Christmas is only five days away and I don't have anything planned for noche buena! I'm not for cooking during the holidays and prefer the ready-to-eat meals (read: take out). Last Christmas, I found myself weirdly attracted to Kenny Rogers Roaster's Maple Roast Chicken - it was sweet, juicy, and that maple sauce was addicting!
This year, they've come up with an ever more elaborate ruse to keep me coming back for them all holiday season long, and it's even better that the damn Maple Roast Chicken! I was out in Tagaytay on a food trip that involved a trip out to Breakfast at Antonio's for Burnt Syrup and Lemon Curd, and Filipino treats at The Good Shepard, and we stopped by the newest Kenny Rogers at Sky Ranch for a spot of lunch, and to check out the awesomeness that is Kenny's Bacon Wrapped Christmas Feast!
Stepping out of the van, it's hard not to admire the nice, clean lines of Kenny Rogers' newest restaurant at Sky Ranch in Tagaytay. The big windows let alot of sun in, and also lets you take in the scenic Tagaytay view as well as the huge ferriswheel slowly going around and around. This is also one of the cleanest branches I've ever been to. The folks at Newport need to start taking notes!
They have outdoor seating as well, which is great for people to want to enjoy the cool Tagaytay weather, or for families who want to enjoy a meal while keeping an eye on the little ones exploring the rides at the neighboring Sky Ranch.
I was surprised that Kenny Rogers had Clam Chowder, and pretty good clam chowder at that! I was expecting it to be starchy and bland, but it tasted creamy and rich, with bits of seafood and potatoes lounging around the bottom of the bowl, waiting to be scooped up.
For a quick snack, Kenny Rogers serves up a very affordable Bacon Wrapped Chicken Quesadilla (P100), stuffed with slices of the marvelous bacon wrapped chicken and a light salsa on the side.
If you want rice with your tortilla, the Bacon Wrapped Chicken Burrito (P100) is a pretty good option, and better value for money than the quesadilla if you plan on making that a main meal instead of a snack.
For those who don't want to put any work into their noche buena, the Kenny's Christmas Feast (P750) is a steal and comes with a whole Bacon Wrapped Chicken, 4 side dishes of your choice, 4 muffins, 4 servings of rice and a 1.5 liter Pepsi. Of course, if you don't want to order the whole thing, you could always purchase each one ala carte.
This holiday season, Kenny Rogers has come out with two Christmas-y side dishes to complement the Bacon Wrapped Chicken, so we tried that with our meal.
The Blueberry Pasta Salad (Regular - P50, Large - P75) was really, really good! This was light, refreshing, and almost dessert-like, with maraschino cherry halves and small blocks of nata de coco in along with the blueberries and elbow macaroni.
I wasn't too impressed with the Potato Gratin (Regular - P50, Large - P75) and found the cheese to be way too overpowering for my tastebuds. All I could taste after one bite was the creamy gratin. But then again, this is just me being biased towards their potato salad is all. Kenny Rogers makes some pretty good potato salad. Now bring the Russian one with the beets back!
If all you want for your Christmas Eve feast is the protein, you can also order the Whole Bacon Wrapped Chicken (P530) ala carte. Looking closely, one can appreciate the art of how the bacon is intricately woven around the bird, before being skewered and hung out on the rotisserie. The bacon does three things: it provides a whole other kind of protein to be enjoyed with your meal, it adds a smokiness to the chicken that's enhanced with the wood in the roaster, and it keeps the chicken very, very moist. You don't really need any kind of gravy with this - it's good as is.
Kenny's Christmas Feast comes with four muffins of your choice, but you could also just opt to order a box of Christmas Muffins (P85/ box of 6) to take home or give away to friends and family. The Christmas muffins come in Mint & Chocolate Chip, Strawberry & Chocolate Chip, and Choco Peanut Butter. The Choco Peanut Butter is my favorite, especially when eaten right away as it's a tad underbaked, so it's really soft in the center. Mmm... I thought the Mint & Chocolate would be really weird, but for some reason, it does work in a muffin!
If you don't really have anyone to share a big Christmas feast with, Kenny's Bacon Wrapped Chicken Plate (P225) should be more than enough for you. This comes with a Quarter Bacon Wrapped Chicken (choose between breast or thigh part), two sides of your choice, a muffin, and one serving of rice. The chicken quarters are huge and more than generous for the price point.
So when you find yourself mucking around Tagaytay with your own fambam, check out Kenny Rogers Roasters at Sky Ranch and give the Kenny Christmas Feast a go!
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Kenny Rogers Roasters
Sky Ranch,
Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay
Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
