“Why is there always a long queue at Jollibee?” , a foreigner friend of mine asked.

Jollibee is a fast food chain originating from the Philippines . It has a lot of branches in the Philippines and all around the world. According to Wikipedia, it is dubbed as the Asia’s answers to McDonald. You would find meme of the bee (Jollibee’s mascot) beating the clown (Ronald McDonald – their mascot).

Jollibee menu consists of foods you normally see in regular fastfood chains. They have several types of burger which they call Yum. My all-time favourites are the Hawaiian Aloha Burger, a fat burger with a big pineapple ring and the TLC Burger (tomato, lettuce and cheese). The secret is in their sauce which reminds me of a sweet thousand island dressing. They have the fries and spaghetti. They have pies similar to McDonald’s, in several flavors. They have a palabok which they call here Fiesta Noodles. It is made of vermicelli noodles with orange sauce and bits of small shrimps. They have the burger patty with mushroom gravy together with Pinoy’s meal staple, the white rice. But what is most popular with Jollibee is their chicken called ChickenJoy. Yes, their chicken brings joy! There was even a blind test conducted to see which is the best fried chicken in Singapore and Jollibee was on the top.

So is it the reason why Jollibee has a long queue? Hmmm, I personally don’t think so. I may sound very unpatriotic if I say I prefer Popeyes and 4 Fingers chicken to Jollibee. And when I am in the Philippines, I prefer KFC to Jollibee any day. Though I would still queue for hours here in Singapore just to try any Jollibee food.

Yes, Jollibee may be potentially competitive in the fast food market considering local citizens & Pinoys line up to order but there is more to it being a good fast food. Considering there are a lot of Filipino overseas workers all over the world, lining up to get that langhap sarap flavor of Jollibee ChickenJoy bring us back home. It is our antidote for our homesickness and a taste of it soothe the longings of home with daily stresses of living abroad. I see long queues in branches here in Singapore. I am glad there are a few branches now.  2 stores in Lucky Plaza, one in Changi City Point and another in Novena Square. I heard also in other countries, queue can really be long too. So yes, besides the yummy chicken, the reason why Filipinos dont mind the long queue in Jollibee is because gathering with friends and family in place that feels like home give us a moment of priceless joy.