 24 Chicken were simply too far from where I live and work for me to try it out. Fortunately, it recently opened a branch of E. Rodriguez which gave me an opportunity to try it out!

HALF YANGNYEOM/HALF GARLIC + JACK DANIEL’S SAUCE (P577)

Although the new outpost is only a 10-minute drive away from home, I often see a line snaking until outside its store, which definitely makes for a cringe-y take-out experience in the middle of a pandemic. Thus, I was relieved when I saw it on the Grab app. True, prices are a bit higher on the app; however, I’d gladly take it for the convenience and added safety of having it delivered straight to my home!

Its menu is pretty straightforward as it offers half or whole portions of wings and/or tenders fried in their signature sauces. We opted for the Garlic and the Yangnyeom flavors; but since it’s been a long while since I had some Jack Daniel’s Wings, I opted to add in an extra Jack Daniel dip in our order.

The verdict? It definitely deserves all the praises it gets. I love how the meat is kept juicy and tasty (even with the delivery time) and how generous 24 Chicken was when it came to coating the wings with your preferred sauce/topping. As expected, the Garlic variant ended up maintaining its crunchy exterior better than the mildly-spiced Yangnyeom. However, the Yangnyeom was a highly addictive blend of sweetened gochujang that you simply couldn’t stop eating it!

Pro Tip: Order a Garlic variant of the wings and simply order add-on Yangnyeom sauces to mix in when you’re about to eat! This way you can enjoy the wings at its crunchiest! If you can take on a little more heat, they do offer a spicier blend of their Yangnyeom!

24 Chicken

Date of Delivery: September 27, 2020 via Grabfood

BAKED BY MACHEW

This lockdown breathed life to the Baked Sushi; evident in how numerous home-based shops popped up to serve their own version of baked sushi (most of which maintained their popularity months after)! From Taste & Tell MNL’s killer lip-smacking sauce, to Eleven Baker Street’s to-die-for Uni Aburi masterpiece, I did thoroughly enjoy eating my way through this trend. However, one thing I don't like about the Baked Sushi concept is that most of the time, you’re stuck with just one flavor. After helping yourself to a couple of rolls, there is a huge risk that the taste would end up being one-dimensional or that you'd tire of it.

SALMON INARI, SCALLOP INARI, BEEF INARI (9 Pieces – P800)

That’s a problem that Baked by Machew easily solves with its line of Inari. Served in individual tofu pouches, Baked By Machew’s Inaris are generously stuffed with layers of sushi rice and tasty toppings of your choice. Flavors range from Salmon, Scallop, Kani, Beef and Wakame.

One thing Baked by Machew prides about is its winning ratio of topping-to-rice which easily beats out its baked sushi counterparts. Its salmon Inari boasts of actual chunks of salmon, whole frozen scallops can be visibly seen in its Scallop Inari and perfectly marinated beef strips are stuffed inside its Beef Inari.

Its packed Inaris can get a bit heavy, so what my family did was to each enjoy a halve of every flavor. This way, we got a taste of everything without getting too overwhelmed or too full. Undeniably, it was the most delicious, enjoyable and cost-effective ‘baked sushi’ experience I had, even though it wasn’t technically baked sushi. It does have its own life of Baked Sushi which promises the same winning ratio of topping-to-rice that I’m quite tempted to try!

Baked By Machew

Date of Delivery: October 11, 2020