Jollibee Vancouver – Review of EVERYTHING On Their Menu!

After a 2 year delay (yes, 2 years!), Jollibee is FINALLY open in Vancouver!! It is Jollibee’s first BC location and it’s currently open at 833 Granville Street every day from 9am – 10pm.

Jollibee is a hugely popular Filipino fast food chain that specializes in Chicken Joy (here in Vancouver, they call it Jolly Crispy Chicken for some reason), mashed potatoes, gravy, Jolly Spaghetti (also known as Sweet Spaghetti), and Peach Mango Pie.

Jollibee is the largest fast-food chain in the Philippines, with a network of more than 1,400 stores worldwide. There are currently 24 locations in Canada but this is the first ever location in BC.

My first taste of Jollibee was in the Philippines, and ever since then, I was hooked.

Today (Feb 25th, 2022) was their opening day and they opened at 9am. I really didn’t think there would be a huge line up so I decided to get there 30 minutes before they open. That seemed reasonable right? When I started to walk closer and closer, I realized…. not only is there a ton of people at the front, the line up spanned 3 blocks curling around the entire intersection! I was 268th in line…. and from the moment I started lining up to the moment I had the food in my hand, I waited a total of 4 whole hours…?

In -2 degree Celsius!! ?

 

Opening Weekend Notes

Feb 26th and 27th is their opening weekend and the first 100 people in line for both days will receive a free Jollibee beanie (toque)! It seemed super nice and very comfortable (especially in -2 degree weather!)

Right now, they’re only accepting takeout orders. Dine-in, online ordering, and delivery are slated to launch in the coming weeks.

Also for the first 3 days of launch (Feb 25th – 27th), they will NOT have Chicken Sandwiches and Aloha Burgers. The staff said those require specialized equipment and it’ll slow down the process if they were to offer it during opening weekend.

For opening day (and maybe weekend), they also have a set of rules that you’ll have to follow.

What you’ll need to know are:

• only take-home orders are available
• each customer in line will be issued a number
  • only 1 order allowed per customer with maximum $75 limit (I laughed thinking who will spend $75 on fast food…. but then my bill ended up being $75 ?)
• to avoid losing your spot, we encourage customers to not leave the line
• allowed maximum product quantity per order as follows:
  • 12 pieces or 2 x 6-piece buckets of Jolly Crispy Chicken
  • 10 Cheesy Yumburgers
  • 10 Peach Mango Pies

Their next two locations in BC this year will be: Cambie and West Broadway as well as Strawberry Hill Shopping Center complex in Surrey.

Inside The Restaurant

The inside of the restaurant is quite spacious and the kitchen is HUGE. There must have been at least 20-30 people just in the kitchen alone working non-stop pumping out orders. While you wait, you have a plastic disc that has your number and it’ll buzz and vibrate when your order is ready for pick up. Everything was super smooth and easy.

For opening day and weekend, they even have someone in the lineup taking your order FIRST, and then all you have to do is just pay at the cashier and grab your item.

See?! I actually spent $75 in total ordering everything on their menu. LOLL. One odd thing that an IG follower pointed out, they charged me both GST and PST! I have a feeling they set up their system wrong and is charging everyone 12% tax instead of 5%…. Does anyone know if they were overcharged too?

Anyways, let’s get on to reviewing ALL DA food!

My Review of the Entire Jollibee Vancouver Menu!

These are the items I ordered and I will also be ranking each item from “Best to Worst” at the very end of the blog post!

• Peach Mango Pie
• Jolly Crispy Chicken (6 pcs)
• Jolly Spaghetti (Family Pack – feeds 3-4)
• Palabok Fiesta (single)
• Burger Steak (2 pcs) with White Rice

1) Jolly Crispy Chicken

Rating: 10/10

Their 2 pcs Jolly Crispy Chicken w/ 1 Side & Soda is $9.99 but I got the “Bucket Treat” which comes with 6 pcs Crispy Jolly Chicken, 1 Jolly Spaghetti Family Pack, and 3 Peach Mango Pies for $38.00.

I ordered “Spicy” and I’m so glad I did! The batter was so flavourful and wonderfully crispy on the outside. The spice isn’t overpowering but it is enough to give you a ?  while you’re eating it. I thought I needed to airfry my chicken when I got home but even after 30-45 mins on the skytrain and walking outside, the chicken remained extremely crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Compared to my previous experience having Chicken Joy/Jolly Crispy Chicken in the Philippines, I dare say it was even better this time! I wonder if they use chicken from local farms…

All in all, if you come to Jollibee, you 100% MUST ORDER THIS ITEM! This is what they’re known for, and my favourite part is that their chicken comes with a side of gravy for dipping. I mean, SCORE for not having to pay extra for gravy! Gravy just goes so well with everything and if it’s your first time dipping fried chicken in gravy, prepared to be mind blown. ?

