Friday 29 January 2010

Congleton Quick review



Congleton
Barn Road
CONGLETON
Cheshire
CW12 1LJ
I hadn't even set out to do a review when I spotted this 82 seater reastaurant that sits on the edge of town with stiff competition from nearby McDonalds and a large branch of Tesco boasting its own cafe. It was a split second decision about which way to turn, I made the right choice. This restaurant includes drive thru functionality with a covered serving window. This restaurant is of sturdy construction featuring the 'tower design'. In this quick review, I just managed to trial a ZT.

I visited at about 2.10 pm on the 28th January 2010 following the lunch time rush

Decor wise , this branch is still awaiting a re-vamp, but here is a restaurant that has been loved by both staff and clientèle. It does not look tired anywhere but could do with a banquet table. There is a large clear space in front of of the counter from which you can peruse the menu. Unusually this restaurant features an airlock (ie two front door separated by a small vestibule) this meant the ambient temperature of the restaurant remained pleasantly constant. Another nice feature was the 'Trophy cabinet' also in the vestibule this glass fronted cabinet about foot by 3 foot showcased the range of box meals on offer.

I did visit out of peak hours, so maybe they'd had a chance to tidy up after the lunch rush but this place was spotless, utterly impeccable standards of hygiene were being adhered to. The staff seemed all to be young males and served me promptly in a courteous manner.

Zinger tower:
For once the construction was perfect and no changes were required, portions of both mayo and salsa were spot on. The lettuce was crisp and green as always. However the bread was a tad dry and as was the chicken on the last few bites. I would give this a 6/10

The Anciliary Items Island was this well stocked with, Sporks, freshen ups, napkins salt sachets & straws. Pepper it seems has become an increasingly rare commodity in KFC restaurants......is it being phased out?

Overall 6.5/10

Sunday 24 January 2010

Who's The Daddy? Big Daddy Box Meal Review

Apologies to any avid fans out there, the team here at KFB have been somewhat lazy and lackluster of late but today I am here to break the deadlock with a post of epic proportions...and when I say epic, I truly mean it. It occurred to me recently that there was an item on the KFC menu that has not received the attention it deserves. Of course, I am talking about the largest item designed for consumption by a single person - the Big Daddy Box Meal. It's time this bad boy had a full review!

The Big Daddy burger has actually been around for quite a whiIe, originally introduced to the menu as a TLO alongside the fillet tower and zinger tower meals. These days the Big Daddy burger has secured it's own long term spot on the menu, but as part of a box meal in direct competition to the Fully Loaded and Wicked Zinger box meals. I ventured to The Plaza KFC branch on Oxford Street to sample the Big Daddy.

On first impressions, you'd think there was little or no difference between the Big Daddy and other box meals. Just like the FL and WZ box meals, you'll get the burger, fries, 1 small side of your choice and 1 piece of OR chicken (or 2 hot wings with the WZ). "What makes this the so-called daddy then??" I hear you cry. Well, the real difference is in the burger itself.

The Big Daddy burger contains a few ingredients that make it stand out, and one in particular that is found in no other item on the current menu. As well as the staples (kaiser bun, OR chicken breast, hash brown, cheese slice, lettuce, ketchup) the Big Daddy also contains a slice of fresh tomato, creamy peppered mayo and most important of all - bacon. These are the additional ingredients that have earnt this burger it's title based on sheer size, but more importantly, can it earn the KFB seal of approval in terms of taste??

Biting into the Big Daddy, the bacon is not immediately evident. This will come down to the amount of bacon in the burger, which may vary from restaurant to restaurant. On this occasion however, I would have liked some more bacon in my burger - especially seeing as it is the key ingredient here. After a few bites, the flavour of the bacon did reach my palette and it certainly added a distinct texture and savoury smokey note to an already great burger. Another element which took me by surprise was the creamy pepper mayo, which seems to be borrowed from the Mini Fillet burger and added another interesting touch of flavour.

All in all, I enjoyed the Big Daddy burger and the new flavours it offered. My only concern, is the price. At well over the £5 mark, the BDBM is certainly expensive; granted, you get large fries and large drink as standard, but when all is considered the burger is really not so much larger than say, a Fillet Tower or Zinger Tower. If you are a big bacon fan, or specifically have a penchant for the creamy pepper mayo found in the Mini Fillet, (and you're happy to stump up the extra change) then the BDBM may well be for you. However, this blogger will be sticking to what he knows, and loves, best - a Fully Loaded box meal, large enough to satisfy any hungry adult and leave change from a fiver in your pocket.