BonChon Chicken vs. Chicken Charlie

With its mounting popularity, the double-frying technique which traces its roots from chicken joints in South Korea has set the chicken radar up and alarming as it proved true to its promise of delivering crackly, flavorful, extra-crispy chicken skin to the expectant taste buds of Filipinos. Today we pit “the best chicken in America”, BonChon Chicken and its local contender, Chicken Charlie—two restaurants who’ve had their customers going loco over their double-fried chicken. Let the face off begin!

Flavor Double-frying, employed by both restaurants, renders their chicken less greasy compared to the ones served by other fast food joints as the technique drains the chicken of its natural fat. Without making use of breading, the chicken skin stays paper-thin and crisp, yet flavorful. In offering both soy garlic and spicy flavors, their respective chicken recipes are quite similar in taste but have notable differences all the same. BonChon’s glazed chicken skin is quite tastier than that of Chicken Charlie’s but the latter proves to be crispier.  Quite noticeable though, is that the flavor only stays on the skin for BonChon while that of Chicken Charlie’s not only stays on the skin but seeps into the meat as well.

Price Though both reasonably priced, Chicken Charlie costs much less than BonChon. As compared by Sharlyne Ang in her article, it would cost around PHP 365 in ordering a combination of six wings and three drumsticks in BonChon, whereas four drumsticks and four wings would only cost PHP 288 in Chicken Charlie. Cheaper prices make Chicken Charlie appeal to a wider customer base. However, it is good to note that when it comes to size and parts, BonChon offers bigger cuts compared to its contender and a choice of chicken thigh, as Chicken Charlie only offers legs and wings.

Pricing as well as a list of their products could be found here, for BonChon, and here, for Chicken Charlie.

Accessibility BonChon is an international company, while Chicken Charlie is homegrown. That already says a lot in terms of accessibility. BonChon branches are strategically located over leading shopping malls as well as in other areas, while Chicken Charlie stalls are significantly fewer in number and require one’s familiarity in their situated areas in order for them to be located. Chicken Charlie can be found in Katipunan, N.S. Amoranto St. and Banawe St. in Quezon City, Little Baguio, San Juan, and Adriatico, Manila.

Suffice to say, both restaurants commendably executed the double-frying technique in their respective means, each delivering chicken goodness that’s worth your every centavo. But in a battle of the best double-fried chicken, only one can reign supreme. BonChon Chicken or Chicken Charlie? The choice is yours.

Smash vs. Glee

Glee and Smash are two shows that are often compared because of their similarity in genre and style. Both are musical dramas that often showcase different song and dance numbers in every episode, and also has a popular following among many TV show viewers. Since Glee premiered earlier, many believed that Smash would only be a copycat of Glee. But it proved to be wrong. Although they are similar, Smash has its own characteristics that makes it distinct from the already popular Glee.

Many experts also pointed out the differences of the two shows. For one, the setting of both shows is different. Smash is set in Broadway in New York City, while Glee is set in the fictional city of Lima, Ohio (although in later seasons, some of it were in New York City). While the lead characters in Smash are already adults, the majority of the characters in Glee are high school students. Because of this, Smash is supposedly targeted towards the more adult demographics while Glee aims at the teenage audience. Music-wise, Glee is usually known for its covers of popular songs and hardly uses original compositions. Although Smash also do renditions of previous songs, they use original music more often than Glee.

 For comparisons, here are two versions of Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine, a song which was covered by both shows.

HIMYM vs Friends

Many people consider How I Met Your Mother as the new Friends – and why wouldn’t you? Both television shows focus on a group of friends in their twenties living in New York. Each group has their own set of distinct personalities, odd dilemmas, and quirky traditions. One can’t help but compare the two.

HIMYM centers on the narration of how the main character, Ted Mosby, meets his wife. It is a long tale, spanning several years of storytelling. Apart from the main plot, other sub-plots are introduced such as Marshall and Lily’s married life, Robin’s affiliation to Canada, and, Barney’s exploits.

Friends, on the other hand, focuses on the complicated lives and relationships between the six characters: Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross. Unlike HIMYM, Friends never really had an inevitable end to any particular story. The most memorable episodes of this series, more often than not, revolved around the developing love stories of Rachel and Ross, and Monica and Chandler; both of which, at the height of Friends’ 10-season stint, never failed to send the audience to their desired seventh heaven.

