We visited the 'McDonald's of the Philippines,' which serves spaghetti and fried chicken alongside its burgers — here's what it's like

• Jollibee is an iconic Filipino fast-food chain that serves spaghetti, fried chicken, and more.
• While the chain dominates in the Philippines, it is also growing in the United States, where it has more than 30 locations. 
• We visited a Jollibee's in Queens, New York, and walked away convinced that it is a chain with the potential to compete with American fast-food greats. 

A Filipino fast-food behemoth is gearing up to take over the United States.

It seems there's a Jollibee on every corner in the Philippines — in fact, it's one of the few chains that has successfully maintained market dominance over McDonald's in its home country. Even as McDonald's ramps up its Asian expansion, Jollibee has held its own with nearly double the number of locations than McDonald's has in the country.

Now, Jollibee is coming for McDonald's on its home turf. The chain has more than 30 locations in the US and has a majority stake in American burger chain Smashburger. The company said it plans to open hundreds of new Jollibee stores around the world in 2018, aiming to finish out the year with roughly 4,200 stores worldwide, up from 3,797 at the end of 2017. 

On Friday, Jollibee announced that it was planning a $12.4 million investment in chef Rick Bayless' Tortas Frontera fast-casual chain, Restaurant Business reported. Jollibee will have a 47% stake in the chain. 

Jollibee holds a special place in the heart of many Filipino expats. Jian DeLeon wrote in First We Feast that the chain offered such people "a nostalgic taste of home at a price most of us can swallow."

We, on the other hand, enter not as Filipino food experts but as two fast-food-loving New Yorkers eager to see how the growing chain compares to the competition:

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Jollibee has more than 30 locations across the US, mostly in California. Luckily, there's one in Woodside, Queens, right off the subway.

The place was packed when we arrived at about 1 p.m. The lunch rush was in full swing, and scouting for a seat proved to be quite the task. Fortunately, an employee alerted us as soon as two spots became available.

Ordering was a breeze, though we were a bit thrown by the menu's breadth of options. While we are fast-food connoisseurs, we don't typically see spaghetti served alongside fried chicken and burgers at American chains. The cashier was extremely friendly and accommodating, even when we came back twice to order more items we previously forgot.