Max's Restaurant Virginia Beach, Cuisine of the Philippines - Classy Atmosphere With Perfectly Cooked Filipino Food!

 

Max's Restaurant Virginia Beach, Cuisine of the Philippines

3388 Princess Anne Rd # 417, Virginia Beach, VA 23456

Most Filipino restaurants are basically takeout places around Hampton Roads, but when you walk in to Max's, the atmosphere is basically the definition of a sit-down restaurant that goes beyond your takeout fare. A pleasant surprise from another former classmate's recommendation. 

A Filipino sit-down restaurant is quite a rarity in the area with a sitting capacity of 122, and in a relaxing warm Sunday afternoon near a pretty water fountain at the beautiful Landstown Commons in Virginia Beach, it was wonderfully filled with Filipinos. 

The atmosphere was modern with a nice minimalistic design of wooden tables, lanterns above booths, a back wall with a green abstractly design that reminded me of banana leaves, and Filipino servers wearing black handkerchiefs around their necks.

Servers wearing a themed uniform and the modern island inspired style, shows that this is the type of a Filipino restaurant that wants to showcase the classy and cool and comfortable side of the Philippines. Perhaps, the nice resort aspect of the islands where guests are served well by the nice staff.

Unlike other Filipino places in Hampton Roads, I actually had to wait for my seat. I was told, I guess, a 35 to 40 minute wait, but I was able to get seated in about 10 minutes when I made my decision. 

The menu was basically a pamphlet with easy to read descriptions of the Filipino dishes, so even a "foreigner" can make a good decision with little assistance. 

 

And, my Pepsi was served in a glass cup. What class! I am definitely not in a takeout place!

Since Max's is known for their chicken, why not start with their signature dish? It comes with fries. It was described to be chicken that was golden fried with a unique blend of spices. That sound delicious!

I also ordered the Kare-Kare which is beef peanut stew. The nice lady server recommended it with rice and I was slightly surprised that rice cost extra, but I wasn't too shocked since this is a restaurant on a whole different level.

And, it was quite good! The fried chicken had roasted thin skin texture but was evenly fried and quite tasty. Peeling the skin back, you are welcomed with a nice tender and moist chicken meat. The whole dish was slightly seasoned and was quite good.

I was told by the nice server lady to combined the sweet banana sauce, the Worcestershire sauce and the Tabasco sauce to make the restaurant's special sauce, so I did.

It was wonderful with the chicken. It comforted it with a sweet and tangy balance and added a kick of spice! What a great sauce combination! And, since the ingredients were given to me, I can make it at home.

Overall, the chicken dish was quite delicious and the fries dipped in the sweet banana sauce rounded it out and the slice oranges were a nice touch. The banana leaf on the corner of the plate really adds in to the decor.

The Kare Kare was perfectly seasoned and the beef was perfectly tender. I had this dish before many times and this one was quite good from this restaurant! The beef had that nice soft and tender, fatty flavor. Also, the peanut stew was creamy with chopped cabbage, eggplant and string beans which added some texture and the big bowl of soft white steamed rice definitely made sure it was quite filling. The peanut stew also served as a nice gravy mixed in.

What also enhances the Kare Kare experience was the shrimp paste, it packs a wallop of salty goodness to the peanut gravy and rice, but it is an acquired taste!

Now for dessert, the Halo Halo was a nice cool experience with chopped ice, pieces of jelly and beans along with other elements like Ube ice cream. It was a milky and creamy kind of entrée that reminds of sweet cereal in a good Saturday morning. 

Overall, this is a great place to impress and welcome your non-Filipino friends to dishes of the Philippines and to try the meals cooked to perfection that if you have money to splurge. However, what I tried today can feed two people or three.

I drove home satisfied and full.