A GROWING HEN
by Louie P. Oviedo

Somewhere along the food court located at Shangri-La EDSA Plaza lays The Big, Red Hen. After every heart-pounding workout every weekend at Power Dance, I'd usually pass by here for nourishment. I don't know if this is the reason why up to now I'm still not close to my target weight loss for this year.

I am not a regular patron of this place, in fact when I stumbled upon it all I knew about it was that it probably serves chicken. Then as I peered closely over their menus I found out that their meals have been reasonably priced. The price was drew me to try it.

What I'd usually order here is their Brat Pack #1; it already has the one-piece chicken, one scoop of rice, gravy and a choice of soft drinks or iced tea. You have one complete meal for only Php49. As for the rice, you have a choice of having it plain, Java, or with garlic. What is also good about their rice is that it's very soft, chewy, and not dry. However, my complaint with the rice is that the serving is too small. Extra rice costs something like Php8.

Their chicken is very tasty, most especially the skin. It has been lavishly seasoned with what I guess would be soy sauce and other spices. Every time I eat my chicken I'd always save this for last. Compared to the skin, the meat may not taste as well seasoned but it has the gravy with its mushroom flavoring to complement it with. I like their gravy so much that I'd usually spread it over my rice like soup.

They also have other sidings like the ones I tried, the mashed potato and the mixed vegetables (each of them are worth Php21). Their mashed potato was served in a large bowl-like cup and though it still lacks some more butter, it was not that tasteless either. Their mixed vegetables was served in a cup as big as the smallest ice cream cup but full to the brim. It was rather overcooked and the vegetables already looked a little limp to me, however, I also finished it all up. And again like the mashed potato, it needs a little more butter since it's a little bit dry.

The service is fast and there are no long lines although I can see that their customers are starting to grow in numbers.