Jolibee is has recently opened their second branch in Khalidiya (the first being in Sarawat – Jeddah International) , however this was the first time I would try their fare, and I must admit, the brand was entirely new to me ( despite being one of the biggest fast-food chain in the world with 1,655 stores worldwide).

I first mistook the joint for a honey shop. Something to do with the bee in the logo perhaps? it reminded me of honey I had as a kid. I’m sure the company made honey at one point! anyway I digress..

If  you are driving down Rawdah Street the frontage is quite small, so it looks more like a shop, this is all the more confusing as FedEX occupy the corner shop which divides Jollibee in to it’s ‘L’ Shaped interior, however side street access is available for both singles and families, its not hard to miss, just look for the giant bee standing outside the restaurant.

The chain is actually from the Philippines. and so Jollibee is an ‘American-style’ fast-food restaurant with Filipino-influenced dishes. This explains the bizarre mix of fried chicken, burgers, creamy macaroni soup, noodles, corned beef and steak. I decided to give their burger a go as it seemed to be the most prominent on the menu, and being a fan of burgers in general I was keen to see if this one might be different in any way from the norm.

The interior is beautifully done (for a fast food restaurant), with bright coloured furniture, booth and table top seating, so in form it is a lot like McDonalds, right down to the bins, but the burgers are quite..quite different. I ordered the ‘Champ’, this is a double cheese burger which came in at 13 SR. If you’re not that hungry the normal burger is 7 SR, or 8 SR with Cheese.

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The Rosewood Corniche has a great selection of restaurants that many of you may already have already visited. From Ginza i Chome, to the famous ‘ Noodles’ which serves a mix of ‘traditional and modern Chinese dishes’. They also have a more European restaurant for those not too keen on Chinese food; in Ramadan the ‘Habsburg’ runs a great Iftar which is definitely worth checking out. The attention to detail far surpasses Iftar we have had in other venues in town.

The restaurant overlooks the Corniche and Red Sea, and a visit is worth it for the view alone (just make sure you are facing the ocean!). The sweets are particularly good at the buffet, and if its sweets you’re after Vienesse Delicacies are also served in ‘Soleil’ which ‘brings the charm and style of Vienna to Jeddah with its beautifully crafted interiors.’

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