Bacolod Chicken Haus - Central Filipino Cuisine

After being alerted to a new Philippino Chicken Restaurant via lth's New,Closing & Opening page, we decided to
check out Bacolod Chiken Haus on a stretch of Lincoln Avenue that is home to many Motels and Korean BBQ.

We were seated in a small, very well lit storefront restaurant festively decorated w/ Masks from the Philippines (seasonal, we later discovered to correlate w/ a MardiGras style festival going on now in The Philippines. "Leo" our highly effusive and friendly server explained much of the menu to us-
but was stopped- dead-in-his spiel, by my dining partner when he got to the description of "balut"-
a cooked duck egg, that is in an embryonic state.
Maybe it was the "I-ain't-got-no-Fear Factor"- factor....maybe it was the fact that Andrew Zimmerman made a face eating one....all I knew was- she had to have it!


Philippine Ceviche > w/Toasted Sesame Seeds (with Balut Duck Egg visible in background) by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

The fact that non-Phillipino's customers were ordering this item- was enough to bring Christine the owner over to our table
to offer tips and thoughts on this unique food items popularity (most- late at night- with a beer she told us)

Christine, proud owner of Bacolod Restaurant in West Rodgers Park by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

After applying a bit of salt- a splash of vinegar (to open up the savory flavor?) My ADVENTUROUS dining companion thoroughly enjoyed her 1st time eating a duck embryo egg....."Minerally" she wisecracked- attempting to channel some Zimmerman-seque descriptors to her thoughts...."Tasty- yet sublime" were also phrases she used to describe it.
Me?


Balut- an underdeveloped Duck Egg Embryo > a Philippine "Fear-Factor"/Bizarre Foods Specialty by Man_of Steel, on Flickr
"Oh-gee.....there's not enough in there for two" was my reply....


After that we had the ceviche- a bit unlike other Mexican/S. American versions- especially w/ the topping of the toasted Sesame Seeds...
there wasn't the usual melange of seafoods-only fish and onions,some cilantro and garnished w/some hardboiled egg, in a marinade made of vinegar and lime.
I would have preferred some saltines or maybe plantain chips to eat it with-
but it being presented in the purple cabbage leaf made for an attractve presentation-
that later became an edible platform for the fish.


Bacolod Chiken Hous > Deep Fried Pigs Knuckles (Pata's) by Man_of Steel, on Flickr
I didn't find anything too meaty on the trotters- not a dish I'd order again.( Unless you are a huge fan of chicharonnes and or trotters.)
The garlic rice was tasty- but- honestly- I find Pecking Orders Garlic Rice more more savory and delightful.


Bacolod Chiken Haus> Their specialty > Grilled Chicken w/Garlic Rice and Papaya Salad by Man_of Steel, on Flickr
The Chicken thigh was full of flavor, albeit, a much smaller thigh and leg than what I'd serve. I liked the bright flavor of the Papaya Salad- it was tasty and a refreshing counterpoint to the savory chicken.OH- and they get bonus points for presentation- the oval wooden serving platter and the banana leaf beneath the food made for a very authentic looking plate.

Overall I'd say this is a nice spot to try it you are in the area, with many dishes we'd like to return to try- like her oxtail in peanut sauce soup and her Seafood Pancit noodle.The service here is warm and friendly, with true feeling of authentic "pride" evident in what they are serving here.
Compared to Pecking Order, this place is MUCH MORE of an authentic Philippine restaurant, and,compared to ISLA on Lawrence Avenue, I'd say- I prefer Isla.

Bacolod Chiken Haus
a Taste of Pinoy
6320 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago,IL
http://www.bacolodchickenhaus.com/
773.293.9210

Closed Tue./Open 11-9pm
Lunch Special every weekday-11-3pm / $7.00

Bacolod Chicken Haus takes its name from the city of Bacolod, the capital of the filipino province of Negros Occidental. While the menu had some familiar items, it seems there might be a lot more regional variation within filipino cuisine than I had originally assumed, and I’m happy to finally begin educating myself on it. Overall I would say the food here seemed lighter and fresher than other filipino cuisine, with fewer stews, more finger food. The best way I could sum the food up would be to say it seemed very much like island cuisine. The place was bright and pretty big with an open layout, decorated with a few mannequins adorned with costumes of the Bacolod MassKara Festival. The people, food, and setting lent a very casual yet attentive atmosphere, which I appreciated.



