Denise's Wonderland: Legendary Portuguese Peri Peri Chicken @ Borjadim Lisbon

I am an undisputed avid fan of Nando's Peri peri chicken back home.It is perfectly normal for me to frequent Nando's at least twice a week. Their famous butterflied flame grilled chicken are marinated in herbs and spices for over 24 hours. Succulent, spicy, irresistible grilled chicken captivated me ever since the first bite.

During my recent travel to Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal, I've made special arrangement to try out the legendary, authentic Portuguese Peri peri chicken at Bojardim Restaurant. Famous for their spit-roasted chickens, Bojardim is also known as Rei dos Frandos or the King of Chickens.

It is not hard to locate Bojardim as it is within walking distance of 'Restauradores' metro station and just a stone throw away from the main road. We were famish when arrived at the restaurant due to the rather long flight and hotel check in process and ordered a whole chicken together with fries and salad as side dish.

Typical of all Lisbon restaurant, you will be offered a selection of starter from bread, dips to cheese. You will not be charged unless you consume any. However, we did find the Pastéis de Bacalhau: salted Cod fish croquette rather interesting and proceed to tried out. It was not bad but could taste better if it was served piping hot.

The whole spring chicken arrived within 20 minutes and luckily was served right out of the grill and split into 4 portions: 2 wings and 2 drumsticks. First taste and this was not what we were expecting at all, the skin of the chicken was rather crispy and salty, while the meat was a tad dry with pretty heavy fowl smell.

Luckily the waiter remind us to brush the chicken with the Peri peri chili oil on the side. Instantly the peri peri sauce worked their magic and transform the dish tremendously. I must warn you that the peri peri sauce was rather spicy with a real Asian type of spiciness kick to it.

In short, we were rather disappointed with this rendition of Peri peri chicken and prefers Nando's version. However, the price of dining at Bojardim was really reasonable and cost around 20 Euros only including 2 drinks. If you are visiting Lisbon and would like to try out the real Portuguese peri peri chicken, do give Borjadim restaurant a try, it is completely different from the Nando's you know back home.

Legendary Portuguese Peri Peri Chicken