With family in town my parents wanted to take them to a familiar spot from the Philippines — Max’s. This chain restaurant has locations in the Philippines, US, and Canada. I may not be a big fan of the cuisine, despite my Filipino heritage, but I found the food to be better than some of the local spots around town.
Highlights of our meal were the signature fried whole chicken with its crispy, crackly skin; the lechon kawali that could have spent less time in the deep fryer; and the tiny but well seasoned lumpiang Shanghai. The massive ham hock that made up the beer braised pata tim was fork-tender, with subtle hints of sweetness and sour to compliment the gaminess of the meat. It’s a large dish that should be shared. Max’s inasal — grilled chicken — had some decent flavors, particularly the soy sauce with garlic and ginger, but it was another dish that suffered from being too dry. The crabmeat fried rice was heavy on peas and light on crab and the rice was stickier than I prefer in fried rice dishes.
I wasn’t a fan of the crepe-wrapped lumpiang ubod and although my family loves halo halo I’ve never been a fan of the dessert. I’ve never understood their fondness for a dessert with so many different ingredients thrown together. Although I did pick at the best parts of it, namely the flan and be ice cream.
The prices aren’t bad either. The seven of us ate family style for a reasonable price per person with boxes and boxes of leftovers. With some minor fine tuning they could be producing some of the better Filipino food in town.
3 Stars
1290 E Flamingo Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(702) 433-4554