Inasal - As the menu describes it: “Specialty Of The House - Inasal served with garlic rice. Grilled marinated chicken, an original from Bacolod city.” One look at the menu and there is no question why people come to the place, with the Inasal taking up about 1/3 of the small menu. You get to choose your meat, leg-thigh, breast-wing, or 3 wings, we chose dark meat. The skewered thigh-leg combo was tender and had lots of grill char. The marinade used was complex enough that I couldn't really pinpoint the spices used, but it definitely had a nice tang to it, probably from calamansi. Speaking of calamansi, I also appreciated the calamansi soy sauce included with the table condiments.




Batchoy - "Famous noodle soup from La Paz Iloilo", garnished with pork and pork liver with egg and pork rinds. For some reason kind of reminded me of Saimin.




Kinilaw Na Tangigue - (served weekends only). Probably my favorite dish of the meal, this is an interesting and awesome filipino take on ceviche. It is raw Spanish mackerel marinated in calamansi juice, mixed with salted egg, raw onion and tomato. The fish was delicate and tasted fresh, not at all overly fishy like mackerel can sometimes be. To say the least, it was a huge step up from the standard tilapia you would see at most central american or Mexican joints around town. The addition of salted duck egg in a ceviche-like dish somehow really makes a lot of sense, and really put this dish into a new category of awesome. It’s a shame that this is a weekend only dish because I’d love to stop in for a helping of this every time I’m passing by.




Grilled Bangus Belly - Grilled milkfish belly, covered with a (surprisingly not very sweet) mango salsa. This was extremely moist and had a good grill char on it. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of the meat under the salsa, but trust me that it was juicy, fatty and flaky.




Tocino, Garlic Rice and Itlog - From the “breakfast all day” portion of the menu, we selected the Tocino which was a sweet grilled pork belly, served with garlic rice and a fried egg. The caramelized sugar charred up nicely to create a deep almost burnt flavor which played in perfect harmony with the fatty pieces of pork belly.




Halo Halo - From the menu: "Shaved ice with sweetened fruit plantain, sweet potato, yam, kaong, nata de coco, beans, coconut topped with ube ice cream." I’m not much of a dessert guy so didn't partake in this, but I’m sure Teresa will happily fill in the blanks here.




Prices are reasonable to cheap. Despite the limited menu, there are a lot of dishes which look interesting. I highly recommend Bacolod, and can't wait to get back!




Bacolod Chicken Haus
6320 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago 60659
(773) 293-6210

9:30am to 9pm
closed tuesdays
9:30am to 9:30pm friday and saturday

I know little about Filipino food other than some of the best-known things. This sounds like a great opportunity for a little long-overdue self-education. Thanks for the great write-up and pix.

I've been here once, and can vouch (so to speak from one visit) of its goodness. I liked the chicken although found it maybe slightly boring. Near the end of the meal, one of my dining companions, who is Filipino, returned from talking with people and had a bottle of some kind of house sauce, not the Mamasita often seen, but another mix of lime and fish sauce and "stuff" Real unami bomb that took anything boring away from the meat. On the other hand, I really, really, liked the papaya salad that came with the chicken; never having tried the Filipino version. We had the fried pork, a/k/a the pata, and, can I say really, really again? liked that. I've been very anxious to return. Thanks for the write-up and the reminder.

This place looks swell. The last non-steam table/quick serve Filipino spot I remember enjoying was out in the Western burbs, near Katy's. Long since closed. Big Filipino population out that way.

I've become somewhat obsessed with calamansi as an ingredient in food and cocktails since the tree in my home has yielded small buckets of the fruit. I have used it for crudo/ceviche and I think it's probably the single best acid for raw fish. It also makes one hell of a Dark & Stormy or Moscow Mule. One factor is the almost entire absence of white pith. The fruit is entirely zest and pulp. The bitterness and sourness is there, but it's never coarse. It's also a little sweet with a subtle floral note, something like tangerine or apricot.

