Party Time at Chili’s with New Premium Margaritas

Chili’s has been in the Philippines a long time dishing out their brand of Southwestern favorites. I’ve been there countless times, with friends and family, especially the Greenhills and Tomas Morato branches. They recently invited us to check out a slew of new margaritas and food offerings. We had a mix of old and new dishes, some were even on a limited time availability only. The branch we visited was the new one in Megamall, located just across Yabu.

I remember many meetups with friends that started with an order of their Bottomless Tostada Chips (P350). Face it when you’re in college with a limited budget then bottomless chips and soda/ice tea sounds so appealing. It comes with unlimited salsa also but we augment that with an order of the cheese dip. Still tastes the same as the first time I had this.

Irene, on the other hand, professes undying love for the Classic Nachos (P435). Each chip comes topped with melted cheese, beans and a piece of jalapeno (remove it if you don’t like spicy food), pico de gallo and sour cream on the side.

I liked the Bold Nachos Combo (P550) more because of the more pronounced flavor of the mashed black beans, roasted jalapenos and cilantro drizzle. This is one of the limited dishes that I hope they keep on the menu.

For those who can’t decide on one appetizer then the Triple Dipper (P495) should make everyone happy. It has chicken crispers, Wings over Buffalo and Southwestern egg rolls.

The Chicken Crispers (P300) is one of the most popular dishes on Chili’s’ menu. Lauren used to order the kids meal portion but we decided to get one regular portion after she consumed 2 of those.

My pick for the better chicken is the new Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers (P320). It’s like the chicken crispers given an addictive sweet and spicy sauce. Dip it into the ranch dressing if you find it too spicy but it was perfect for me and Irene. We used to always order the fajitas but from now on this moves to the top of our list.

Chili’s launched the new Chili’s Rita Trio (P350) as their all day happy hour offering. You get three rock glasses of premium margarita of your choice from the 5 available 1800 Tequilla based Pomegranate Margarita, Tropical Sunrise, El Nino Margarita, Chambord 1800 Margarita and Blue Pacific Margarita. The hands down favorite is the Pomegranate margarita followed by the pineapple based Tropical sunrise.

The Chicken Enchilada Pasta (P430) is a new addition to their menu and it comes in a carnival of colors. It spices up the char-grilled chicken pasta with some crispy tortilla chips topped with creamy enchilada sauce and smoky chipotle cheese.

Irene and I usually share an order of the Chicken Fajitas but the one above is the Fajita Trio (P675) which comes with chicken, beef and lime grilled shrimps. These come with flour tortillas, pico de gallo, cheese and sour cream.

Here’s Chili’s take on a more affordable surf and turf option, Steak with Chili Lime Shrimps (P895). This is a nice deal with a piece of peppercorn spice crusted sirloin steak cooked to your preference with and chili lime glazed shrimps. Served with steamed broccoli and jalapeno mashed potatoes.

Chili’s kicks their line of popular margaritas up a notch by using Patron Silver in their 3 new premium margarita offerings. The big kahuna is the Platinum Presidente Margarita (top) followed by the humongous Gran Patron Margarita (lower left) and finally the Patron Pomegranate Margarita (lower right).

I actually can’t remember the last time I had dessert at Chili’s. We’re usually too stuffed to even consider ordering some. Dining with a group affords the option of having the chance of trying just a bit. We had two desserts starting with the Fried Cheesecake (P350), cheesecake balls that’s been deep fried and drizzled with caramel and chocolate fudge with a scoop of vanilla ice cream inside a chocolate shell. Found this a bit weird and would probably just stick to the humongous dessert below, that is if I ever have room in my tummy again when eating at Chili’s.

The High and Mighty Pie (P380) lives up to its name. It is an imposing piece of dessert, vanilla ice cream with Heath candy pieces on a crushed Oreo crust, drizzled with caramel and hot fudge. Be sure to share this with as many people as possible, it’s super big.

Chili’s Philippines continues to play host to many get togethers of friends and family with their old favorites as well as their new food and drink offerings. The new premium margaritas and the available all day Rita Trio should tickle the fancy of people who enjoy alcohol especially paired with their bottomless chips and our new favorite, the honey chipotle chicken crispers.