We visited the 'McDonald's of the Philippines,' which serves spaghetti and fried chicken alongside its burgers — here's what it's like

A Filipino fast-food behemoth is gearing up to take over the US. 

It seems there's a Jollibee on every corner in the Philippines — in fact, it's one of the few chains that has successfully maintained market dominance over McDonald's in its home country. Even as McDonald's ramps up its Asian expansion, Jollibee has held its own with 978 locations compared to McDonald's 521. 

Now, Jollibee's is coming for McDonald's on its home turf. The chain currently has 36 locations in the US and is opening new restaurants in states like Illinois and Florida this year. 

The brand holds a special place in the heart of many Filipino expats. As Jian DeLeon wrote in First We Feast, "For the millions of Filipinos abroad, what Jollibee offers [is] a nostalgic taste of home at a price most of us can swallow."

We, on the other hand, go in not as Filipino food experts, but as two fast-food loving New Yorkers eager to see how the growing chain compares to the competition. 

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Jollibee has 36 locations across the US, mostly in California. Luckily, there's one in Woodside, Queens, right off the subway.

The place was packed when we arrived around 1 p.m. The lunch rush was in full swing, and scouting for a seat proved to be quite the task. Fortunately, an employee alerted us as soon as two spots became available.

Ordering was a breeze, though we were a bit thrown by the menu's breadth of options. While we are fast-food connoisseurs, we don't typically see spaghetti served alongside fried chicken and burgers at American chains. The cashier was extremely friendly and accommodating, even when we came back twice to order more items we previously forgot.