Taste-Testing Regina’s First Jollibee
· 7 min. read
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Although Jollibee was founded in 1978 in the Philippines, it isn't well-known in the West. Appearance-wise, it is a mix between KFC and McDonald's. Their mascot ? Jollibee ? is a red, anthropomorphic bee, inspired by the friendliness of Mickey Mouse. They have several other mascots too, much like McDonald's, but Jollibee is the main figurehead.
The restaurant opened its first Regina location (2830 Quance Street) in December 2019 and had people camped outside prior to opening day. I can't think of a single restaurant in Regina where this has happened before. Jollibee only has approximately 1,200 (no, I didn't miss a zero there) restaurants worldwide so for it to pick Regina is a testament to our city's diversity and the booming Filipino community.
I know many new restaurants have hiccups when they first open, so I gave Jollibeea little over a month before I visited. I ended up going on a cold, blustery winter night, and I wish I had gone in the daytime to get a better picture of the outside of the building. From what I could see in the pitch blackness, the building was white and grey with white letters on it. There was also a statue of Jollibee outside, welcoming people in, similar to McDonald's and their benches with Ronald McDonald. The statue really surprised me, as it isn't something a lot of fast-food restaurants have.
This is where the similarities between Jollibee and McDonald's ends. McDonald's prides itself for their hamburgers and fries, while Jollibee sells fried chicken and spaghetti (they also have their signature "yumburgers", but the chicken and spaghetti are their staples). Fried chicken and spaghetti might not seem like a common mix, but it's very popular in the Philippines.
Before I talk too much about the food, I want to talk about the atmosphere inside Jollibee. I'm sure non-happy Filipinos exist somewhere in the world, but I have never met one, and Jollibee embraces that stereotype. Everybody from the staff to the patrons was smiling and excited to be there. Both the fell customers and the staff recognised I had never been there before and told me all about the business, the food, the restaurant and what I should order. I can't remember the last time I walked into a fast-food restaurant and the employees were happy to see me. I can honestly say I've never felt as welcome in a restaurant as I was inside Jollibee.
I ordered a 6-piece bucket of chicken, with three of the chicken pieces "regular" and the other three "spicy". I also ordered a plate of spaghetti, their signature pineapple drink and some peach mango pies ? very similar to the "apple turnovers" you might find at restaurants like A&W. It came to about $46, which was a little higher than I expected but I think was on par with other fried chicken restaurants.
The regular chicken was tasty, but not overly noteworthy. I've had better fried chicken elsewhere, but it was less greasy than places like KFC. However, the spicy chicken was what really got my attention. These chicken pieces had a little "spicy" flag stuck on them to visually give them a difference, and the reason is so you can't get them confused. These pieces of chicken are really, really hot. They were so spicy that while chewing through my first one, my lips went numb. I loved every bite and I wished I had ordered all six pieces as spicy.
As surprising as the chicken was, it was the spaghetti that really caught me off guard. While the noodles, cheese and tomato sauce were expected, their dish also included sliced up hotdogs. I thought at first it was sliced carrots (which is weird, but not like, super weird) so I was pleasantly surprised. I also read online that they put pieces of cubed ham in the spaghetti too, although I didn't see any when I was eating it.
The peach mango pies were good too, although I found them a little too hot. I thought they were better after chilling them in my refrigerator overnight.
I couldn't finish all the food, so I ended up taking three chicken pieces and the and peach mango pies home with me.
I had assumed since it was a Filipino restaurant, the breading on the chicken would be rice-based. I came to this conclusion as the breading was a little gluey as the chicken cooled, similar to how rice gets when it cools off. However, upon looking up on their website, I saw that both the chicken, the spaghetti and the peach mango pies contained wheat. If you have a gluten allergy or gluten intolerance I wouldn't recommend eating here, although the food was very good.
(And, besides, people with gluten allergies aren't typically eating fried chicken and spaghetti anyway.)
All in all, I really liked Jollibee. I thought the food was very tasty and the service was great. I wouldn't mind going back there to eat sometime. I felt the price was a little high? but then again, I couldn't finish everything I bought either, so you do get your money's worth.
I did a vlog review of the restaurant too. Check it out below and if you have a YouTube account, please feel free to subscribe.
Have you been to Jollibee yet? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below.
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Categories: Canada, Regina, Saskatchewan
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