Happy to see it in wide use at Bacolod.

JeffB wrote:This place looks swell. The last non-steam table/quick serve Filipino spot I remember enjoying was out in the Western burbs, near Katy's. Long since closed. Big Filipino population out that way.

Hi,

You are thinking of Cebu-Cebu, which I do miss.

The steam tables of long cooked food may be attractive to native Filipinos, it just looks like old food to those not acquainted. What can you do with some dishes finished with a blood or liver sauce, it just won't look especially pretty. I have to trust a few friends what I just selected will be delicious despite their looks. Some work for me and others are an acquired taste I have yet to acquire.

I had lunch with Amy Besa a few years ago, she wrote a book with her husband Romy Dorotan, Memories of Philippine Kitchens. They also own Purple Yam restaurant in New York. According to Amy, sour was a dominate flavor in precolonial Filipino food. Dishes from this period are adobos made with soy sauce and coconut vinegar, Sinigang or sour soup and Kinilaw – a seafood preparation similar to ceviche.

A lot of Filipino food is influenced greatly by colonialism.

I will definitely give Bacolod Chicken Haus a try very soon. To dine on Filipino food in a non-steamtable environment will be delightful.

Regards,

Their website: http://www.bacolodchickenhaus.com/

I like their tagline: No animals were harmed in the making of this site.

If today were Sat. or Sun., I would be on my way right now. That Kinilaw Na Tangigue looks amazing! Thanks for posting!

JeffB wrote:This place looks swell. The last non-steam table/quick serve Filipino spot I remember enjoying was out in the Western burbs, near Katy's. Long since closed. Big Filipino population out that way.

I also highly recommended Isla Filipino under its newer (since at least 2012) ownership. The old thread is really split into 2 completely different restaurants, not even under the same name. Under the new ownership, the food is of GNR quality, IMO. If you read from here on, you'll be reading about the current restaurant in that location.

JeffB wrote:I've become somewhat obsessed with calamansi as an ingredient in food and cocktails since the tree in my home has yielded small buckets of the fruit. I have used it for crudo/ceviche and I think it's probably the single best acid for raw fish. It also makes one hell of a Dark & Stormy or Moscow Mule. One factor is the almost entire absence of white pith. The fruit is entirely zest and pulp. The bitterness and sourness is there, but it's never coarse. It's also a little sweet with a subtle floral note, something like tangerine or apricot.

Happy to see it in wide use at Bacolod.

I completely agree about calamansi, and I'm sad that a big part of the year they are difficult to find. When I cook Malaysian food and can't find calamansi, nothing tastes right.

I had posted about this place a year ago.....
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=37656

Cool! I thought I had seen a post somewhere, but couldn't find it after I ate at Bacolod. Maybe it's that you spelled it "Bacalod" instead of "Bacolod"? Maybe a mod could merge them.

I really have to step my Filipino game up, both this place and the current Isla Filipino look killer.

Very much enjoyed a recent off-hour lunch at Bacolod, crispy mini lumpia, full flavored soup loaded with meat, egg, noodle and highlights of chicarone. Soup so tasty I stripped down to my undershirt so as not to ruin my nice outer shirt with slurping.

Lumpia



Batchoy



Moist garlicy rice, crispy skin leg/thigh with a bonus thigh and tart crunchy pickled papaya. I much prefer Bacolod's chicken to Pecking Order's.

Inasai



Service was fast, friendly, efficient, room airy and comfortable, prices hyper reasonable and menu studded with interesting items to explore.

Humorously, when I mentioned Bacolod to Liakom with the aside I could not remember who told me about the place, he laughed, until he saw I was serious as he was the one who mentioned Bacolod a couple of weeks ago. Seems senility is setting in fast.

Bacolod Chicken Haus, Count me a Fan!

Thanks Laikom for the write-up about our visit to Bacolod. You did your research well about the festivals! I had forgot to talk about that with you when we went for lunch. Oddly enough I've been craving their Atsara (Pickled Payaya) that is served on the side. I tried making my own the other day, but it came out way too tart for consumption. We may have to do another visit to this place... or perhaps try Isla as well.

