THERE is one comfort food that Filipinos always loved. In fact, one fast food chain put “joy” on its name because indeed, it is always a joy to see it on the table during family gatherings and occasions. If you still haven’t guessed what it is then let us spoon-feed you that you may know the best of its kind in Davao City.
Who isn’t familiar of fried chicken? As a child, perhaps you have also drooled at the sight of it or even just at the sound of its name. It is inarguably, an all-time favorite. If you want to know which resto served it the best, then we got your back!
Search Mechanics
Fried chicken. These two words got us away from the office for a while just to look for the best homegrown greaseless fried chicken in the city.
We had conducted a poll via our social media pages and from the pool of suggestions given by our followers, we picked three of the most mentioned and well-recommended chicken houses.
After picking up the three most recommended homegrown greaseless fried chicken, we personally went to the restos that served them to try them out. The restos were not informed or were not aware that they are part of the search.
We immediately served the freshly cooked greaseless fried chicken to the three jurors we had invited to judge the items. Each juror was asked series of questions that were crafted from our research on how to judge a good fried chicken. The jurors blindly judged the fried chicken since they were not informed of the brand to avoid any biases from influencing their decisions. The fried chickens were presented to them as Chicken A, Chicken B, and Chicken C.
After giving their comments or feedbacks, the jurors were asked to rate each chicken from 1 to 5 (with 5 as the highest). The one with highest overall rating won.
All the jurors agreed that the chicken looked appetizing but did their overall appearance match the taste? Let’s see what they say about it.
Chicken A
Jefry: It’s not too soggy, not too greasy and not too dry. While there are parts of it that looked dry, but upon tasting them, they were good. This fried chicken is close to the one that I always like. I think this is just a middle-of-the-road fried chicken. It is okay if given to you but you will not crave it if it is not there.
Jenny: This chicken is well-done but there are portions that are dry. Overall, it is okay. I don’t see any burnt area and it looked appetizing. As to its sauce, I would have wanted it to have a little bit of a spicy flavor. Its sauce is very sweet but they could have done better. There is no aftertaste which I like about it because some fried chicken are kind of rancid - the taste of the oil which has been used for a number of times [sticks on your tongue] - but this one, it doesn’t have any aftertaste at all.
Jinggoy: Ito parang tuyo na (This one already looks dry). I’m looking for a chicken that still has a flavor on its breast because that’s the only part I eat but this one doesn’t have it (the flavor) yet. As to its appearance, the light color of a fried chicken is here and there is no unintentional burning. It looks delicious and crispy. I guess this is good especially when it is served hot.
Rating for the greaseless fried chicken
Jefry: 3
Jenny: 3
Jinggoy: 2
Chicken B
Jeffry: This is a horror story kind of chicken. Everything about it is scary and the only redeeming factor is that I think the maker made sure that the skin will taste good but otherwise, leave the chicken skin, you would have end up with a haunted chicken.
Jenny: The taste is good but it just doesn’t look appealing. It’s not really appealing especially to a fried chicken eater like me. Hindi siya gwapa (It doesn’t look beautiful). And the skin is not crispy. People would always look for the crispness of the chicken skin. And it is salty. Parang masyadong binugbog itong manok nato, parang ang daming pinagdaanan (This chicken looked like it had received a lot of beatings and it looked like it went through a lot). I can see some oil dripping from the chicken – it’s greasy. I couldn’t finish this chicken.
Jinggoy: If chicken B was of Chicken C’s color then I will probably give this a five. Checking the bones on the thigh part, this is just cooked right. I think they utilized reused oil for cooking this because it looks dark. If you reuse oil, it will give a darker shade [on the fried chicken] and [the chicken] will not look appetizing. It’s like you’re looking at those sidewalk fried chicken because this is the color (dark brown) that they have. But it has an herb flavor that’s kind of appealing.
Rating for the greaseless fried chicken
Jefry: 1
Jenny: 2
Jinggoy: 3
Chicken C
Jefry: This is definitely the winner. This is my perfect chicken. Everything about it is pretty, beautiful, and it tastes nice and I would definitely look for the one who made this and will probably tell them to make more for me and my friends.
Jenny: This is the perfect chicken for me. The taste and color are perfect. It doesn’t have any undesirable aftertaste. It is cooked to perfection. I couldn’t see any oil coming out of the meat. It’s really greaseless. It’s very appetizing. Its sauce also blended perfectly with the chicken. The chicken is very flavorful that you can eat it even without the sauce. Even after eating it, the flavor of the chicken lingers.
Jinggoy: This is well-marinated. The breast part is a little more flavorful than the first one (Chicken A) that I’ve tasted. It looks beautiful. It’s cooked like they’re using fresh oil. You would really eat this even if you are on a diet.
Rating for the greaseless fried chicken
Jefry: 5
Jenny: 5
Jinggoy: 3.5
Winner:
Chicken C -- Papa Ching’s greaseless fried chicken.
Papa Ching’s greaseless fried chicken won the hearts and tastebuds of the jurors. With its perfect golden brown color and juicy, tender and flavorful chicken, you could devour it whole. Kudos Papa Ching’s for winning SunStar’s Best of Davao for the homegrown greaseless fried chicken category. Keep it up!
Meet the jurors
Jefry Tupas, former SunStar Davao reporter, a multi-awarded journalist and now the Davao City Information Officer.
Jenny Grace Mendoza, former SunStar Davao Business reporter and now the Department of Trade and Industry-Davao Region’s information officer III. She also writes for SunStar Davao’s lifestyle and entertainment sections under the columns Fashion nook and Showblitz, respectively.
Jinggoy Salvador, SunStar Davao’s Lifestyle columnist whose columns are jeepneyjinggoy and Of Apples and Lemons.