There is more to Bacolod Inasal BBQ than chicken, indeed!

The dining venue which recently opened a branch at Burjuman Mall’s food court, has an item on its menu arouses the customers’ curiosity and leave them belly full: butterfly squid.

“It’s actually a medium-sized squid, buttered then fried to crisp and served with crispy kangkong (water spinach) and rice,”  Ronald Yu, operations director, tells Food Trip Magazine.

Such are the customers’ interest to this intriguing dish so much so that butterfly squid counts among Bacolod Inasal BBQ’s top five bestsellers. The rest are: sweet inasal, Bacolod inasal, Ginataan langka (jackfruit in coconut crème) and Sinigang na ulo na ulo ng salmon (salmon head stewed in tamarind seasoning).

Meantime, weeks after opening, long queues of people can still be seen at Bacolod Inasal BBQ’s Burjuman Food Court outlet.

Explains Yu: “So far, we have been exceeding the expected footfall targets and its still growing. Actually, we are showcasing the flavors of north and south of the Philippines. That’s why we cater to both taste buds of Luzon and Visayas.”

The Burjuman outlet is Bacolod Inasal BBQ’s second, the first being in Abu Dhabi’s Mushrif Mall.

“Currently, we are focused on expanding the brand all over Dubai, particularly in the Jebel Ali area,” Yu said.

Chicken inasal, commonly known simply as inasal, is a variant of the Filipino chicken dish known as lechon manok.  It is chicken marinated in a mixture of lemon, pepper, coconut vinegar and achiote then grilled over hot coals while basted with the marinade.  

A common dish in the Visayas, it is a popular specialty in Bacolod, where an entire street market is dedicated to local dishes, particularly inasal.

The origin of inasal’s popularity can be traced back to Bacolod’s Cuadra Street (Chicken Alley) in the 1970s. However, there are also several accounts implicating the existence of inasal in Iloilo’s Fort San Pedro  area during the Spanish colonial days.