Jollibee?

Question

ok - a couple of these have popped up in LA lately and I would like to know what they are about. Signs tout things like "Juicy Yumburger" and "Crispy Chickenjoy." Both that I've seen were in areas with a high asian population, so I am guessing that that is its root/audience.

Someone please explain.

Thanks

Answer

It's the most popular chain in the Philippines, moreso even than McDonalds.

Chickenjoy is fried chicken.

They have an acceptable pansit palabok.

It's better for Filipino food than McDonalds is for American food, but that could be because Filipino food lends itself to that service model.

Answer

Jollibee just opened up here in Las Vegas in the past month. WOW, the place is allways packed full of Filipinos just que'd up to get food. At least 50 people were ordering my first time inside the mall, and the dining room was stuffed to the gills.

Is it any good? I have to say, the fried chicken looked remarkably like Popeye's chicken. (a bit on the extra crispy side) I know i'll eventually -get- a chance to try it, just when the lines aren't as crazy.

Their pancit is good, as well?? I love pancit, so I know i'll give that a try as well.

Any other things on the menu I should give a try??

Answer

yeah.. it's a filipino chain... the popular things on the menu is the chicken and the spaghetti (it's filipino style)... which i think has sweet undertones. the only filipino restaurant i eat at on the mainland is max's chicken... my cousins and friends like jollibees...

Answer

i personally love the chicken, and the gravy that comes with it. doesn't taste like popeye's or kfc...the crust is really crispy but doesn't break into tiny pieces when you bite into it. the burger meat tastes like its seasoned before it's cooked, kinda like a slice of meatloaf with no veggies. i wouldn't do the spaghetti or hot dog...tastes like they put sugar in the sauce, and the hot dog comes dressed with cheese. the ube/buko/melon shakes are good, along with the banana langka pie too. i'm half filipino, but raised american so take what you want from my input!

Answer

Jollibee--tunay nang lasang pinoy--the real filipino flavor: sugar in the beef patties and more sugar in the ketchup; ketchup and chopped weiners = spaghetti sauce. Not only around Navy bases--well distributed throughout the Philippines.

Answer

all my philippino friends love jollybees. I have tried it several time and still do not get what all the hype is about. the speghetti is sweet with this weird smoke flavor. the chicken, nothing special, but they will drive miles to get to this place! i guess it's just one of those childhood things.

Answer

I worked with a Filipino lady that raved and raved and RAVED about Jollibee. There's one in the Eagle Rock mall and I go in there to the seafood supermarket that has an amazing selection. Anyway, I hate grocery shopping hungry, so I stopped at Jollibee and grabbed a burger, as she had said they're the best things going. I had two bites and that was enough. The sauce was like a ketchup/mayo mix, which would have been fine, but it had a lot of sugar in it and was way too sweet for me. The second bite included the paper that the cheese was wrapped in, so I tossed the burger and ended up buying twice what I normally would at the supermarket because I was still hungry.

Answer

I remember Jollibee's from my childhood in the Philippines. Back then, it was known for its wonderful hamburgers. On my last trip there in '99, we stopped in for burgers and peach turnovers (I recall is that they were so delicious, I had two!). I really enjoyed the tasty burger, which was very juicy, and if you're not careful, you could acquire a nasty burn on your tongue and mouth! I suggest you let it cool for a few minutes before taking the first bite... I know, very hard to do...

Filipinos are known for their sweet tooth- the evidence is in the spaghetti and our extra-sweet, ultra-rich sweet desserts (leche flan, brazo de mercedes, polvoron, pastillas de leche, cheese ensaymadas, halo-halo, etc.), and even our peanut butters have added sugar- ever tried Lily's brand PB?. I definitely have one. I do not, however, enjoy very sweet spaghetti sauce. I didn't know Jollibee's was known for its chicken, as well... There are many fried chicken establishments in the PI that serve amazing chicken (Max's and Kenny Rogers come to mind), so much better than KFC (but then again, I prefer- that is, when I used to eat fried chicken- Popeye's or Bojangle's, for their wonderful spices!

Answer

I can't believe there is not a single one of these in Canada. Filipino pops are HUGE here, esp in Winnipeg (why, I have no idea) and they ignore this market- I'm not surprised but still pissed off about it.

Answer

That's it, I'm going to start posting recipes and photos of real Filipino dishes like my mom makes, because clearly the conception of Filipino food in the States is so very, very shameful.

BTW, Jollibee is to my taste crap. I only ate it once, dragged by my best friend after school, and we ordered the Double Yum burger, and it tasted like dog food reconsitituted with egg product. Some people like it ironically because of the reverse-hipster-cool. Most Filipinos like it unironically. It's to Filipino food what McDonald's is to American cuisine. If enough California hipsters latch onto it it might get pretty big for a while. Who knows, for Americans it might have that "exotic authentic foreign fastfood" draw. I reject it utterly.

Answer

I would compare Jollibee to Taco Bell: Taco Bell is like an American fast-food take on Mexican food. Jollibee is (for the most part) a Filipino fast-food take on American food. I hope no one would consider Taco Bell to be representative of American or Mexican food any more than I'd consider Jollibee representative of Filipino food.

And why do people like Jollibee so much? I agree with Sam -- sometimes you just get attached to a flavor. Why else does anybody eat chain fast-food? We know it's not really good food.

Answer

So, I've just had my first taste of Jollibee's Filipino-style spaghetti. This was reheated from a take-out order purchased at drive-up window the Union City CA location. Definitely a unique taste. Such sweet sauce, guess it has a lot of sugar added to the tomatoes and banana ketchup. Love the slices of hot dog. Also seems to have some ground meat, cubes of chicken and diced ham, then topped with melted cheese. The cheese and thick sauce gave it kind of a goopy consistency. The spaghetti pasta is firmer than I'd expect and not mushy.

A copycat recipe: http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/restaurants/ct-filipino-spaghetti-homemade-jollibee-food-0706-20160701-story.html

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