Jollibee, A Fun Food Rec from Anthony Bourdain

Anthony BourdainOver 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!

a group of people in a restaurant

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!

a menu board with pictures of food

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

a group of people playing with cups

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:

a red box with a cartoon character on it

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.

a box of spaghetti with sauce

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.

a hot dog with ketchup and cheese in a cardboard box

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!

a box of food with chicken and rice

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.

a cup of ice cream with a cartoon character on it

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.

a man holding a child by a statue

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.

9 thoughts on “Jollibee, A Fun Food Rec from Anthony Bourdain

  1. One thing I was surprised to find out is that all Jollibee stores in the US are NOT franchises, but company owned.

    Halo halo is one of those foods where there are a million different ways to make it. I never had one with flan in it, but it is common. If you don’t like one halo halo, you may like another.

  2. jb- Def will do next time!

    Ang- Figured you’d like it! I’m picky so it’s not something I’d try. lol

    The Mystery Traveler- Interesting- this place was packed and with what I’d assume were mostly Filipino customers. The spaghetti was sweet but tasty. I did see it on TV prior to this recent episode, maybe it was that other Parts Unknown…

    Wooo- I’d agree.

    Norman- Thanks I looked up banana ketchup. Sounds odd!

    Brian Cohen- Yes I mentioned it was a Filipino fast food restaurant. When I make it to the Philippines, I’ll definitely have to try it out to compare! I’ll def check out your review.

  3. Most Filipino’s I know won’t step foot in there, LOL. Too man Filipinos places in LA. The spaghetti is way too sweet and causes my blood sugar to spike, LOL. Their halo halo is also not close to what a lot of places serve.

    He also went to Jollibee with Roy Choi in a Parts Uknown episode.

      1. hahaha! They might be the Americanized ones. The Filipinos at heart crave for Jollibee. Sometimes we would drive 4 hours just to satisfy our cravings

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