Jollibee — Restaurant in Houston

🇵🇭♥️🇺🇲 We finally tried Jollibee's tonight here in Houston and tasted a bit of US/Filipino history/culture to boot!! I homeschool (non-cult) so I'm always looking for a way to make things a learning event, especially food (what better way to get your kids interested in history and US conflicts/Aide)! 📖♥️🍚

I am absolutely impressed with the quality (5 ⭐). I know you're looking at this picture of Southern-esque fried chicken and saying "Filipino food?" Yes. This is actually one of the more positive outcomes of the US conflicts in Asia: They make the best fried chicken thanks to Black US soldiers commingling with the Filipinos I and the Filipinos being accepting of our Black G.I.'s (thank you) and sharing cooking knowledge both ways.

These cooking interactions date back as far as the Spanish American War in 1898 all the way to the Vietnam War.

They do offer traditional Filipino food, but they have absolutely mastered the American Southern Fried Chicken — dare I say even better? 10/10 better than our US Brand KFC (and more affordable IMO). The large family buckets comes with several side and they even include pies like McDonald's, but way better ($46 total and $5 off if you order online).

I got what I call the salisbury steak meal. They legitimately taste like my mom's recipe which is impressive. Athough they are quite small, they are a high quality beef — and if you add it with the rice and gravy (included) you are full!

Also: LOOK AT THE CUTE LITTLE TOOTHPICK FLAGS THAT SAY SPICY, SO IF YOU GET A MIXED BUCKET, YOU KNOW WHICH ONE IS SPICY AND WHICH ONE ISN'T! 🏳️🌶️🥵

In total we spent $76, but got enough food for 5-6 people with special Mango drinks.

Side note: my teenage son's plate was so big that I actually had to get out pizza pas so he could fit it all on there!

Final Note: There are more extras we added on that aren't pictures here like a chicken sandwich meal and extra sides of their special rice, gravy, french fries (McDonald-esque) etc.

Do not hesitate in please go try this location.

Seriously, last note: Oh!!! And the staff was so amazing. Quick, efficient, and the bag was so organized that ain't made it home in the exact same way that they packed it. No messy gravy leaks, no drinks spilled. They even have a special little tape thing that goes over your drink hole so that it doesn't spill, and they put your drinks in a special plastic bag you can easily carry — again, no spillage!

Save time and money and order online. And if it says 27 minutes it will be ready in 27 minutes. Amazing service. Again, 5 ⭐...

I just left Jollibee, Houston at around 7:15 pm today, March 31 with a disappointed craving for palabok.

At around 6:30 pm, I ordered palabok with chicken, 1 spaghetti, 1 adobo rice, and 2 soda fountain.

Incident #1: When I filled my soda cup, there was no ice coming out so, I reported to the first available personnel whose uniform looked like the store manager. She tried to dispense the ice, and when no ice came out, she opted to give me ice from the drive thru supply.

Incident #2: I also reported that Pepsi and Strawberry lemonade had no syrup. She went back to the soda fountain. Tasted the pale-looking Pepsi and rootbeer. She said, “Okay naman po ma’am a.” Meaning she did not find anything wrong with the soda. I reiterated that it’s the dispensers for Pepsi and strawberry lemonade. We resorted to getting Star and Pepsi from another dispenser without ice hoping that they’d resolve the no ice issue in a few minutes.

Incident #3: My order came and found out that they did not give me a packet of lemon for my palabok. I went back to the counter. I asked for 2 lemons. The same store manager gave me 3 packets. Kudos to for giving extra.

Incident 4: When I opened the boxes of my order, that’s when I found out that I had no palabok. Instead I was given 2 Jolly spaghetti and it’s reflected in my receipt. I unhappily ate my spaghetti, feeling defeated. Next time, I’ll ask them to repeat the order, which was usually a gold standard of Jollibee. I drove an hour to satisfy my cravings for Palabok but, there I was, not able to finish the meal and just decided to go home.

Incident 5: Before heading home, and with a soft tone, I summarized to the store manager everything that went unexpected (see above incidents). Also, the ice dispenser, after 30 minutes, was still out of ice.

The response I received was, “Short staff po talaga,” smirked, then moved on to her survival state.

A good customer service should sound like, “I’m sorry you had that experience. How can we make it right?” None was said after saying that they were short staffed. Had she made an effort to at least say it, I wouldn’t have resorted to writing a lengthy unsatisfactory review of my favorite food chain.

I went home with an unsatisfied palabok craving.

I’m wishing for a better luck of receiving the usual good customer service and good food as my reward to purposefully drive an hour...

I work here so I don't know if my opinion is biased. In the Philippines, Jollibee has more specialty food selections, this particular store is experiencing a shortage in labor and also minimal in supply of food, so therefore the wait time for most orders are the way that it is. Sometimes we have spicy chicken available, while at times we do not. The menu changes every month due to corporate demanded promotional offers. From transitioning to being an avid customer, to an employee, there has been a huge learning curve. I like my superiors and have learned to respect their views but the clientele here is a melting pot of cultures. First of all when I used to be a customer, I experienced once when Doordash orders were prioritized before customers in the dining room. After some time I had seen a change in that the management actually listened to customer's concerns and changed the environment to where the dine-in orders were now being prioritized. Some leaders are well-equipped to handle their roles more than others while some crumble under pressure, there is a saying that "Those who can't do, teach" well some superiors are like that here. If you cherish the experience of good memories from your visit in the Philippines, or if you're just a stressed medical professional in need of a feel-good meal, then this is the place for your. If you are a picky customer that ask for things redundantly that are not available from the menu, like other type of veggies as side, then you will be schooled the details of the menu as well as the pricing by a very business savvy ex Accounting major. If you like being explained to like a child, then you will like having me as your front end service cashier taking your order. However, there is a saying that goes "Do unto others as others do unto you" If you are a pleasant customer, I will treat you in kind. If you are a customer-zilla or a picky doordash order pick up person, then you will be treated in kind. There are times when as a customer, I have been served cold fries before and the lady working in the drive thru forgot my peach mango pie, I made sure to come back though and get it since that is my overall favorite thing on the entire...