Jollibee is in Town !!
September
11 , Wednesday ..noon time , I was having lunch with my friend at “GURU” Restaurant
at Sugarland Town Square Plaza ( NICE place btw !) and we were talking to Mark
, the Restaurant Manager who happens to be Filipino. In the course of our
conversation, he mentioned to us not to forget what’s happening on Thursday...so
I asked, “what’s happening on Thursday?”
He said Jollibee is opening in Houston!
I heard about the buzz since last year and my husband and I passed by
the area some days ago thinking it was already open (we live a block and a half
away from the location) Well , it was good to be reminded of things
which are just around the corner. I almost missed it!
I’m a foodie and appreciate most anything
that is edible and a big fan of diversity in cuisines. I believe that each
culture has something good and unique ways of food preparation to offer which
makes a simple cut of meat or a crisp and colorful vegetable elevated to a
delightful dish. But by nature , we homo
sapiens always seem to seek out our
comfort through food that are familiar no matter the extent of our cultural exposure
is . It’s second nature that we seek out things that remind us especially of
something endearing like childhood days and home. No doubt food is definitely
about flavors, freshness of source and right preparation. But apart from titillating your senses, it also
expands to awakening your emotions and bringing back the comfort of just “belonging.”
Jollibee is one of the pioneers in the Fast
Food Industry in the Philippines. Quintessentially the Filipino cuisine
encapsulated in the style of 20th Century Menu planning, Food
Preparation , logistics and distribution
, with a focused marketing
strategy centered around the “ family” concept.
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| Full Parking & 8001 South Main |
Come Thursday morning, the 8001 South Main Street parking lot is full like I've never seen before. They were busy since 7;00 a.m.
I approached the gentleman beside the
Jollibee signpost handing out the menu brochures and asked if he’s the Manager. He
said he’s not but he’s also with Operations Division from the Corporate office back in California
and is just here to help in opening this new branch.
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| Mr. Ray from Corporate Office |
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| Tent outside |
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| " Malamig na tubig!" ( Cold water ) |
The line going inside the Restaurant was already
long but they were thoughtful enough to build a tent outside and had a fan with a cool mist blowing to
battle the heat while waiting in the line. They did not stop at that, one of
the crew goes around offering
“ sa
malamig na tubig!” ( glass of cold water), and at some point in the line ,
someone takes the order so as to speed up the process once you’re inside. It
felt like you were in the line to watch a concert, everyone seems to be in a jolly kind of mood. There’s even a music in the
background !
Before you step inside, a staff that maintains the order was
appreciative of people’s patience for waiting that long , and as you go in ,
the Marketing officer , Jonx Jongco greets you and motions you to the next open
Cashier to hand out your pre-order form.
The Menu listing gives you a peek of the
cultural influences of both the West and East in the Filipino Culture.
The famous “Palabok” we got from the Chinese Traders and early settlers in the
country. It uses the thin noodles ( bihon) with a thick consistency flavoured sauce
mixture of stock made from either shrimp juice extract or chicken
, achuete ( annatto seed or powder) that makes its attractive orange
color and patis (fermented shrimp sauce) instead of salt. The use of toppings
can be varied , from flaked tinapa ( smoked fish) to chicharon ( deep fried
flakes of pig skin cracklings) or just plain cooked ground meat , fried tofu , cut
hard boiled egg , boiled baby shrimp , chopped scallions and or fried garlic.
The Jollibee Palabok is a straight forward
recipe without so much fancy toppings but their own signature tasty sauce makes
up for the simplified topping combination.
They also have the Filipino version of Spaghetti ( though some may find the taste a bit peculiar because the Filipino
style Spaghetti has a hint of sweet taste to it and may sometimes be mixed with
a Banana Ketchup (catsup made from
indigenous plantains) , and flavored with spices
other than the traditional basil and oregano . The Restaurant’s own recipe is
very popular especially with the children.
Of
course they have the hamburgers and the succulent and crispy Fried chicken much
like the Western counterparts , but the difference is that for their side
dishes , they added a choice of steamed
rice apart from the standard mashed potatoes and fries, sweet corn kernels and
fancy cut fried sweet potatoes . Yes ,
you got it right , plain steamed rice! Being the staple source of carbohydrate for
Filipinos, most anything tastes good with rice. Fried chicken with rice ;
burger steak with rice topped with gravy . I know to Filipinos this is a
natural combination but perhaps to most Westerners it may be a bit of a
variation to the traditional mashed potatoes and French fries. So the choice is
there to make. Good news is, it’s another option for those who developed wheat intolerance or have celiac disease.
