Over the years I’ve tried many restaurants based on recommendations from food and travel TV shows. Restaurants discovered this way can definitely be hit or miss.

A month or so back I was watching Anthony Bourdain’s Manila episode of his show, Parts Unknown which airs on CNN.

Lots of interesting food was eaten during the episode but I have to admit that I was most interested in trying out a Filipino fast food restaurant that I had heard about a few years back.

Jollibee is a popular fast food chain located in various countries around the world and they just happen to have a location close to home!I had tried going in the past but had pretty much forgotten about it.

Watching Anthony Bourdain dine at Jollibee gave me a good reason to head over to the restaurant while Kim, Lucas and I were doing some things around Queens.

Here is a review of our experience dining at Jollibee in Woodside, NY!

When we showed up at Jollibee we didn’t expect to find the place to be packed. There wasn’t a single seat available. I felt that this was a good thing. If the restaurant was so busy, then my guess was that it had to be good!

We got on line and had a fun time figuring out what to order.

I also enjoyed some of the strange art hanging on the walls. This was the best one and if I didn’t know better, I’d guess that the photo was taken in the 70’s or 80’s!

Here is what I ordered:

I knew that I had to order the Spaghetti which Anthony Bourdain seemed to enjoy so much on Parts Unknown. I asked if the spaghetti came with hot dogs to make sure I was ordering the correct item. Little did I know that the cashier didn’t realize what I asked for and also rang me up for a Jolly Hot Dog.

The Spaghetti was topped with a tangy tomato sauce, shredded cheese and little slices of hot dog. I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of spaghetti and hot dogs before but this dish was actually quite enjoyable in a strange way…

The spaghetti was cooked well as were the hot dog pieces. I also liked the flavor of the sauce. I’m still not sure if the cheese is mozzarella or some sort of fake cheese. It didn’t add a ton in terms of flavor but did add good texture to the dish.

I’d definitely order Jollibee spaghetti again.

Next up was the Jolly Hotdog. Like I mentioned above, had my order not been confused, I wouldn’t have also ordered this dog but I’m glad they made the mistake.

When I opened the package, I didn’t think I’d be eating more than a bite of the hotdog. It was topped with some sort of sauce, shredded cheese and ketchup.

I gave the hot dog a try and was pleasantly surprised. All of the toppings made for a tasty dog!

Kim ordered the piece Chicken Dippers which came with a side of rice.

While I didn’t give the chicken a try, Kim and Lucas definitely enjoyed it. Kim described the chicken as being nice and crispy with a panko breading. She mentioned that the rice went well with it too.

Kim also ordered the Halo-Halo for dessert. I can’t say that I know how to describe this Filipino treat but Kim definitely liked it. I guess Halo- Halo is something like a Filipino ice cream shake/ sundae. It’s made with shave ice, flan, ice cream, jelly candies and other things.

Kim enjoyed this dessert very much and would definitely order it again.

Overall, visiting Jollibee was a really fun experience. I felt like I was in another country which isn’t a bad thing! It was also fun to get a look at what another country’s most popular fast food chain is like while not leaving the US!

Have you visited Jollibee? I’d love to hear what your experience was like!

Find out more about Jollibee here.