Dubai: The last time I visited Max’s Restaurant was during its opening in 2011. I have to admit, I wasn’t impressed. After three years, I decided to try it again and this time, the experience was totally different.
Upon entering the place, we were greeted by the smiling and friendly staff. This being a Filipino brand, and Filipinos being well-known for their hospitality, I guess the warm atmosphere will always be an added value.
After a few minutes, people started to fill up the restaurant. A table not far from us even had a group of friends celebrating a birthday. It took us sometime to decide what to order as there was quite a variety to choose from.
For starters, I opted for fresh lumpiang ubod (fresh heart of coconut egg roll) while my dining companion chose the fried version.
A trip to a Max’s Restaurant wouldn’t be complete without ordering their signature dish – Max’s Fried Chicken. We ordered a half portion for our main course because we wanted to try other dishes in the menu.
As suggested by the staff, we tried the pinaputok na tiyan ng bangus (grilled milkfish belly in banana leaf), which is a recent addition to the menu. We also ordered one of the more popular Filipino dishes, kare-kare (beef tail and tripe peanut stew). And this being a genuinely Filipino diner, we also ordered plain rice, although there were quite a few other rice dishes to choose from. For drinks, I had sago at gulaman and my colleague had corn shake.
While waiting, I noticed the place getting filled up fairly quickly, while a small crowd was beginning to form in the waiting area. The place, however, was not as noisy as I would have expected of a packed Filipino restaurant. One customer was overheard saying that eating at Max’s Restaurant is just like dining in the Philippines.
The sago at gulaman, made of tapioca balls and gelatin and sweetened by a special sugar syrup, was too sweet for me, but thankfully I was given crushed ice, which helped lessen the sweetness.
The fresh lumpiang ubod was a bit bigger than I had expected and I was afraid I’d already be half full by the time the mains were served. More than the generous serving, the fresh lumpiang ubod was just the way I wanted it – tender and savoury and tasting really fresh. The dish consists of fresh heart of coconut sautéed with ground chicken, shrimp and crabsticks wrapped in egg crepe and topped with a nutty, sweet and salty brown sauce with a hint of garlic.
I have tried the same dish from other restaurants in Dubai, and I must admit it was the best I have tasted so far. It gave me flashbacks of the fresh lumpiang ubod that my godmother used to cook during parties in my hometown in Cebu, Philippines. After finishing the generous portion, I was actually a little worried if still had enough space for the main course.
Then the fried chicken was served. The first time I tried it at this restaurant was three years ago, I remember I wasn’t really impressed with the dish. Furthermore, I’m not really a big fan of chicken dishes. But I guess they’ve made the right tweaks as I found it a lot more flavoursome this time. Golden fried with a unique blend of special spices, the chicken was even more tastier after dipping it in the banana ketchup exclusively made by the restaurant.
The pinaputok na tiyan ng bangus consisted of deboned milkfish belly, stuffed with chopped tomatoes, onions and garlic. It is grilled inside a banana leaf. The presentation itself is already mouthwatering. This has become a new personal favourite of mine.
The belly is arguably the most flavourful part of a milkfish and I guess you really don’t have to do much to make a dish out of it. But for this one, I think the fresh tomato salsa really enhanced the flavour of the milkfish, with just the right amount of spiciness (I have a very low tolerance to spicy stuff, but this one was simply the right mix for me).
The last item on our dinner spread was the kare-kare – a beef and vegetable dish of ox tail and tripe simmered in thick peanut sauce. It is served with shrimp paste. Although it’s a popular Filipino dish, I’m not really a fan of kare-kare and it was only out of curiosity that I ordered it. But I really liked Max’s version when compared to those that I’ve tried in other restaurants in Dubai. The beef is soft and tender and the peanut sauce had the right balance of flavour for me.
