Turophiles (cheese lovers) are invited to a party. The venue: Chili’s. The menu: steak, quesadillas, nachos, chicken, and fish—all dressed in cheese.
In line with the brand’s international campaign, More Life Happens Here, Chili’s Philippines recently updated their menu to include more dishes that bring back feel-good memories of home. Since cheese is a common denominator in many comfort food dishes, the kitchen thought of incorporating the ingredient in all of Chili’s four new dishes. The result: a short but outrageously cheesy menu, featuring Southwestern favorites made better with cheese.
Get the party started with Fried Quesadilla Bites (P375), a sinful re-imagination of the usually grilled Tex-Mex favorite. Best eaten as soon as it lands on the table, the breaded-then-fried quesadilla wedge is stuffed with Southwest chicken and cheese. The cheesy chicken mush oozes out in one soft bite. To cut the salt, dunk the wedge in the provided cilantro-laden chipotle sour cream dip. The tart, salt, mush, and crunch of the wedge and dip make an unlikely but cordial clique. Get one wedge and you’ll find yourself having a hard time resisting another.
Fried Quesadilla Bites
Take the cheesiness level a notch higher by ordering Parmesan Chicken (P395) or Parmesan Tilapia (P425). Both are served fillet-style, crusted with Parmesan and Monterey Jack cheese, drizzled with chili butter, and sprinkled with green onions. These dishes, especially the Tilapia variant, present an interesting contrast in textures. The soft fillet willingly submits to a bite. Parmesan crumbs, held together by thick Jack cheese, provide grit to the mouthful. To complete the meal, you are free to choose from among the available sides: home-style fries, corn on the cob, Chili’s cilantro rice, fresh veggies, white rice, mashed potatoes, and broccoli spears. We coax you to get the cilantro rice because we haven’t tried that good a version elsewhere.
Parmesan Tilapia
Parmesan Chicken
Let the highlight of the party be the Bacon and Cheddar Steak (P875). The dish puts two strips of bacon, held together by a blanket of melted cheddar, atop an inch thick, rose-cored Angus steak. Need we say more? The dish brings the best of three worlds in one. Unless your server gets your doneness wrong (they didn’t when we were there), there’s no way this dish can disappoint.
Bacon and Cheddar Steak
It would’ve been interesting if Chili’s came up with a new dessert that cleverly incorporates cheese, but it doesn’t. What we get from the new menu is a beautiful two-storey Banana Bread Pudding (P295) with vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, and caramel drizzle. It’s compact and heavy in size but light and mild in flavor.
Banana Bread Pudding
This cheese party is open for all, especially those who adore fromage. To RSVP, call any of the seven Philippine branches of Chili’s.
