I'm Only Here for the Food!

Nando’s Flame Grilled Chicken
Several location in Vancouver
4334 Kingsway (Location visited)

A month or so ago, monchichi of Not Another Big Menu wrote about Nando’s in the UK. I mentioned as a comment that my experience with Nando’s here in Vancouver was sub-par. That was over two years ago and I thought I should give it a try again.

Actually, it was thanks to a coupon I got in the mail, hehehe.

But, you have to consider this, at $19, the chicken and two small sides is not that bad – pricewise – if you consider that a whole chicken with 2 large sides is $29. And, in my case, being on my own meant I would have enough chicken for a couple of meals.

For the sides, I chose a coleslaw (reason in a moment) and spiced rice. I also ordered a appetizer: chicken livers. Yup, call me crazy, but I love these (same with chicken hearts). Sure, it might be “dry” after you eat a mouthful but it has something I can’t explain. Acquired taste?

And here is the reason I asked for the coleslaw:

Yes, I asked for extra hot! Since I was disappointed last time, I wanted to go all-in this time. So for both, the chicken and the livers, I asked for extra hot. Was it hot enough? Well, it made me sweat a little bit, though I was not drenched at the end (it has happened to me with some Indian and Thai food, as well as a clam dish my mom makes, hehehehe). What it has to do with coleslaw? While technically the best drink to cool down when eating spicy food is milk, I wanted to eat something “cool” (temperature wise) and, from their menu, the only item that caught my attention was coleslaw. But, the truth is, on its own, it wasn’t bad, as it retained its crunchiness. As for the other side, the spiced rice, was just OK.

Finally, the chicken. Let me use two reference points: rotisserie chickens from your local supermarket/grocery store and, for memory sake, a small chain in Panama called Jap Jap. First, rotisserie chickens: depending on the grocery/supermarket, I would say Nando’s is definitely better or the grocery/supermarket’s would be at part at most. It was moist and, even after it was microwaved the following day to re-heat it. Their flavouring (peri-peri?) seems to have been infused into the meat; always a good thing when it comes to chicken, specially chicken breast (not my favourite piece, though). The only thing that might detract some people was the fact the chicken had some charred portions.

Now, as for Jap Jap, I must give some introduction: it is a restaurant chain in Panama that serve rotisserie chicken, along with souvlaki and choripan (a cured chorizo sandwich). The interesting part is that they served it with chimichurri, a sauce made with flat-leaf parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. But, somehow, not sure if it is due to this sauce, the way it was cooked, or the chicken used, it was juicier. While Nando’s spiciness helped (again, I ordered the extra-hot), in the end, I liked Jap Jap’s a bit more.

Overall, despite that Jap Jap unfair comparison, the chicken was better than I had the previous time. Would I come back? Well, that’s a touchy subject. For a chicken, it is a bit expensive if you compare it to supermarket’s rotisserie chicken. Sure, we might be comparing apples to orange; however, I am confident that difference can be narrowed if I use some of the peri-peri sauce which Nando’s sell by the bottle at their stores. But, I think I can handle it once in a while (specially if I get another coupon in the mail!).

Oh, as a side note, this is what I had to wash it down:

Tripel Karmeliet, a Belgian Beer. The “notable” part of this beer, apart from its unique taste (don’t quote me though!), is the fact it is an 8% alcohol beer. And, since it is made in Belgium, no alcohol content in Canada jokes, please! Oh, and since I have mentioend my low alcohol tolerance, after finishing it, I was really tipsy, hehehehe.