Why is Jollibee so popular?

Jollibee is almost here in Vancouver. The latest gossip I heard from the Facebook Filipino group in British Columbia is its opening this February 25, 2022. This is unverified, so please keep your expectations in check. We have been waiting for this opening for more than two years now. My sister's boyfriend is so upset that it hasn't opened yet, and he couldn't eat Peach Mango Pie without driving to Seattle or Calgary.

Why is Jollibee popular?

I am sure people who are not familiar with Jollibee will wonder why the long line when it opens. They might try it and think the food is the same, maybe slightly better than McDonald's, but not think about it again. People will think, why is this jolly bee so popular that Filipinos and fans of the brand alike will endure lining up in the rain (or snow). Here is my attempt to answer those questions.

Answer: Nostalgia and a reminder of home

For Filipinos living abroad, Jollibee is a reminder of the Philippines.

Imagine a parent who had to leave their children and family behind to earn more money abroad, one of their precious memory with their kids was enjoying a meal at Jollibee. Seeing that bee in Vancouver (or anywhere else in the world) will bring back all those memories as they relish a Chicken Joy or Jolly Spaghetti.

For my siblings and me, it's nostalgia. I remember growing up and when it's my dad's payday. My mom would bring us to Bayan (town center) to grab groceries and eat at a Jollibee. Our only brother celebrated his 7th birthday in Jollibee, and our youngest sister celebrated her 2nd birthday in Jollibee, too (she cried and was scared of the mascot). So we had positive childhood memories with Jollibee, and seeing it so close to our new home is something to be happy and grateful for.

Answer: Good food

If it's your first time trying Jollibee and not familiar with any of the dishes, you will not go wrong with Chicken Joy (fried chicken) and be sure to try the Peach Mango Pie. It's a way better version of the pie thing they have at McDonald's.

Third HelloFresh Box for 2022

We received our HelloFresh box last Saturday. I ordered five meals, two of which we already had last year.

Sunday Breakfast and Tuesday Lunch: Chinese-Style Beef Bowls

This is a dish I ordered last year, and thanks to my past self, I added all the chilli garlic sauce this time, and it's so much better. Since we have it for breakfast, I added an egg as recommended. My favourite part of the dish is still the perfectly cooked vegetables.

Chinese-Style Beef Bowls with Garlic Rice and Green Veggies

HelloFresh Description: Chili garlic sauce adds a spicy and zesty kick to this bountiful beef bowl. Taking a pic for the 'gram? #putaneggonit!

Sunday Lunch and #MeatlessMonday Lunch: Mexican 'Un-Stuffed' Pepper Bowls

I surprisingly enjoyed this meal. I am food coma and guiltless about enjoying this meat-free dish.

Mexican 'Un-stuffed' Pepper Bowls

HelloFresh Description: A veggie-full twist on mom's stuffed peppers, bursting with Mexican-inspired flavours! Green onion-spiked basmati and saucy black beans round out these bowls for a satisfying dinner.

#MeatlessMonday Dinner and Wednesday Lunch: Spiced Portobello Fajitas

Too much work and needs more tortillas. I reheated half of the meal for Wednesday (after buying more tortillas) and ate it like a quesadilla. 

Spiced Portobello Fajitas with DIY Refried Black Beans and Lime Crema

Spiced Portobello Fajitas with DIY Refried Black Beans and Lime Crema

HelloFresh Description: Tender-crisp onions and peppers are paired with meaty portobello mushrooms and creamy DIY refried beans in these flavour-packed fajitas! Top with a dollop of refreshing lime crema, and you're good to go!

Tuesday Dinner and Thursday Lunch: Tomato Garlic Beef Spaghetti

We tried this dish last year, and it was great - it's delicious and easy to make.

Tomato Garlic Beef Spaghetti with Sweet Peppers

HelloFresh Description: We've figured out the secret to adding oomph to a simple meat sauce - a splash of soy! The saltiness is a subtle but tasty addition to succulent ground beef, aromatic Italian seasoning and juicy tomatoes. This colourful and flavourful dish is perfect for a night in!

Wednesday Dinner and Friday Lunch: Creamy Parmesan Gnocchi

It's, unfortunately, too salty.

