chick flick
Fried chicken is practically a religion in the country. Birdhouse takes a stab at crafting their own signature fried chicken, to surprising results.
he first rule of Birdhouse is: There is chicken skin on everything. The second rule of Birdhouse is: Enjoy the chicken skin on everything. Admit it. The best part of fried chicken is its crunchy, fatty, salty skin. Peeling off a blanket-shaped piece from a thigh is, for many of us, the highlight of a meal, the best part, carefully saved, and selfishly guarded, for that last glorious bite. Filipinos are a fried chicken loving people. Global fast food giants must have it on their menus, only in this country and nowhere else, or risk being shunned. But it took a homegrown concept to finally, without fear or favor, serve gorgeous, scrumptious bits of chicharon-like chicken skin, atop every single platter. Welcome to the Birdhouse.
It’s the latest concept from Louie Ngo and Linfred Yap, the entrepreneurs behind the Relish Group, responsible for bringing in Singapore’s Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken and the Kumori Japanese Bakery. They’ve taken great care in importing concepts, and now, have taken even greater care in creating their own. Birdhouse was developed over the course of several years; fried chicken, after all, is not something that’s taken lightly here. It’s practically a religion. Two beloved restaurant empires, Aristocrat and Max’s, turned 80 and 70 years old respectively this past year, and yes, both have signature best-selling fried chicken recipes. Every aspiring fried chicken magnate must have a distinct formula, and Birdhouse complies with this rule. Their recipe is as closely guarded as Col. Sanders’, but this, they can reveal: The brining process, and the quality of the batter, are essential to avoid blandness. One key is that Birdhouse exclusively uses dark meat. It’s all about the tasty thighs and the delicious drumsticks.
However, the Birdhouse treat that’s getting the most traction online is their salted egg lava fried chicken sandwich. It’s a dramatic creation: a crisp and juicy thigh fillet, the bone carefully removed, and stuffed, in its place, a dense, rich, oozing sauce made with this year’s ingredient du jour. Caution: filling is hot. It’s one of the creations of Chef Francis Lim, who’s famous for his own establishments, Nav and Tipple & Slaw. He created the menu for Birdhouse, and he’s responsible for refining and modernizing the humble fried chicken for this next generation restaurant. Among his innovations, an original lineup of dips: truffle ketchup, peach barbecue sauce, old-fashioned milk gravy, and a creamy herby concoction called the “Green Goddess”.
Those ubiquitous bits make one final appearance on the menu: on dessert, of course, for a truly happy ending. Waffles a la mode, crumbled chicken skin sprinkled on scoops of vanilla ice cream. Sweet and salty together in perfect harmony. It’s a joyous exclamation point to this new restaurant’s motto: Cluck You! Consider me all clucked up, and you will be too, because in this Birdhouse, the flavors soar.