People queued overnight just to get a taste of this fast food outlet
After toying with the idea of opening a Canadian outlet for a couple of years, Filipino fast food giant Jollibee is finally welcoming diners in Winnipeg.
Fans have been standing in line and braving sub-zero temperatures over the weekend for Jollibee's signature fried chicken and sweet spaghetti.
The weather on opening day, just before the weekend, dipped down to -25 C (-13 F) -- but that didn't deter some hungry fans from waiting six hours to get in the door.
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The first customer in the door had waited in line overnight from 10:30 p.m., Jollibee posted on Facebook.
The Filipino fast food icon initially pegged Toronto for its Canadian debut, but ended up having to scrap those plans because it had "difficulty finding a good location," Jollibee told shareholders last year.
Going by the enthusiastic reception, it looks like it was a good idea to choose Winnipeg. Just to deal with the crowd, the outlet has had to issue tickets to people in line, and put a price cap of $50 on each order.
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Some local news stations reviewing the food appeared slightly confused by a couple of the dishes -- in particular 'Jolli Spaghetti,' which comes with cut up hot dogs in its slightly sweetened bolognaise sauce.
One of the hosts from Virgin Radio Winnipeg remarked: "There are hot dogs in my spaghetti...which I love!"
Jollibee may be new in Canada, but it has 3,000 outlets worldwide, of which 750 are in the Philippines.
Filipinos in Winnipeg have been celebrating the city's coup:
And if that isn't enough excitement, let us leave you with a Jollibee toy singing his song "I'm Your Friend," sung at kids' birthday parties in outlets in the Philippines.
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Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
