And because Max’s is one of my family’s favorite restos of all time, let me fill this space with the announcement of four new dishes that they’ve cooked up in their kitchen:

Pork adobo with ensaladang kangkong. Adobo is my comfort food with a capital CF. Max’s version is twice-cooked, since the meat is fried to a crisp first and mixed with savory adobo sauce. The addition of ensaladang kangkong makes this a healthy pairing.

Crispy Tilapia with choice of Tomato or Labanos (white radish) salsa. Another comfort food of mine resurrected with a few variations. I like my tilapia with skin on, and then fried to a crispy crackle, while tasting its yummy belly fat. Max’s version has been filleted, fried to a moderate crispness and coated with breading. For the choice of salsas, tomato ranges between sweet and spicy while the labanos is mixed in a mild vinaigrette and bordering on sweet and sour.

Grilled babyback ribs. The ribs are a newfound favorite of my picky eater- son, and am glad Max’s is now joining another fastfood chain Kenny Rogers in offering these, with half or full slab to choose from. What makes this luscious? The tasty, rich barbecue sauce and the pineapple-tomato salsa that accompanies the dish.

Paella sinangag. A must-try for rice eaters, this is paella that’s resplendent in its color and flavors, as it’s been mixed with meat, seafood and veggies. Max’s recommends this as a rice alternative to their famous fried chicken.

(Photos from the official press release)

I had fun attending the food tasting of the launch of the new dishes and the Max’s kitchen never failed us again. As an added treat, I posed for a souvenir pic with Max’s endorser, heartthrob Piolo Pascual, after which a lot of my friends told me that they saw me with Piolo on TV Patrol ( *surprise, while blushing). Who says you can’t have good food and your 30 seconds of fame? LOL.

Anyway, James told me Piolo hasn’t been eating rice for yearsss now, kaya pala super-slim sya, with no belly fat in sight Piolo is all much taller than I expected him to (you see, am wearing heels in the pic).

Worth noting as well:

the new uniform of Max’s employees were designed by Rajo Laurel
interiors of new Max’s branches are designed by Budji Layug

Call 7-9000 for Max’s deliveries within Metro Manila