Welcome Back, Jollibee!

It's like magnet. It pulls you in without you knowing; that even physical limitation will not stop you from being drawn to it. It sucks you in and the next thing you know, you're there being smothered by a crowd of other "iron" not willing to let go.

Yes, JOLLIBEE is like magnet. It attracts you with an invisible force. No matter how long the lines are, you will still go and you wait your turn for a taste of what you grew up with... the Chickenjoy. Or maybe the Yum Burger. Or the Burger Steak. Or the Jolly Spaghetti. We will not even attempt to explain Jollibee's charm and legacy to Filipinos here because if you are a Filipino, you already know. (For other nationalities, Jollibee is like the Philippines' McDonald's. It's one of the biggest fast-food chains in the Philippines, if not the biggest.)

The girls learned that Jollibee is opening in Riyadh from random friends in Facebook. We were excited for a taste of the familiar Chickenjoy but truth be told, no matter how we were salivating, we are not that hell-bent in going because of the crowd. We imagined the crowd on opening week and we said, "Forget it!" The Filipino community in Riyadh has been waiting for Jollibee for quite a while now after the branch in Batha closed a few years ago. Some troop to Al-Khobar or Jeddah and get their Jabi fix there. Sometimes even bringing the pot bucket of gold chicken for eager family and friends in the Kingdom's capital. We felt deprived and neglected that among all the other areas in Saudi Arabia, Jollibee was nowhere to be found in the capital. Why oh why?

And then we wonder no more. Jollibee is now open in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia! The first branch, located in Batha, opened last February 6 and the crowd is, as we guessed, crazy! Crazy in numbers as lines snaked its way to nearby establishments. We shunned the opening day but we can't wait a little longer for the crowd to disperse into the following months so we thought of almost impossible ways to cut in (including conjuring spells like Harry Potter's "Evanesco!" to make the crowd disappear ). We sighed and wished and hoped. Until, an invitation came! (This is one of those times we really felt super proud writing The Pink Tarha!) The Pink Tarha ladies were invited by Joliibee KSA's marketing officer Mr. Billy Junn Tabares to visit the newly-opened branch in Batha, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia! We were overwhelmed with gratitude!

Scratch that, we were not only overwhelmed. We were beyond joy! We were shouting and crying of this new-found luck. Eyecandy was so jubilant that she said she's excited to meet the mascot whose name is Henrietta. We were all like, "Who is Henrietta?!?!?!" Apparently, she was referring to Hetty Spaghetti. LOL! (Please forgive E. She did not grow up in the Philippines.) We are so happy with the invitation that the four Pink Tarha ladies (all of us!) decided to go out together after a long time. (S and E are usually the only ones going out ever since M transferred office but for Jollibee, we are "all for 1, 1 for all!" Lol.) We restrained ourselves from going during the opening day for the fear of stampede but we decided to go on a Wednesday afternoon, after the 3pm prayer. We thought we can escape the crowd because there was no line on the entrance but we were amazed that here were already lines in the counter! There's one counter for the bachelor area and another for the family. They were both jam-packed!

Ooookay, they're not kidding about the lines!

The family section

We were overwhelmed with the hospitality of Billy and his assistant, Cesar. We also got to meet the managers and staff of Jollibee Batha. We skipped the long and many lines in the counter (Sorry kids, but you should blame those who ordered 20 pieces of Spaghetti and 10 buckets of Chicken Joy... they are prolly having a Jabi party, hehe), we ate for free (but we insisted in paying, promise! Er, did we? :P) and we got take-out too! And the most important part of all, we met Jollibee (the mascot)... and took pictures with him too! (Again children, we apologize for tearing Jollibee away from you but you see, we're still kids. Kids at heart. No, really. :) We are so honored to be graced by Jollibee's presence. Okay, you might be thinking we're such lucky ladies. Indeed, we are! :)

Guess what we ate!

Lugi si Jollibee sa'min! :P
(L-R: Sundrenched | Eyecandy | Maryhadalittlehump | Shoegarfreeruby)

The infamous Chickenjoy (and a sign for TPTL)!

More space for dine-in customers

JOLLIBEE!!! Can he dance too?!
(Our friend G's coat served as our signal that we are The PINK Tarha. Lol!)

With our wonderful hosts Billy and Cesar... a huge thank you!!!
(Spot Cesar on this entry whom R unwittingly took a photo of in her visit to Jollibee Jeddah two years ago.)

Anyway, we enjoyed our dining experience in Jollibee and we get to interview Billy. We're not publishing the interview transcript, of course. So the next entry will answer almost all questions you have about Jollibee in Riyadh. (We can't cram it in this entry because it'll get longer than the line in Jollibee... or maybe not.)