Max's chain of restaurants are pretty much a staple all across the Philippines. You'll find them in most sizable cities and their claim to fame is their fried chicken. According to them, this is "the house that fried chicken built." I'll have to test how good it is in the future since I've never tried it yet.
This location is in the heart of Vigan City, right next to the famed Calle Crisologo. Traffic is busy and parking is tough. This is the case pretty much across the board in the Phillipines unless you're in a provincial town. I did see a few parking spots right in front of the restaurant though (good luck!) and the restaurant itself is busy as well.
We had a party of 10, but lucked out and were seated right away and right in front of the air conditioner. Yay! We ordered a mix of dishes and among our table we had sinigang na baka (tamarind beef soup), pinaputok na tiyan ng bangus (popped salmon belly), crispy pata (pork knuckles), crab meat fried rice, & some other stuff that I'm not sure what it was called. The main dishes that *I* ordered were the Vigan longanisa (a specialty dish for the area) & bagnet (a deep friend crispy pork belly).
For dessert I ordered the pastillas con hielo - a special shaved ice dessert mixed with sweetened beans, macapuno balls and sweetened suba topped with leche flan and Max's homemade pastillas - think elevated halo halo. I also had an ube leche flan shake. I know, I know, my dessert loving ways knows no bounds. Hehe.
Due to the size of our party and our order, they told us it would be about 20 - 25 minutes which was fine. Our drinks and desserts all came out first which was fine by me! I dug into my shakes and was in heaven! This was my 2nd pastillas con hielo and this was even better than the first! It had just the right amount of sweetness and a biiiiig scoop of pastillas to top it off. OMG, delicious! The ube shake was also good, but if I had to choose between the two, pastillas con hielo all the way.
Our food came out right on time and I was surprised to see my dishes come with bagoong isda (not the shrimp paste, but the sauce made with fish) mixed with tomatoes & onions. I've never tried dipping meat with that before and you know what? It was SO good and paired so well. I was so happy with my picks. Bagoong isda is not for the faint of heart though and is more of an acquired taste. If you're adventurous, go for it! I personally loved it! Loved my dishes so much that I didn't try any of the other dishes, but consensus was everything was pretty good.
Overall, for the volume of customers that they get, the service is still very timely and quick. They turnover tables really fast and I noticed that once the crowds started dwindling... they turned off the a/c. Wouldn't want to be in there long at that time! Anywho, if you're hungry and in the area, this is a solid choice, especially if you plan to sight see down the Calle and want to ride in a kalesa (they line-up right on the side of the restaurant). read more