Creamy Parmesan Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas

HelloFresh Description: Golden pan-fried gnocchi add a fun twist to the restaurant classic, Alfredo! Rich cream, melty cream cheese, zesty garlic, and savoury Parmesan make a luscious sauce for this vegetarian supper.

Lunch at Menya Raizo

We have errands to run around the corner of Cambie Street and West Broadway. Afterwards, we decided to enjoy a bowl of ramen in Menya Raizo.

I enjoyed my spicy bowl of miso ramen and the parfait we shared.

Spicy Miso Ramen
Half chicken and half pork with hard noodles. The spicy rich chicken broth ramen topped with corn, green onion, minced chicken, cabbage, bean sprouts, carrot, onion, and chive.

Yuzu Shio Ramen
Half chicken and half pork with hard noodles. The citrus flavoured clear chicken broth ramen topped with green onion, thin sliced Japanese leek, red onion, half seasoned soft boiled egg, seasoned bamboo shoots, and chilli pepper thread.

Spicy Takoyaki
Spicy mayo deep-fried octopus ball.

Raizo Sundae Parfair
Green tea & vanilla ice cream with mochi ball, red bean, black sweet sauce, roasted soybean powder, corn flakes, and whipped cream.

Menya Raizo menu checklist

For future me, here's a list of the Menya Raizo menu as of this post and what you have tried.

Ramen

☑️ Tori-pota Ramen (November 2019)

☑️ Gyokai Shoyu Ramen (March 2020)

☑️ Spicy Miso Ramen (this post)

☑️ Umami Shoyu Ramen (March 2020)

⬜ Umami Shio Ramen

☑️ Yuzu Shio Ramen (this post)

⬜ Vegetarian Miso Ramen

⬜  Vegetarian Tan Tan Ramen

Rice Bowl

⬜ Pork Cha-shu Don

⬜ Chicken Teriyaki-Mayo Don

⬜ Veggie Mapo Don

Side

⬜ Tebasaki Chicken Wings

☑️ Karaage (this post)

⬜ Gyoza

☑️ Cheese Mentai Gyoza (March 2020)

☑️ Takoyaki (September 2019)

☑️ Spicy Takoyaki (this post)

Dessert

☑️ Kuromitsu Kinako Ice Cream

☑️ Raizo Sundae Parfait (this post)

⬜ Raizo Strawberry Parfait

⬜ Mango Milk Pudding / Strawberry Milk Pudding / Roasted Tea Pudding / Matcha Pudding

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Lunar New Year meal in our Second HelloFresh Box for 2022

A HelloFresh box arrived at our front door Saturday morning, which means I get to cook five different meals guided by recipes curated by the HelloFresh team.

Saturday Dinner: Carb Smart Bacon and Spinach Salad

I prepared the Carb Smart Bacon and Spinach Salad for our Saturday dinner with Mushrooms and Shallots. Of course, bacon and Salad shouldn't belong in the same phrase, yet here we are.

Carb Smart Bacon and Spinach Salad with Mushrooms and Shallots

HelloFresh description: What is old is new again! Who knew that mum's sassy spinach salad with a warm bacon dressing would be so "carb smart"? Carb smart is based on a per-serving calculation of the recipe's carbohydrate amount.

Sunday Breakfast: Coconut Kidney Bean Curry

I woke up a bit late for breakfast yet still early for lunch, so I spent my Sunday morning cutting the vegetables to create this vegetarian meal. I added all the chilli, so it was pretty spicy. It's my first time using lemongrass. We had leftovers and enjoyed it Tuesday for lunch.

Coconut Kidney Bean Curry with Green Onion Fried Rice

HelloFresh Description: It's hard to resist the subtle sweetness of this lush kidney bean dish. The bright lemongrass cuts through the richness of coconut milk while chilis give it a nice little kick.

Monday Dinner: Creamy Garlic Chicken Thighs

After work, the last thing I want to do is cook dinner. Thankfully, this recipe doesn't involve a lot of slicing. I wish the recipe called for mashed potatoes because the creamy garlic sauce would cling really well on mashed potatoes. We only ate half the serving size and had the rest today for lunch.

