Non-Fridate Solo Adventures: Jollibee Hashbrown Burger Review

Note: This is the first blog post I am making for Fridate. I'll try to post about my non-Fridate food adventures when I'm going solo. I only snapped a couple of photos for this post, but I'll try to have more pics in future adventures. Hope you enjoy! -lj

I was browsing my Facebook account this morning while waiting for the stock market to open up (yep, I also try to trade/invest in stocks, but I digress) and I came about pictures posted by my friend. It was apparently from Jollibee as per his captions and instead of the usual hamburger bun, two hashbrown patties sandwiched its beef counterpart. That and the usual side of cheese.

Being a breakfast fan (bacon strips, pancakes and hashbrowns to be more specific), I was intrigued by this new burger. It's a shame that McDonald's stores only serve hashbrowns until 10:30 in the morning, so I thought it was a win for all hashbrown lovers that Jollibee was selling a form of it beyond that time. I was looking forward to trying it out once I finished my errands.

After a (very) early lunch, a long trip to G. Araneta area and back, I stopped by Jollibee Greenmeadows for a quick snack. Here it is, boys and girls: The Jollibee Hashbrown Burger!

The sandwich comes in a box, similar to the Mcdonald's Filet O'Fish or Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

If I remember correctly, the sandwich costs P64 ala carte. P80 if you add a regular drink.

For those who want to try it out and at the same time is very, very hungry, a friendly warning: your favorite Jollibee outlet might not be making this in advance as you order so you might have to wait a while. I was in the Greenmeadows outlet at around 4:15 and I had to wait about fifteen minutes for the burger (they informed me about this but I was willing to wait).

It's your typical, standard issue burger minus bread buns plus 2 hashbrown patties. No special sauce btw!

As what's written in the box, Jollibee claims to have the potato portion of the burger "baked". I'm not sure how they do this exactly, but it the result leaves a lot to be desired. The hashbrown patties are crisp on the edges, but the center portion falls apart making the burger hard to eat. The wax paper holding the burger together does little in its purpose. What's more disappointing is that there is a slightly burnt taste that lingers even if the hashbrowns looks like they were cooked just right. Further the hashbrowns aren't salted, so ask for some salt or a lot of ketchup when ordering this.

The concept of the Hashbrown Burger is good in my opinion. It is definitely thinking outside the box. The execution of the said concept, however, was lacking. To improve this product, I think Jollibee should scrap the "baked" hashbrowns for deep fried ones (similar to McD's). The contrasting texture of the crispy potato and the beef would have been a good one. Health proponents might bash this idea, but they shouldn't be eating Jollibee in the first place if they want to eat healthy.

I'll probably give this a 5/10. You might want to try this one out just for the sake of trying. I'd say that a Regular Yum! with Cheese value meal will be a more satisfying order. Of course, I have to say that one Jollibee store's food will be different from another, so your experience will most likely vary.

Yays

• Good Concept
• The Jollibee beef patty is the same, good ol' burger patty we've all loved and enjoyed in the Regular Yum! and Burger Steak (all time favorite of mine)

Boos

• The baked concept is a disaster
• Burnt/smoky aftertaste
• The burger falls apart in the middle

P.S. Without thinking it through I actually ordered a side of fries with my Hashbrown Burger. BIG MISTAKE. Unless you are carboloading and/or love potatoes so much, you'll probably want to skip the fries entirely.