Schlepped up north to check this place out this past Saturday - we eat a bit of Filipino food at home so recent posts re: this spot caught my eye.

Really enjoyed the lumpia - i prefer my filling, but they are superior wrappers:



$5 for that double order is a steal.

did the mini crispy pata - exactly what we were looking for. Chunks and hunks of crispy pork skin, succulent fat.. give me a plate of this and a beer and id be set - .



The chicken - great. tried the 3 wings and picked them clean - loved the marinade. - garlic rice served with the dishes was really good as well.



Pork adobo - Shay thought it was 2nd best to Vangies - Vangie thought the version here was good - perhaps heavy on the bay leaf.

We liked Bacolod Chicken Haus alot - much more than Pecking Order.

Thanks for the heads up about this place LTH.

Took vehicle #1 to Joliet for an oil change - decided to continue the roll east while we were waiting in car # 2. Vietnamese? Filipino? yep, Bacolod wins for sure.

bomb lumpia:



Inasal chicken:



closer look at their fantastic garlic rice:


Inihaw na Baboy(grilled marinated pork:


Lumpia, a steal @ $5 for that basket. There's are really nice, better each visit. The Chicken, good stuff, the baboy(pig), tastes like the pork skewers I have had at filipino parties, there were some nice fatty chunks here, I also really like their atsara(papaya relish).

Probably our favorite Filipino spot to go to if we are not up to making it at home.

Going to try this place tonight; seems perfect for a rainy Thursday and it's close by. I'm thinking the lumpia and batchoy myself.

That might be the best picture of laikom in existence.

I just had another amazing meal here. I'm pretty sure the menu has expanded a lot since last visit. Lumpia by far my favorite in the city. Chicken as good as ever, and totally worth the $7 price tag (even though it isn't made by logan square hipsters).

We had a really nice chat with the owner who is very passionate about his restaurant and the food. He explained how he won't make dishes that aren't from his hometown even though people request them. "If I am not an expert at making those things, why would I attempt it?". He's a very passionate chef and proprietor. They grill everything over real charcoal, something that shouldn't be so hard to find in the city, but it just is. They import many ingredients from The Philippines, not because they're not available here, but because he knows they will work exactly how he expects in the dishes. For example, he finds the PH of the calamansi from the homeland to work better at penetrating the chicken.

Everything was delicious, but I have a new favorite food. Get the chicharones, they were freaking amazing, unlike any other chicharones you'll ever have. Very meaty center and light crispy exterior. I will be ordering these every visit.

Was fortunate to share lunch with Laikom today and really enjoyed it. First, a very enthusiastic hell yeah for those chicharrons. Best fried pork product. Ever.

Also really enjoyed the pork and eggplant omelet. Not exactly sure how it was made but thinking they roasted the eggplant first, skinned and smashed it, then cooked the eggs on it with the pork. The stem was left on. Very tasty.

A table of ladies were enjoying a leisurely feast that appeared to be every kind of grilled item on the menu displayed in a tower surrounded by mounds of garlic rice on a banana leaf--it took up their entire table surface. Hope to celebrate something soon with that!

The owners are a married couple who moved with their kids from London where they were both RNs. After tiring of working in healthcare here, they decided to open the restaurant together so that they could have their own business. Not sure where they learned to cook like this but medicine's loss is certainly our gain!

Hellodali and I did visit tonight, and it more than lived up to expectations. We both had the chicken, which was perfect, and I had the batchoy (most excellent) and lumpia (also excellent). We split halo halo for dessert, and it wasn't sweet which was very nice. I won't repeat the comments of others, but the table next to us had the boodle boodle, which looks worth getting with a group of 5 or 6. I'd be happy to return with some LTHers to try more dishes, including the chicharrones.

Similar to the one we saw except the huge ring of garlic rice topping the banana leaf is missing.

The rice is there, just covered by all the food, unless there was an extra ring of rice on the one you saw.

Rice was a separate ring.

Interesting. Maybe they did it this way to save space, since you need room to work with the food you're eating. In any case, I'd be game for going to get that sometime! The quality of the few dishes we had was top notch.

