A new fast-food giant is coming to Australia. Its unusual ingredients aren’t the only talking point

Resumen detallado

A new chain will enter Australia’s crowded fast-food chicken market after wowing Anthony Albanese at one of its Manila stores. We put some of its dishes to the test.

Manila: There’s a new contender in Australia’s competition for chicken shop dominance.

Meet Jollibee, the human-sized bee in a white chef’s hat, red blazer and black bow tie. It’s the Philippines’ answer to Ronald McDonald and is known for viral dance moves. And now, Jollibee is coming to Victoria and NSW.

The Philippine chain on Sunday signed exclusive franchise agreements to introduce its fast food and characters to Australian families. Under the deal, 35 restaurants are set to come to Australia in the next five years, a $60 million investment that should create about 900 jobs.

Jollibee will try to win over a crowded market with its signature fried chicken: the “Chickenjoy” is a bone-in piece that typically comes with a side of rice and is best served with gravy.

But other menu items may prove more intriguing to get Australian diners through the door. “Jolly Spaghetti” comes doused in tomato sauce that’s made with banana ketchup for extra sweetness, topped with ground meat, sliced hot dogs and grated cheese. Burger steaks are another option – beef patties drenched in mushroom and beef gravy, served on a mound of garlic rice – and a peach and mango pie rivals its apple counterpart for dessert.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in Manila for the 2026 ASEAN conference, was greeted by Jollibee on Sunday, when he popped by the “Jollibee Biopolis” for lunch with a side of fast-food diplomacy. Given food-based photoshoots can become a trap for politicians, Albanese had a polite bite of a burger before moving on to marvel at the operation.

The Australian investment is the latest expansion for the listed $US2.5 billion Jollibee Group, which began as a small ice-cream parlour in Quezon City, and now serves various menu items from 2000 stores across 17 countries.

Over the past 15 years, it has pushed into markets in the United States, United Kingdom, parts of Europe and the Middle East alongside Asia, and owns a range of other chains, including Compose Coffee, which chief executive…

Inicio del artículo, extracto de The Sydney Morning Herald. Para leer el resto, abra el artículo en el sitio del medio.