Tropical Hut:
The “More” Superior
Fried Chicken Chain
Ah, the Philippines, one of the world’s only countries where a bloody creepy clown aka Mcdonalds is not the most popular fast food chain. Mr Mcdonalds in the Philippines is being f***ed over by a freaking Giant Bee aka Jollibee, a fried chicken chain popular as f*** here and around the world. I am not going to lie, I am a massive fan of Jollibee in Singapore. So, when I am sent here to Manila for training, I am of course excited to try the crack from the source. That being said, I made a huge mistake before I had my first taste of Jollibee.
I hope I will not get cancelled by a whole country after this statement. -Breathe in I had Tropical Hut before Jollibee and Tropical Hut is way better than Jollibee. Hold your pitchforks and don’t let my head out to hang. Jollibee is amazing! I loved it, but Tropical Hut is way better. The trash one is Max’s Restaurant. That is just outright f***ing shit. Jollibee and Tropical Hut are like Apple vs. Android. Both are great, but one is less well-known and far superior (Android is better of course), and Tropical Hut is Android.
In context, Tropical Hut is like the uncle to Jollibee. Opened in 1962, it is the Grandmaster Flash aka the OG of burger chains in the Philippines. It predates Jollibee by 16 years which makes Jollibee more similar to Ice-T still old school but not the pioneer. Sadly, Tropical Hut is only available around Manila. So, if you are travelling in other areas of the Philippines, you are out of luck. However, Tropical Hut is something I would brave the f***ing sh*tshow called Manila Traffic for.
As we are staying around Ortigas (No photos we forget to take), we visit the Ortigas outlet. Walking in is like being transported to the 90s. The decor is not the most updated, but it holds a certain charm to it. The charm is, you probably know the food is going to be amazing for this one. It is not the most aesthetic unless you are an artsy colour film photographer, which I am not now. Although it shows its age, it is minimal and comfortable enough to have a meal at.
The food is what shines here, First up, we have the classic order you would order at any fried chicken chain in the Philippines, the Spaghetti and Fried Chicken Combo. The chicken is juicy and flavourful. It packs a punch in terms of flavouring. Not overly salty and oily, but you can taste the marinade. It has a bit of spice which I prefer, really a solid 9/10. The spaghetti, on the other hand, is less sweet than its Jollibee counterpart and is more meaty than the usual Filipino spaghetti that I am used to, which honestly, I prefer. The balance of sweet and savoury is more profound in it, and you can also taste the tomato sauce better. It has more complex flavours and overall a better rendition of the Filipino spaghetti I am commonly used to.
Next up, Palabok. Now this is something you don’t see anywhere else. I think this is the hidden local gem and the unsung hero of Filipino fast food. Palabok is essentially Beef hoon (Rice noodles) with shrimp gravy with chicharron and a lot of other stuff like tofu and I don’t know what else makes this the food equivalent of crack cocaine. Paired with another fried chicken, it feels like cocaine and weed mixed, everything bad for health mixed making it addictive and freaking good. We do not advocate for drug use, so eating palabok is the legal version of drug use. It packs a punch, you can taste the shrimp, the gravy, some peanut flavour and a hit of chicharron at the end.
Last up Halo-Halo. Yo. I travelled to the Philippines for this and I spent 4 days looking for this. It is not sold cause it’s rainy. But idgaf I need Halo-Halo. And the one here is indeed heaven. The halo in halo-halo refers to the angels I see after taking a bite. It is whatever you expect from a Halo-Halo, very textural, and the ice cream is strong, not too sweet. It is hard to describe this but just an addictive treat.
They do have other local delights like Macaroni Salad and Tocino, both of which I enjoyed although I failed to take a photo of the Tocino. It shows how Tropical Hut is a place that is for Filipinos by Filipinos. It caters and serves up local food for the people in Manila.
Tropical Hut captures my heart in a more homely and nostalgic fast-food experience over Jollibee and one that I am missing constantly as I yearn to have it again when I head back. Jollibee is great and hit the right spots, but Tropical Hut hit me right in my feelings.
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