Had a somewhat less exciting lunch with PIGMON and Jefe recently, and hope it was a one time thing.

I can't deny that nothing seemed quite as fresh as it usually does. I did not like the grilled bangus belly at all, it was much fishier than last time and had little grill char flavor this time. The lumpia were burnt on the edges and tasted chewy in parts, almost as if they had been fried, held, then fried again. As PIGMON put it, the chicken tasted a bit "tired", though no worse than any other chicken that is cooked and held. Though I still love the flavor and the marinade, the texture did not indicate that it was prepared freshly; maybe it was cooked ahead of time and reheated or just held for a while. Most other times I've visited have been during peak hours, weekends or dinner time, and the food then was always piping hot and very fresh. This was during lunch and the place was pretty empty so I'm going to have to chalk it up to to a fluke.

I'll definitely be back, but may be more particular about the time of day I go.

As TV Host Arsenio Hall usta say......"Makes-ya-Go-hmmmmmmmm"

It's been well over 3 years since anything substantive was posted here about this place. I've never been and I'm curious. Any recent accounts?

Thanks,

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:It's been well over 3 years since anything substantive was posted here about this place. I've never been and I'm curious. Any recent accounts?

Thanks,

=R=

Sorry, no recent accounts. For some reason I missed this several year old thread...

G Wiv wrote: Very much enjoyed a recent off-hour lunch at Bacolod, crispy mini lumpia, full flavored soup loaded with meat, egg, noodle and highlights of chicarone. Soup so tasty I stripped down to my undershirt so as not to ruin my nice outer shirt with slurping.

I can't imagine this visual, was literally laughing out loud. Gary standing up during his lunch and stripping down to his wife beater. No offense to your lovely wife, Ellen.

Probably not the most helpful but took a tray of lumpia to Ravinia a few weeks back and they were a hit. Been meaning to head over to try the I nasal.

I'm not sure how this place found its way onto my personal hit list. I've kept it for so long, I sometimes forget where the recommendations initially came from. Nonetheless, I was happy to satisfy my curiosity and finally check it out. There were just 2 of us, so in the spirit of exploration, we way over-ordered (italics indicate descriptions taken directly from BCH's menus). . .


Batchoy
Famous noodle soup from LaPaz Iloilo garnished with
pork and liver with egg and pork rinds
This soup was fine. I liked the look of it and the flavor of the broth was fine, if a bit muted. The noodles were pretty soft and devoid of much flavor. You could really smell the liver with each spoonful, and the pork rinds provided a nice textural contrast.


Chicharon Bulaklak
Nothing not to love here. Delicate and light, super crispy pieces of fried pork skin and a nice acidic sauce for dipping.


Pork Lumpia Shanghai - mini
I didn't see the full-size lumpia on the menu and while these were cute, I generally prefer a bit higher filling to wrapper ratio. These were fine but I've had better at many other places.


Sizzling Sisig
sauteed pork served in a sizzling plate, topped with a fresh egg
The plate was definitely sizzling. Once we mixed the egg in, it took about 20 seconds for it to cook. Just based on the texture(s), I think there was quite a bit of offal and other variety cuts in this dish, which I generally like. That said, I guess I'm more adventurous at dinner than I am at lunch because even though I think this dish was really great, I just wasn't in the mood for it.


Inasal
grilled marinated chicken original from Bacolod City, served with garlic rice
Nice flavor and a beautifully crispy skin but even though this was dark meat, the flesh was pretty darned dry.


Inihaw na Baboy
marinated grilled pork, served with garlic rice
Our server recommended this and I really liked it. There was a tasty char on most of the pieces of meat, and it had a sweet flavor that was not over the top. It reminded me of a cross between the grilled pork neck salad at Aroy (minus all the spice and heat) and various versions of Tiger Cry I've had.

All in all I'm glad I tried BCH. It didn't blow me away but parts of our lunch were very good. I'd like to go back, for dinner, with a larger group, because there were several more items on the menu that seemed worth trying. And, in all honesty, this felt like it might be really good (post) drinking food, which doesn't generally match-up with my lunchtime SOP.

=R=