Through a number of seasons, HIMYM and Friends capitalize on the ideas of love and comedy. At one point, the characters end up dating one another. Something noteworthy too, would be the resemblance of the characters. Ross is often compared to Ted; Joey is somewhat similar to Barney. But Neil Patrick Harris’ role as Barney Stinson sets the two sitcoms apart. He is the ultimate douchebag and womanizer, but he’s also more complex than that – plus, Barney is absolutely hilarious.

The storylines and jokes, based on pop culture, allow viewers to easily relate and just laugh at them. Indeed, both are undeniably funny and entertaining. Each show has its own gestures and catch phrases: high fives, fist bumps, “How you doin’?” and “Legen – wait for it – dary!”.

When it comes to TV ratings, one surpasses the other. HIMYM has never climbed above No. 42 in the yearly ratings, while Friends was a Top 10 show for its entire 10-year run (Helligar, 2010). The finale episode of Friends was a dramatic and perfect ending to the beloved show. We have yet to find out which show is better. HIMYM has just revealed who Ted’s wife is and as it closes the series, let’s see how the story unfolds. Catch the final season of the show as it premieres on September 23, 2013.

Reference

Helligar, J. (2010, November 7). How I Met Your Mother Is Really the Anti-Friends. Retrieved August 20, 2013, from Thought Catalog: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2010/how-i-met-your-mother-friends/

Starbucks vs. CBTL

For quite some time, Starbucks dominated the coffee shop industry in the metro. Their secret? Great marketing campaigns. Hopefully you’ve caught their promotional activities such as collecting stickers for the ever so popular Starbucks Planner, the Starbucks Happy Hour, where you buy one, take one for any drink, and the Starbucks Drive-Thru- a new way to enjoy your coffee. Now, Starbucks has just released their new campaign to keep up with the rising competition– the Starbucks card which acts as a prepaid card for the store.

Meanwhile, the following of CBTL (Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf) is slowly but surely increasing. With their newly renovated stores, their own swirl card which acts like a membership card to access their Wifi and best deals, CBTL is nearing Starbucks in popularity. CBTL is famous for their wider selection of tea drinks, as well as their interesting twist on ice blended drinks.

The question on which coffee shop is better all boils down to personal preference. Starbucks branches are known to be more crowded and alive perfect for catching up with friends, except for the branches in Fort Bonifacio and Eastwood which are more spacious and hence more quiet which might be better for business meetings. Coincidentally these branches are the only ones with a drive-thru service. CBTL on the other hand, boasts of their better drinks selection. While their ice blended drinks are more expensive than that of Starbucks at around 30-50 Pesos, some would claim that they don’t mind the price difference. Like Starbucks, the ambience of CBTL would depend on which branch you would be staying in. The CBTL in Greenbelt 3 is more alive and crowded, than the one in the Top floor of Muji in Bonifacio High Street.

Where do you enjoy your coffee more? Let us know in the comments section.

Who Sang It Better: Michael Bublé vs. Frank Sinatra

With our taste in music continuously evolving over the years, it is no surprise that we, as listeners, compare artists who make renditions of songs that has gained popularity in the past. Some contemporary artists become successful in their attempt to revive favorite songs. However, some also fail to achieve the heart that the original version was able to give to its listeners.

For this week, we take a look at two different versions of a popular romantic that has captured the hearts of many. Originally sang by Fred Astaire, “The Way You Look Tonight,” is a song that was released in the 1930s, but is still widely listened to and loved by music lovers up until this age. Over the years, various artists have recorded their own versions of the song. However, two popular renditions usually come to mind when we think of the mentioned song.

Frank Sinatra covered the song in 1964 while Michael Buble also covered the song in his self-titled album released in 2003.  Sinatra’s cover is faster paced and livelier, than Buble’s more mellow and sweeter one. However, no doubt both renditions have their own charm and jazz flavor that can immediately make any listener satisfied.

How about you? Who do you think sang the song better?

Frank Sinatra (1964)

Michael Buble (2003)