Mang Inasal is, according to their website, the Philippine’s fastest growing barbeque fast food chain, serving chicken, pork barbeque and other Filipino favorites. I am not a fan of Mang Inasal but I have visited a lot of different branches during my college days. Why? Because (1) their food is student wallet-friendly; (2) they have this unlimited rice promo running all year round which is perfect after an exhausting school day and; (3) they are strategically located in places where my college classmates and I go to finish our school requirements. Mang Inasal is literally everywhere. During those times, I felt like there’s no other choice but Mang Inasal.

Review time! Food first.

I think their best seller is their chicken so let’s start with the chicken. Taste-wise, their chicken is good. Their recipe tickled the Filipino palate really well. Downside of the chicken: not uniformly cooked. Every visit, the chicken feels different. Well, they all taste the same but they’re not cooked the same. Sometimes, the chicken is over-cooked, sometimes under. I have even encountered a raw chicken! What a shame. Sometimes, the chicken is juicy but most of the time, the skin of the chicken is burnt and the inside is dry. There is a big difference between charred and burnt. A couple of times, aside from being dry and burnt, I have been served a cold chicken. It seems like the chicken has been sitting in the kitchen for a long time, waiting to be served. How dare you serve food cold when it’s not supposed to be cold. It’s chicken barbecue; not hainanese chicken. Huhu.

Yes, their chicken may be “two in one sa laki at sarap” but are these two the only factors that we have to consider?

Aside from chicken, they also serve Puto at Dinuguan. My first order of Puto at Dinuguan was good — perfect balance of flavors. But again, they are not consistent. Sometimes, they serve Dinuguan which is more sour than the usual. The only consistent thing is the Puto. It’s moist and has a very light flavor that complements the strong dinuguan taste. As for dessert, they have turon split and leche flan both are not impressive — very small serving. Their menu also isn’t impressive — not a lot of choices. (See menu here)

Okay. Enough with the food. Restaurant naman.

Every Mang Inasal place I have been to is hot and messy. Are we tight on budget and we have to cut down on electrical expenses? The aircon doesn’t seem to function at all. Or wait, it does. FAN MODE. Huhu. Yeah, I get the grilling thing which could make the place hot but I have been to other restaurants whose grilling process do not affect the temperature of the dining area. The tables, chairs and floors are messy. It’s like someone spilled soy sauce or chicken oil, people stepped on it and nobody cleaned after the mess. The three condiments on the table (chicken oil, vinegar and soy sauce) are messy and sticky too. And most of the time, they are not complete. I mean not all three are on the table. You have to tell the staff first that you need this and that before putting the staple condiments on your table. The crew are not friendly too. Sungit. And they can’t keep up with the unlimited rice promo. There were a couple of times that my friends served themselves the rice refill just because the crew were too busy handling whatevers. There were a couple of times too that we helped ourselves get a bowl of soup. They should have posted a “Self-Service” sign somewhere inside the dining area.

Obviously, overall, considering all the branches I have visited, I am deeply disappointed. I will never pay Mang Inasal a visit again.

*Disclaimer: Photos are grabbed from the Internet