Creamy Garlic Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Parmesan

HelloFresh Description: Tonight's twist on a meat-and-potatoes dinner is rich, creamy, and speedy! We've snuck some spinach into the sauce... the kids won't even notice!

Lunar New Year Dinner: Pork and Veggie Chow Mein

It's a happy coincidence that I ordered an East Asian-inspired dish with our HelloFresh box this week. I cooked the Pork and Veggie Chow Mein with Toasted Sesame Seeds for dinner last Tuesday, and we enjoyed it with our leftovers from Happy Noodle House. Half of the Chow Mein will be enjoyed on Thursday for lunch.

Pork and Veggie Chow Mein with Toasted Sesame Seeds

HelloFresh Description: Practice your chopstick skills on this deliciously sweet, spicy, salty chow mein dish in time for the lunar new year!

p.s. I didn't read the HelloFresh description until I wrote my blog post, so I didn't know they added this meal specifically with Lunar New Year in mind.

Wednesday Dinner: Shrimp Diavolo Linguine

We ordered this dish last year and loved the heat. Unfortunately, they forgot one ingredient - the Italian Seasoning. It's pretty bland with no seasoning, but as such is life. We'll eat half of the linguine for lunch on Friday.

Shrimp Diavolo Linguine with DIY Chili Oil

HelloFresh Description: Chili oil brings restaurant-worthy flavour to this simple but elevated seafood pasta. Steamy linguine noodles hold onto the golden seared shrimp and rich tomato sauce for a perfect bite every time.

I have another HelloFresh box coming this Saturday. Can't wait!

Lunar New Year Lunch from Happy Noodle House

Lunar New Year is such a great excuse to eat delicious food. Last year, we had food delivered from Grand Chinese Restaurant in Yaletown. The year before last we enjoyed dinner from Lin Chinese Cuisine.

If you checked out those two posts, I am quite consistent with our dishes. I ordered the same thing for lunch today from Happy Noodle House.

Lunch from Happy Noodle House

8-pieces Xiao Long Bao

I liked the Xiao Long Bao. It's close to the one from Lin Chinese Cuisine and to think this has been delivered. I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Beef Rolls

Our favourite Beef Roll has been from Peaceful Restaurant and this comes second. The primary difference is the actual roll is thinner and flakier from Peaceful.

Pan-Fried Pork Buns

I still prefer the Pan-Fried Pork Buns from Lin Chinese Cuisine. This one doesn't have enough filling inside.

Tan-Tan Noodles (with Hand-Pulled Noodles)

It's so spicy! I liked it. The best Tan-Tan noodle dish I've had in Vancouver is from Szechuan Chili. It has a more peanut spicy flavour.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Dessert at D’oro Gelato e Caffè – Denman Street

After our delicious lunch at Kintaro Ramen, we walked the stretch of Denman Street looking for desserts and ended up at D’oro Gelato e Caffè – Denman Street.

Cake and Brownie from D’oro Gelato e Caffè – Denman Street

Ricotta Pistachio Cake slice from D’oro Gelato e Caffè – Denman Street

Gluten-Free Brownie from D’oro Gelato e Caffè – Denman Street

The brownie tastes like Ferrero chocolate. I love it!

Lunch at Kintaro Ramen

Happy Saturday! We had errands to run in Downtown Vancouver today and decided to have ramen for lunch. We went through the list of the best ramen in Vancouver and had lunch at Kintaro Ramen.

I enjoyed the Miso ramen more than I thought I would. This has become my favourite ramen shop for Miso Ramen. Next time, I'll try making it spicy.

Barbeque Pork Miso Ramen
Kintaro's best. Ramen noodles in soup are flavoured with soybean pastes from four different Japanese regions and twelve spices with beans.

Barbeque Pork Miso Ramen has bean sprout, bamboo shoot, green onion, and I chose half & half of fat and lean bbq pork.

Shio Ramen
Ramen in a simple and mild soup made from pork-bone stock and natural sea salt.

The BBQ Pork Shio Ramen has bean sprout, bamboo shoots, green onions, boiled egg, and half & half BBQ pork.

Gyoza

Can't wait to try more delicious ramen!