Chicken. You can fry, bake, barbecue, or broil it. You can serve it in a soup, with a sauce, or by itself. Every culture or region in the world has their own specialty dish that uses chicken as the main ingredient. From Chicken Kiev to America’s own Southern Fried Chicken, we can agree that you can prepare chicken countless ways.

In the Philippines, several restaurants have made millions of pesos off of severing chicken dishes. Jollibee, Max’s House of Fried Chicken, The Aristocrat, and Classic Savory Chicken are a few restaurants that have followed this path. Let me tell you that my visits back home to the Philippines include a stop at one of these destinations just to get a taste of their chicken dishes. Returning back home to the West leaves me craving for more Filipino food, but luckily there are a few places around me that can do I feel like I’m back home Filipino dishes. It was only the other week that I went to a spot that a co-worker recommended. What I didn’t know was that they would be serving memories on a plate.

Chicken D’Lite holds a special place in my heart for one reason. Eating here reminds me of the Philippines. When you first approach the restaurant and look at the menu, you will notice that they serve two styles of chicken. That’s when it hit me. They served chicken similar to Classic Savory Chicken’s fried chicken and The Aristocrat’s barbecued chicken. It sparked a I get to try two styles of my favorite comfort food that’s supposed to taste like the ones from restaurants in the Philippines, here in Newark, without flying across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines!? feeling. Sign me up.

The first style of chicken offered is a Classic Savory Chicken style, fried chicken that is served with a gravy sauce on the side. Savory style refers to the mix of spices that season the chicken, which the Classic Savory Chicken restaurant is known for. Juicy and tender meat is tucked beneath the crispy skin. Dipping into gravy adds just a touch of more flavor to the meat. The best part of Chicken D’Lite’s fried chicken is that it isn’t overly oily.

If you aren’t in the mood for fried chicken, you can sample on The Aristocrat style, barbecued chicken. Chicken D’Lite’s marinade used to flavor the chicken is similar to The Aristocrat’s. It has a much sweeter taste than the Savory style fried chicken, and is served with a peanut sauce as opposed to the gravy. The peanut sauce reminded me of a pork asado sauce, which contains some flavors of brown sugar and soy sauce. The Aristocrat style chicken remains as juicy and tender as the Savory style. You can’t go wrong with either.

Chicken D’lite offers an unbelievable value for the price you pay for their combination meals. Along with your choice of chicken, you receive a small cup of a rich macaroni soup (sopas), three pieces of meat egg rolls (lumpia Shanghai) with a sweet and sour dipping sauce, and on top of that, a heaping serving of rice.

It was a very satisfying meal. I left with a smirk on my face knowing that a little bit of the Philippines was this much closer to home.

It’s a spot for dates because…
For days that you have a craving for Filipino style chicken, you can look to Chicken D’Lite to meet your needs. Chicken D’Lite offers you a great value for the quality you receive.

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Ingredients
4 Cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
2 Cups Heavy Cream
10 Russet Potatoes Cubed into 1/2 Pieces
18 oz. Chopped Broccoli
1 Cup Cheddar Cheese
1 Large Onion
2 Large Cloves of Minced Garlic
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Pepper
1 Tbsp. Salt
2 Sprigs of Thyme
12 Strips of Bacon Cubed into 1/2 Pieces

Steps
The amount of ingredients I used in this recipe was enough to make a large pot full that served about 8-10 people. So if you’re making this for just a few people, feel free to reduce the amount that’s listed.

Start by heating up 2 Tbsp. of Olive oil in a large pot. Season the onion and garlic with a large pinch of salt and pepper, then let the onions sweat over medium heat for about 5 minutes just till they’re translucent. Next add the chicken broth, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and the sprigs of thyme into the pot, turn the heat up to high and bring it to a slight boil. Now add the potatoes into the pot, season with a little more salt and pepper then bring it back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover it and let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the soup has thickened up and the potatoes are tender. Make sure you are stirring occasionally.

At about the 20 minute mark, add the chopped broccoli and about 2 cups of cheddar cheese, then let it simmer for another 25 minutes. While the soup is finishing up, cook the bacon in a pan until they’re nice and crispy. This will take about 8 minutes. Once the bacon is done cooking, transfer them onto a plate with a napkin. After the 45 minutes are up, give the soup a taste, and give it a little more seasoning if needed. Also feel free to add a little more cheese if you like. Ladle a few scoops of the soup into the bowl, top it with some cheddar cheese, bacon, and you’ve got yourself a nice hearty soup.

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Take some shrimp and turn it into…

Tamarind Soup with Shrimp or Sinigang na Hipon, in Tagalog. This soup combines the sour and tangy flavors of tamarind with the sweetness of shrimp. Throw in some spinach and radish for the vegetables. After that, add in some spiciness with jalapeño peppers. Prepare your taste buds for an assortment of flavors.

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