Jollibee Philippines

Starting Where We Left Off

To begin our series, we started with Food at Jollibee in the Philippines - Part 1: Traditional American Food , including burgers, chicken and more. Then, we moved on to Food at Jollibee in the Philippines - Part 2: Traditional Filipino Food, including an assortment of noodles and the staple rice dishes. Now in Part 3, we get to the really good stuff: Breakfast and Desserts.

Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day

Now there’s nothing better than eggs and rice combined with some type of Filipino-style breakfast meat. And that’s exactly what Jollibee has to offer. On one hand we have the special sweet sausage known as Longganisa served with a fried egg and side of fried rice. On the other hand we have my personal favorite breakfast: Corned Beef with a fried egg and fried rice. These two are easily my favorites, but let’s not forget the beef side of things. Jolibee also offers the beef tapa with side of rice as well as the burger steak, but dressed up in breakfast form. If you prefer a hot dog for breakfast instead, you also have that choice. Now to go back to the American side of the kitchen, Jollibee serves Breakfast Joys pancakes. Not quite the International House of Pancakes, but if you want a sweet morning sensation, you’ve found a winner!

Desserts: The Final Say

Keeping in their tradition of creative branding of their food, Jollibee has deemed desserts “Jolly Zerts.” Now this section makes me recall my childhood memories of stopping at DQ for blizzards and sundaes. For those of you unfamiliar with DQ, I’m talking about the great American chain known as Dairy Queen. To start with the basics, Jollibee offers simple soft serve ice cream with a variety of toppings: chocolate syrup, brownie chunks and caramel bars. Now to get a bit more Filipino, they also offer “Ice Craze” which is basically rebranded “Halo-Halo” (no not the video game), but the traditional Filipino shaved ice dessert. You can get the Ice Craze with corn and cornflakes or with the beautifully purple ube and cheese. Personally, I don’t eat things purple, but I know that ube is hugely popular in the Philippines.

Wrap-Up

Well, that pretty much does it for our 3 part series. I don’t know about you, but writing all this made me pretty hungry. Hopefully if you’re reading this, you’re close enough to your local Jollibee to satisfy that hybrid American-Filipino appetite of yours!

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First Things First

In the first part of this three-part series, Food at Jollibee in the Philippines - Part 1: Traditional American Food, we explored how the food at Jollibee is so so similar to fast food in America. Now we present the other side of the coin, part of the fast food paradox that is known as the menu of Jollibee in the Philippines. It’s what makes it unique, stand out to its customers, and what makes it so memorable for those who visit the Philippines. At least it was the case for me.

Noodles

In Filipino culture, noodles are a signifcant part of the diet. Of course they provide necessary carbohydrates to power the body, in addition to symbolizing long life for the length of the noodle, but without noodles, there could never exist the amazingness known as the Jolibee Spagetti! Spaghetti in a fast food restaurant?! That’s right - but don’t knock it until you try it. This classic is a favorite among Filipinos, along with the Palabok Fiesta - which is the fast food version of Pancit Palabok - a traditional dish featuring palabok sauce, pork chicharon, pork, shrimp, and sliced eggs.

Rice Meals

Even more important to Filipinos than noodles is the most vital staple to most east asian countries: rice. You can basically eat rice with anything - even burgers. So why even mess with a silly bun of bread - just take the burger patty, throw it on some rice and add some special sauce. It’s so simple and yet so beautiful: the Jollibee Burger Steak rice dish. But wait, there’s more! We’re not simply limited to beef patty’s, but imagine this: a crispy chicken patty served over rice with the same magical sauce. That’s right, and now you have experienced all the mouth-watering deliciousness of the Jollibee Crispy Chicken Steak.

What Else is There?

It would be tragic to stop here, so in addition to Part 1: Traditional American Food, and this part on Traditional Filipino Food, we’ll wrap up this series with my personal favorite: Breakfast and Deserts! Don’t miss out and be sure to check out Food at Jollibee in the Philippines - Part 3: Breakfast and Desserts.

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Getting Started 

The food at Jollibee is definitely an interesting combination of both American and Filipino food fused together for a unique experience for your taste buds. Walking in to Jollibee as an American, everything seems normal as far as fast food chains go. Everything you see, smell and hear seems like the ordinary American fast food experience, as if you’re in a McDonalds, Wendy’s or Jack in the Box. Well, I suppose all the Tagalog you hear around you probably reminds you that you’re still in the Philippines. But in reality, there’s much more than meets the eye - or taste buds. In this first part of a three part series, we’ll explore the American side of the menu.

Burgers

The classic fast food item in America is the hamburger. At McDonalds, we know them simply as “hamburgers” and “cheeseburgers.” At Jollibee, they brand them uniquely as “Yumburgers,” and come in your typical varieties: basic (meat only with special sauce), with cheese, and with cheese, lettuce and tomato. They also come in a larger version, known as the “Champ” which consists of a 1/3 pound beef patty. Other varations on the traditional beef burger is the Crispy Chicken Burger and Spicy Crispy Chicken Burger - reminiscent of the Jack in the Box’s Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich (now known as Jack’s Spicy Chicken).

Chicken

Probably the best known chicken franchise in America is KFC. No, it no longer can stand for Kentucky Fried Chicken (is it because what they serve is no longer qualified as ‘chicken’?), but still only as KFC. Fried chicken is staple of Jollibee in the Philippines as well. Using their typical clever branding, Jollibee has created “ChickenJoy.” It comes in two flavors: original and spicy, and can be served with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. Additionally, you can order buckets of ChickenJoy for the whole family. Never has so much nutrition been available in a bucket.

Other Food

As far as other traditional American fast food, Jollibee offers the best meal one can get at a summer baseball game: the hot dog. It’s pretty basic but in addition to the typical ketchup, it includes a “cheese-based topping” and grated cheese. And to go with all this food, the sides available at Jollibee include classic French Fries (chili and cheese fries are also an option) and Nachos. Basically, it’s starting to feel like a hybrid of McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Arby’s and Taco Bell - some of my favorite U.S. based fast food restaurants.

Is that all?

Oh no, we’re only getting started with the basics of Jollibee food. There’s a whole new realm of food experience that we’ll explore in the next part: Food at Jollibee in the Philippines - Part 2: Traditional Filipino Food. 

After that, we’ll move on to Food at Jollibee in the Philippines - Part 3: Breakfast and Desserts. 

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