Jollibee — Restaurant in West Covina

It's been awhile since I've eaten some chicken at Jollibee, so when I was driving home from work on Saturday, I decided to get off the jam packed 10 freeway Eastbound at the Baldwin Park exit and drove my way to the W. Covina shopping center. Parking in the afternoon wasn't that bad, even if I wished to park farther than normal. Large parking lot shared by other restaurants, a grocery store, clinic, and small shops. The North side of this shopping center was like a Filipino town with foods, bakery, grocery store, a parcel-shipping store, etc..all catetoring to the Filipino community which was excellent. I ordered the original 10 piece chicken bucket and two small cartons of gravy came with it. It was delicious. No social distancing inside Jolliebee. Customers wore their masks or not. Most employees wore masks. There were people who dined inside or just ordered for takeout. I believe there was a drive thru also. I didn't wait long for my meal to arrive. Some restaurants had signs posting employee shortages and now hiring, but that didn't stop me being patient with my order. The restaurant even gave me an electronic buzzer alert device, notifying me when my order was ready. Great for people who have a hard time hearing over a microphone saying that their order number was ready. I didn't see any outdoor seating...

If you like fried chicken, Jollibee's is flavorful & its batter, crunchy. I surprisingly liked the Peach Mango pie - not too sweet & it had actual fruit pieces you can see.

The Bad: I ordered the 2 Piece Meal deal which should have cost $11+ tx. Since I opted for a cup of water she (cashier - not William per the receipt) charged me a la carte. My bill came to a subtotal of $11.48. (Didn't notice til later that day.) 48 cents may not be much but when you multiply such an error amongst other customers, it adds up. (Total bill $12.57 w/ tx) Cashiers need better training. She could have just given me a soda cup to use for the water at the self serve drink station.

The 2 pieces of chicken weren't that large. Their side offerings aren't great either: mashed potatoes, rice, & I believe spaghetti- not sure if I recall correctly. I opted for the mashed potatoes which were topped with gravy. I didn't know all combos come with a side of gravy. So I had gravy with gravy. Somehow I wanted a biscuit but none was to be found.

Jollibee is definitely making a killing with its average offerings in balance to its price points!

Ps. I was honestly afraid to try the spaghetti due to what it may taste like and lack of meat or meat flavor.

Maybe...

Review is based on delivery, but wanted to share my review because there are some things definitely worth trying.

Fried chicken is really pretty great. Even after a 40 min delivery time, chicken was still crispy. Spicy is definitely more flavorful than regular. Got the half/half this time, but will get all spicy from now on. Dipping the chicken in gravy was next level for me. Will have to be my new tradition, regardless of where I get my fried chicken from. The gravy on its own is fire! My favorite fried chicken is Krispy Krunchy, but I put Jollibee a close second with Popeye’s, Churches and Kentucky rounding out my top five, in that order.

Chicken strips were also pretty good, but again dipping sauces were what elevated the dish. Creamy sriracha and gravy were great. Pineapple BBQ, not so much. Pro tip - when ordering on line, you can get extra dipping sauces, including the gravy for free so try a few like I did.

Peach mango pie was ok. Will pass for $3+.

The biggest disappointment were the fries. Soggy and bland. Thank goodness for the air fryer, but even after a few minutes, they were still soggy and bland.

I should have gotten the mashed potatoes. At least it would have been an excuse to...