Mine vs Jollibee: Food expert shares tips to improve fast food chicken, spaghetti

MANILA, Philippines — A few days before the National Fried Chicken Day on July 6, popular YouTube food content creator Joshua Weissman gave Jollibee Chicken and Spaghetti a try.

He both liked and did not like the popular fast food meal that most Filipinos grew up with. 

The Filipino favorite took centerstage on Weissman's popular challenge series "But Better," where he recreates popular dishes and tweaks them to his taste. 

"I'm excited to put it in my mouth and masticate until I understand what the flavors are like. So I can then bust it wide open," he explained. 

Weissman said he has never tried eating Jollibee food, but he has friends who love it. 

"I do this with respect and love and I understand this is a big part of culture in the Philippines. It's a big part of Filipino food and that this is also an homage toward that," he added. 

On his 10-minute vlog, Weismann first did a taste test on the popular combination meal. 

"I know this is a big thing and I want to be respectful but this is a little weird," Weissman said. 

He was referring to the sweet-style spaghetti that has always been a bone of contention for most non-Filipino food reviewers on YouTube. 

"Why does this exist? It's so sweet. It seems like Chef Boyardee. It's like unholy and kind of good at the same time," he added. 

He liked the gravy and chicken, particularly the spicy variant. 

"The flavors, they're really nice, straightforward. I get the hype. I really do," he remarked. 

Weismann proceeded to recreate the meal and even gave a tip on how to make chicken as crispy as it can be.

"The way you coat is what makes your recipe. If your fried chicken sucks, it's probably for a lot of reasons but a big one is the coating technique," Weissman shared. 

To achieve it, he said one must mimic what a chicken shop has which is drippings in their dredge. 

"Remember, if it looks good dredged, it's gonna look good fried," he quipped. 

After cooking the spaghetti, chicken and gravy, he called his Filipino friend Dan to do the blind taste test. 

Dan shared a familiar story about how he would have Jollibee after going to church, sort of a "thank you" from his mother for coming to mass. 

After tasting both takes, Dan's pick was not a surprise for most Filipinos. He liked Weissman's version of Jollibee chicken. The spaghetti, however, was the tie-breaker. 

Dan described the spaghetti's taste as something that sticks to his mind. He described Weissman's spaghetti, which used his homemade hotdogs, as a little bit acidic. People on the comments section suggested that this may be because Weissman used tomato sauce instead of banana sauce. 

Weissman said that the Jollibee Chicken and Spaghetti episode is one of his favorite competitions for the "But Better" series. He added that it was the first time in the history of the series that a dish gets a gold star. 

"You can put the flavor on the chicken but you can't take away the culture and nostalgia," Weismann said.  — Video from Joshua Weissman via YouTube