Taste Test: Are Jollibee's Chicken Nuggets Worth the Hype?

(SPOT.ph) We've all got our fave Jollibee orders. Chickenjoy, Palabok, Burger Steak, and more, with the matching letter-number combo memorized, of course. But it looks like the happy bee is shaking things up with the introduction of chicken nuggets. That's right, the behemoth fried-chicken store has launched chicken in the form of nuggets. We tried it out to see if it deserves the hype it's been getting. 

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Are Jollibee's new chicken nuggets worth the hype?

Jollibee Chicken Nuggets: Price

First things first: how much is it? You can get a six-piece meal, with fries and a drink, starting at P105. For about P120 you get that as a Kiddie Meal (nuggets and a toy? Your pamangkin will love you forever). If you're in it to win it, grab a solo bucket of 10 nuggies starting at P186. Note that prices may vary depending on the branch and your customizations.  

Jollibee Chicken Nuggets: Taste Test Review

We ordered a 10-piece bucket that came with two dips, Sriracha Mayo and BBQ Ketchup. Try as we might, we couldn't find the Ranch dip available in any of the branches near us in Quezon City but, hey, at least we've got something to look forward to. 

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At first glance, the nuggets look like any other regular nuggies, with a light brown coloring and crisp-looking exterior. Once we picked them up though, we were pleasantly surprised. Size-wise, they were decently thick and chunky, with each one taking up a bit of space in our tiny palms. 

The first bite was sans sauce to get a good taste. The nugget was appropriately crisp and dry outside, with light umami, giving way to just-right juicy meat. This is where the main difference is: Jollibee's chicken nuggets genuinely taste like chicken, unlike the usual overly processed counterparts. While it wasn't like a fillet or anything of the sort, you could tell the meat was chunky chicken.  

Now on to the sauces. The BBQ dip was more on the sweet side than tangy, which is not exactly our preference. Thankfully, the slight tang we got had that proper BBQ-sauce zing. The Sriracha Mayo we predict to be the crowd-fave, especially with the heat-loving public (in food, not the weather). The spice was more pronounced than the creaminess of the mayo, with a heat that builds with every dip. As to how it fares with the more low-key flavors of the nuggies, well, you can definitely expect that most of the taste in each bite will come from the sauces.

Pro tip: the subtle flavors of the chicken nuggets go great with Jollibee's gravy, too. We mean, that gravy is so good it could pair with anything after all. All we're saying is maybe Jollibee could also look into a meal option with rice and gravy, too!