2) Palabok Fiesta

Rating: 9/10

I was a little skeptical about this because the last time I tried it was many years ago and I don’t recall it being memorable. However, I was sooo PLEASANTLY SURPRISED by this Palabok Fiesta ($8.99)! Palabok is a traditional Filipino noodle dish covered in garlic sauce, sauteed pork, shrimp, and egg.

The flavours were robust while the vermicelli noodles soaked up all the saucey goodness. I think you’re supposed to add lemon or lime juice to it but I actually liked it without.

For some, this might be an acquired taste, but I absolutely would recommend trying this dish if you want a taste of the Philippines.

3) Peach Mango Pie

Rating: 10/10

This Peach Mango Pie  ($2.99) is a 10 out of 10 for me because deep fried pies from fast food joints are one of my guilty pleasures. This 100% reminds me of the deep fried apple pies from McDonalds in Hong Kong, and I’ve yearned for years to have something similar to that in Vancouver. McDonalds never changed their apple pies from baked to fried, so I’ll just have to now go to Jollibee whenever I want deep fried pies.

Their Peach Mango Pie is made with real Philippine mangoes, and has a distinctive crispy crust, and soft sweet filling. I was actually pretty surprised to find the filling perfectly sweet for my taste buds. I usually find pie fillings overly processed and sweet, but this one was perfect.

Just look how crispy that pie crust is!

Definitely order this item. You won’t regret it.

I’m hoping the Banana Langka Pie will also be offered at the Jollibee Vancouver location soon. It’s made with banana and jackfruit which seems like a delicious combination.

4) Yum Burger

Rating: 8.5/10

I’ve never had a Cheesy Yum Burger ($4.99) but I now see why people call it a Yum Burger!!

This unassuming little hamburger (you can have it with or without cheese) was SOOOO delicious and it’s all due to the fluffy burger bun and their signature dressing.

At first I thought it was just mayo but the signature dressing is so much more than that! I have absolutely no idea what is in the dressing but it really makes the burger. The only thing I can compare it to is the Triple O sauce (which is made of ketchup, mayo, and relish).

5) Jolly Spaghetti

Rating: 8/10

Jolly Spaghetti (aka Sweet Spaghetti) ($7.49) is a staple in Filipino cuisine and Jollibee culture. ?  You almost can’t go to Jollibee without ordering this item just because it’s so beloved by the entire Filipino community.

It’s made with Jollibee’s signature sweet-style sauce loaded with chunky slices of ham, ground meat, and hot dog slices. I’m not kidding you when I say this spaghetti is SWEET! At times I feel like it is overly sweet for me, but honestly, this is truly a childhood dream food for all kids. If you don’t like this, feed it to your kids and I’m sure they’ll be asking you for more.

6) Burger Steak with Rice

Rating: 7.5/10

Their 2 pcs Burger Steak with Soda and a side is $10.49 and it was my least favourite of the bunch (even though it was still pretty good). Essentially they’re burger patties (or salisbury steaks) smothered with mushroom gravy and paired with rice, mashed potatoes, or fries.

I find white rice the best pairing with this burger steak because it soaks up all of the delicious mushroom gravy. And I personally really like the fact that we now have a fast food option in Vancouver that offers rice! Normally it’s just sandwiches, burgers, donuts, and salads.

Overall, the flavours were the least interesting of the bunch but it’s still a delicious item if you love beef patties and gravy!

All in all, I’m SOOOO happy that Jollibee is now in Vancouver and that they’re opening more locations as we speak. The prices are not as cheap as I remember but I’m okay with that. It’s a long time coming and the joy of having such a major Filipino chain in Vancouver really lifts the spirits of many people who may not be able to visit their home country during the past few years.

This is my ranking from top to bottom:

10/10 – Jolly Crispy Chicken (Chicken Joy)
10/10 – Peach Mango pie 
9/10 – Palabok Fiesta 
8.5/10 – Yum Burger 
8/10 – Jolly Spaghetti 
7.5/10 – Burger Steak w rice 

⬆️  Check out my 2014 blog post on Jollibee in Seattle!  ⬆️

Happy Eating!

Rating: 5/5

 

Location

Address: 833 Granville Street, Vancouver BC

Opening Hours: 9am – 10pm