For their line of desserts they have Pearl Tapiocas in Buco – Pandan flavor ( Coconut & Screwpine essence.) Pandan or
screwpine is another common flavor in Asian desserts used mostly like how one
would use vanilla. The essence of
Pandan is an extract from the leaf of a
Screwpine plant that looks more
ornamental than edible. It is very deceiving because it looks like just an ordinary
long leaf, but once you boil the leaf, it emits an aroma that enhances and
takes the coconut milk to a different flavor experience. The Pandan flavoring is already made available
in small bottles, in green color, and can be found in most Asian Supermarkets. But nothing beats the fresh pandan leaf extract if you can get one.
The other flavor for the Tapioca dessert is Purple yam or “Ube."
In the Menu , they also offer the Classic Halo-halo ( literally translates to :
mix-mix) much similar to our Asian counterparts ‘ desserts ( Thai , Vietnamese , Chinese and Singapore )
with a mixture of different ingredients using boiled sweetened beans ( it can be red beans , navy beans , or chickpeas ) , coconut , palm or fruit gels and tapiocas. The ingredients
can vary from a simple three to a dozen different ingredients. Then an Ice cream is put on top of the HALO-HALO . A popular ice cream flavor is made from Ube (
purple yam roots ). Added to that is a scoop of
leche flan
( very much like the Hispanic egg custards – which obviously
is the Spanish contribution to our local cuisine) .
Halo-halo is a dessert of health
contradictions . The ingredients are healthy because they’re natural but the combination sums
up to a nearly lethal amount because as the menu states , with just a
standard and modest combination of the Restaurant’s ingredients ,
it totals 490 calories per one glass serving . But It’s so temptingly delicious
that we give ourselves excuses when it comes to Halo-halo. It’s more for
comfort than anything else. This is a hard choice to make for weight watchers! But
this is a good chance to share with your company so you can make room for the other food on the menu.
Then they have the Pies with a filling of
two delicious fruits common to east and west ; mango and peach. I think this combination is a good tandem and breaks barriers of
cultural divides because both make one
happy either way. It’s a good marriage!
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| Staff taking our orders |
So after the long wait and once you got the
order and seated , it doesn’t feel crowded because they maintained the
number of customers to the room's sitting capacity . There was an easy flow of traffic.
Once done , there are crews
around that make sure tables are cleaned promptly.
As far as the dishes
are concerned , I already have my pre-set expectations and after having my belly
full , I know it was the same dishes I used to order. .
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| Lolo Peter Aguila enjoying his Chickenjoywith rice! |
Nothing that much fancy
as far as the taste is concerned, but a
familiar taste that was engraved in the memory of my palate that made me feel
at home. Even our tablemate , Mr. Peter enjoyed his rice and chickenjoy cooked to perfection.
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| Scrubs Foodies in Comfort Zone |
The service was a genuine showcase of the
hospitality of the Filipino culture. All crew were prepared to address the
needs of the customers as they come.
I looked around
and I saw a lot of the people inside were in their scrubs maybe on the way to work their shift at the Medical Center but could
not pass up the opportunity to be in a
comfort zone before toughing the day at their job.
It's pleasing to note that
my first experience of Jollibee outside the country where I came from did not
disappoint me. It demonstrated the capacity of Filipino brand having its presence known to a wider global scope , not just the dishes but the way business is conducted. A quick shout to the Jollibee Management and Staff that made the operations flow smoothly in its opening day in Houston !
There
are so many new kids in the block that come around to the Houston Food Scene every
now and then. It is a very diverse city just like in some other states and each dish
they offer is just as exciting to taste
as the other. I enjoy learning about the
different cultures through the food they offer. It satisfies my curiosity as well as my belly. I’m most
fascinated about the commonality as well as the differences that made every
dish tastes like new to me and it also inspires me to learn how to cook them in my own little kitchen.
Now the new kid in the block is from back home, although the restaurant chain is already present in 28 locations across US and
842 in 9 other countries including the Philippines ,
it has always been fully patronized by Filipinos themselves . But I hope that it will be interesting enough for the other foodies to enjoy what it has to offer. The Drive-Thru opens in October..
Foodies out there , if you’re
around the Medical Center area in
Houston , see if you can drop by and
discover the old time Western favorite dishes interpreted the Asian way !
“ C “
