Cajun Boxmaster Review

After a few lackluster Time Limited Offers, (TLO) let's hope that KFC have started 2013 as they mean to go on, for no sooner had the new year started, KFC had brought back a KFB TLO favourite with a twist.......Introducing the Cajun Boxmaster:

At £3.79 for a burger alone or £4.79 for a meal this represents good value for money which I was first able to sample on Saturday 12th of January at the Congleton branch.

For hardened fans of the letter F there may be some disappointment as this product is prepared with a Griddled and not fried chicken breast, and my server told me he was unable to prepare it with a Zinger fillet.

My meal arrived neatly packaged, but straight away the packaging itself is very minimalistic and plain, not really giving any added visual stimulation to the food that awaits, although this is in line with an ecologically sound packaging initiative, perhaps some added colour would help?

The wrap that is used to enclose the contents of the burger is the same size used for the standard line of twisters and is well proportioned to contain two end to end mini fillets that compile the Twister. However when trying to contain a single chicken breast as in this case either a lot of superfluous wrap ends up at the bottom of the product sullying you last few bites, of the top of the product contains a couple of inches of limp wrap concealing the contents until you've taken your first few bites.

Once in though, this was a good product, apart from the aforementioned wrap issue this was well constructed with the right amount of each constituent part, fresh lettuce and diced tomato wreathed the chicken which was plump and juicy with no hint of dryness, the char grilled taste was really evident as part of the overall symphony of flavours and complimented perfectly the fruity and lightly spiced Cajun sauce, whilst the hash brown just gave some extra substance.

For me personally it was hard to get past the lack of coating on the chicken and so i felt it was lacking that certain indescribable satisfaction. However it must be said that from an unbiased perspective this is tasty product and shows KFC is really innovating again.

If only a range of box masters were on the menu full time!

VALUE 7/10
TASTE 7.5/10
INNOVATION 6.5/10

KFB Tries the Double Down

Nearly two years after its US debut, KFB found itself in Miami, ostensibly to go to Wrestlemania 2012 but with the real reason being to sample the incredible Double Down Chicken Sandwich we'd heard so much about. This is a burger that's created  real waves in the fried Chicken world and has appeared in branches around the globe including Japan, Australia and the Philippines.

For those of you who haven't heard of the Double Down, what I am about to describe should astound and delight you in equal measure. The double down sandwich may be a misnomer, for calling this a sandwich implies the presence of bread. This radically bold concept dispenses with the bread and instead uses two fried chicken breasts to 'sandwich' a delicious filling of cheese, sauce and bacon to produce one of the greatest 'burgers' KFB has ever sampled.

Behold the KFC Double Down

For those of you who haven't visited the US or have partners, wives or girlfriends who wouldn't be amused by, let alone tolerate, countless hours of what they would describe as wasted expensive foreign holiday time searching for a KFC, let me explain that the distribution of KFC's in the US is quite far removed from our UK High Street / Retail Park model. Even in a busy American city centre, branches of KFC are hard to come by and so it was only after a long walk that we found the one we were looking for.

I scanned the menu and found to my horror the Double Down didn't feature, with only the measly looking 'Doublicious' burger on the menu. Still holding out hope to the very end I asked my server if they they had the 'Double Down' and she said they did. That answer, far from eliciting joy, produced a nervous wait whilst I worried whether my Queen's English had been misunderstood by someone more used to deciphering the southern Florida drawl and whether or not I would be presented with the aforementioned, closely named but clearly sub par 'Doublicious' burger.

However, the genuine article was presented to me and it was some time before my pleasure at simply seeing it was replaced by the desire to devour it........and I was not disappointed.

And for those of you who didn't believe the Wrestlemania cover story here's my best Hulk Hogan impression:

Nacho Stacker Box Meal Review

Yep, it's that time again. TLO time. The latest and greatest to come out of the secret labs at KFC UK HQ is the Nacho Stacker Box Meal. Promotional material for this new release has appeared all over London in the last week or 2 and I have to say, I was quite excited when I spotted it. The poster shows off the new product and describes it as "Packing a mean crunch", while packaging uses the line "It's crunch time". Personally I prefer the image posted on the KFC Facebook page, with a simple, sparse design and the line "Nacho + Burger...there is a god". Hopefully this new streamlined and refined style will continue because it feels quite effective to me.

