Jollibee!

Who here eats/has eaten/has lived to tell others not to go to Jollibee?

This place is so fascinating. Is there anyone on the list who is a fan? I know we've got some Filipino members- any of you like this place?

I go about 4 times a year. I get ill, but I forget and go back. Truly, there can be no question that there have been amazing contributions from the Filipino community, especially to the world of Tiki. Jollibee...is not one of them.

http://www.jollibee.com

Eight strategically located Filipino neighborhood locations to serve you in California!

Look at their core menu items and tell me you're not mixed with fascination and revulsion.

Anyway, I'm heading down there for lunch in about 15 minutes. The Aloha burger has a slice of pineapple on it and about 17000% of your recommended daily sugar intake, as do all of their dishes.

This chain is so popular in the Philippines that it drove Burger King out of the country and has McDonalds on the ropes!

Anyway- talk to me about Jollibee!

On 2003-12-03 12:31, martiki6 wrote:
Anyway- talk to me about Jollibee!

Are you referring to the one across from the Moscone Center? I have passed it many times but was always too afraid to enter.

We ought to check it out, and combine it with Santacon, bowling at Yerba Buena and the Diane Arbus retrospective at SFMOMA. Whee! :lol:

Hmmm.... there's a location a few miles from me.... I'll have to go check it out!

But, should I try the palabok fiesta, or the chickenjoy? OOOH! The garlic cream cheese babong burger!!

http://www.jollibee.com.ph

The Jolly crunch comes in Chocolate, Caramel, Orange and Cheese.

We have two down here in south San Diego County. I've never been, but, I love they stand up to the burger giants.

[ Edited by: Alnshely on 2003-12-03 13:47 ]

Pup, consider this your warning about the Palabok Fiesta. Not a good thing at all.

Just came back and I'm totally wired thanks to my sugarburger. The Peach Mango pie is pretty good, though, as usual, sickly sweet.

Get on down to your local Jollibee and chow down! I dare you!

wow, i have never heard of this place and i grew up in san jose. scary! but hey, looks like they have a little something to contribute to the tiki community....

ooh, i want a treasure party! do they serve mai tais?

Me and my daughter always ate/eat at this philipino place when in Oahu. For a couple of years we always ordered something called 'chocolate meat'. It was meat, vegetable, in a dark sauce.

Well, a few years ago the lady at the counter told us that the dark sauce is cooked pigs blood. I switched to lumpia.

Being a semi-honorary Filipino through marriage let me assure you that there are many ways to go wrong with the cuisine - which is wierd because i've had great food in the country itself, but something must go wrong on the trip over the pacific. You have to try Sinigong once in your life, this recipe beats the hottest Thai dish for covering up the taste of bad meat, a vinegar lovers paradise.

On 2003-12-03 17:50, limptiki wrote:
Being a semi-honorary Filipino through marriage let me assure you that there are many ways to go wrong with the cuisine - which is wierd because i've had great food in the country itself, but something must go wrong on the trip over the pacific.

LT, I agree and disagree. As a full-blooded Filipino myself, I have my favorite Filipino restaurants that I frequent on a regular basis. However, just like bad Chinese restaurants (or any other ethnicity) there's bad Filipino restaurants.

When you say its weird that something must wrong on the trip over the Pacific, you must understand that the ingredients in the US are not the same as the ingredients in the PI. For example, Mexican food does not taste the same here as it does in Mexico. Italian food does not taste the same here as it does in Italy..... I can go on and on. Ever notice how the pineapples are sweeter in Hawaii? As such, preparing the same Filipino dishes in the US is not going to taste the same way as they do when prepared in the PI.

I've never heard of Jollibee so I don't have any idea how bad it is. But to that one bad one, there's a half dozen good ones:

Manila Garden, Barrio Fiesta, Manila Sunset and Max's Fried Chicken are some of my favorites. One of my favorite bakeries is Goldilock's. Red Ribbon is really good too.

Of course, like other types of ethnic food, there's the stuff that most people would and enjoy (chicken, noodles, etc) and there's the stuff that's really on the deep ethnic scale. Balut is a good example (duckling) and "Chocolate meat" is another one. I actually like that chocolate meat stuff -- but then again, I'm a pretty hardcore Filipino food guy. I like most of the stuff that makes non-Filipino's run for cover!

**Poly-Pop ***

He who dies with the most broken mugs WINS!

[ Edited by: PolynesianPop on 2003-12-04 08:06 ]

Polypop... Take me on an eating tour! You know I can't resist culinary adventure. I'm sure others would love to join in. Balut may be a tough one, but I'm game. Jollibee fascinates and frightens me, both quite deeply. Thanks for posting, Martiki!

-Weird Unc

Balut is duckling? I always thought it was more of a deliberatley rotten egg. I love the dumpling with the meat and egg in the middle though

On 2003-12-03 23:17, jonboy wrote:
Balut is duckling? I always thought it was more of a deliberatley rotten egg.

Yup, it's an unhatched duckling. Traditionally believed to be an aphrodisiac, I hear its really good - but I've never tried it. Read all about it here:

http://www.asiacuisine.com.sg/Nacws/1998/9/314/

Jonboy - are you getting balut mixed up with "century" eggs which I don't think we can blame the filipinos for?

Poly - I think I just felt like dissing my inlaws cooking in print, but on the other hand I never would have had deep fried salmon with hot sauce if it were not for them.

Yuck!!!, They have Urban Myths in the PI too.
http://worldnews.freecyberzone.com/alert.htm

Jollibee controls about 60% of the fast food market in the philippines and is excellent. When I was a kid in the 70's in the Philippines , there was this rumor that the reason Jollibee burgers are so good are because they're partially made with earthworms. The rumor slowed down the company for a while, but it didn't last long.

I saw an adult-sized Jollibee mascot costume at the Alameda flea market yesterday! They wanted $175 for it.

--cindy