After the initial excitement, I took a closer look at the details - this is essentially a Fully Loaded Box Meal, except with the new Nacho Stacker burger. The burger itself is also very similar to the Fillet Tower, with the addition of a nacho layer and a slightly different salsa-type sauce (more on this later). I felt a little disappointed that there wasn't more to it, but was keen to give it a go (hoping that it would at least come up on par with the Nacho Cheese Tower Burger that I had in Australia).

I tried the Nacho Stacker at the Brighton KFC restaurant (branch review coming soon!) where the service was swift and I was soon sat in the upper level seating ready to tuck in. The unboxing...

As expected, the Nacho Stacker looks nearly identical to a regular Fillet Tower. The crispy corn nacho can clearly be seen above the hash brown, and the new sauce oozing out at the base. I could immediately tell by the dark, rich red colour of the sauce that this wasn't regular ketchup or zinger salsa. It was time to take a bite and find out how it tasted.

*CRUNCH* As my jaw clamped down, the satisfying sound of cracking nacho could be heard, certainly matching expectations set by the promotional material. The nacho layer added a slightly different chewing texture, but didn't seem to add much to the flavour. I guess a nacho isn't much else besides corn and salt, so this is to be expected. In stark contrast, the new sauce is full of flavour and reminded me of a tangy but cool salsa with a hint of mango chutney, ever so slightly sweet. I enjoyed it but did wonder if an overly generous amount of salsa (which can happen sometimes) might be a bit too much. One to watch out for.

All in all, the sauce and nacho texture combined with classic Original Recipe chicken and hash brown made for an enjoyable meal. Interestingly, the salsa in my burger was under the chicken, but in the promotional material the sauce appears to be on top of the nacho. This may have been an error in the construction of my meal, and I wonder if having the salsa on top of the nacho would give it more of a complete nacho/salsa experience and while making more of the nacho layer (although there is a risk of soggyness).

It's good to see some new, interesting ingredients coming into the mix rather than just a different sauce every now and again. A step in the right direction, and although the Nacho Stacker won't be winning any awards here at KFB, I'm hungrily looking forward to what the next TLO might bring.


Taste: 8/10
Value: 6/10
Innovation: 6/10

OVERALL: 7/10

July 4th in Japan Means All You Can Eat KFC

While most Americans were busy celebrating Independence Day, it seems Japan had a different reason to be jumping for joy. KFC in Japan chose this monumental day to roll out an all-you-can-eat KFC buffet to its 381 restaurants nationwide.

As reported by Kotaku, "On July 4 between 1pm and 4pm, you could shell out ¥1,200 (US$15) for 45 minutes of original recipe face stuffing". This seems like a pretty good deal, with the average person managing 7.6 pieces of chicken (not to mention fries and soft drinks). Value for money indeed!

We have to admit that we're pretty jealous here at KFB, the idea of an all-you-can-eat KFC buffet is something we've only dreamt of.

Streetwise Cheese Top Burger Arrives in the Philippines

In a stroke of genius/moment of madness, KFC in the Philippines has seen fit to introduce a new addition to their Streetwise menu...a cheese topped burger. That's right.

The first and only cheese topped bun burger with KFC’s signature Original Recipe chicken patty with rich Garlic Parmesan dressing. Satisfy your craving with KFC's new Cheese Top Burger!

The description and promotional shot there are taken directly from the KFC Philippines Facebook page. Here at KFB we are skeptical as to whether this burger is, strictly speaking, "Streetwise". The essence of street food is the ability to be consumed on the move, which would normally mean using your hands. A burger bun acts as the perfect tool for containing delicious, hot and messy fillings, and keeps your hands nice and clean. Surely putting the cheese on the top of the bun makes this a logistical nightmare?

On the flip side, we're intrigued by this Garlic Parmesan dressing and would love to see it make an appearance over here to the UK. Maybe a special edition Chicken Caesar Fillet Tower burger, using this new sauce? Perhaps this whole thing is a publicity stunt, a cunning way to attract the public's attention and cause a storm in the social media world? If that was the idea, it's certainly worked.

We'll be sending a KFB reporter out to the Philippines to get his grubby (certainly will be afterwards) mits on this new burger as soon as our budget permits.