Quad Wrap and Secret Recipe Fries

KFC has another new Time Limited Offer (TLO): the BLT Quad Wrap, aimed squarely at the lunch time menu. However, perhaps the most interesting news is that of the introduction of Secret Recipe Fries - Standard fries liberally sprinkled with the lauded eleven herbs and spices that make up the Secret Recipe.

KFB on this occasion chose to visit the Liverpool Road branch in Newcastle Under Lyme on a busy Bank Holiday Monday night.

The order was for two Quad Wrap meals, (good value at £4.79 each) a pot of gravy (a great 3-step....delicious!) and in order to get hold of the Secret Recipe Fries, a Streetwise snackbox with a 20p upgrade to Secret Recipe Fries. They're not available with all products and this was the easiest way to try them.

The meal arrived, and straight off there was no evidence of any Secret Recipe - disappointing as I'd gone out of my way to explain what I wanted when ordering. I headed back to the counter and was quickly dealt with and had my snack box exchanged.

TLO's come and go but the Secret Recipe Fries were the thing I was most excited about. As a Zinger Tower fan, my physician told me recently that I don't have enough Original Recipe in my diet.... what a great way to rectify it.

I opened the box and was greeted with this:

Not a particularly satisfying sight. 20p is quite a lot to pay for what appeared to be about a single solitary gram of recipe. It hadn't been evenly applied so the flavour was concentrated in one corner leaving many fries totally untouched. To consider there is no cost difference between an OR or a Zinger fillet which has been marinated in a further batch of spices makes one wonder if this is truly worth 20p?

Well the proof of the pudding they say is in the eating so I dived in. Those fries that had taken the bulk of the application were undoubtedly deliciously salty but with another satisfying flavour that caused me to involuntarily suck the inside of my mouth clean of all the lingering flavour particles. However, this level of cover only applied to a handful of fries whilst the rest of the box teased me not quite giving the flavour I craved.

In all, a great idea, and if a little more liberally applied one that KFB could endorse.

Next I moved on to the BLT Quad Wrap... I'm not entirely sure what puts the 'quad' into this product as there are only two mini fillets and three acronymed ingredients the B the L and the T. Perhaps the shape should put one in mind of a some sort of varsity quadrant but there's no allusion to this in the advertising.

I was doing well with this meal. Hot fresh fries, thick dark three step gravy and now I was pleased to be holding a soft tortilla which had a mouthfeel redolent of  rural Mexico's halcyon days where the oxymoronic well-off peasants lived off the land in health and happiness grinding flour by hand to produce this unleavened offering/ This quickly gave way to tasty chicken that was firm to the bite and encased in a gooey cocoon of melted cheese that sought to bind the bacon that provided the final savoury taste ready to be balanced by the fresh lettuce and juicy chopped tomato... sounds good right?......except there wasn't a single solitary piece of tomato to be found. The name of this product has a T in it to denote the presence of said tomato. In a normal restaurant when a key ingredient of a dish is unavailable the staff make you aware of this but it was not until I was a couple of bites in that I realised.

At once all my enthusiasm evaporated, I plowed onwards through the meal. It would be disingenuous to say it was all anything other than very nice but in all good conscience I cannot reward such failure.

KFC to launch slow-cooked pulled chicken products soon?

Word has reached us that KFC is carrying out a regional test of an all-new product line: slow-cooked pulled chicken. Apparently, trials are currently underway in Scotland. If rolled out across the UK, this will mark the first time KFC has launched a 'new' cooking technique into branch since the Brazer line of griddled chicken.

From the picture you'll find above, you'll notice that the burger appears to contain a standard looking chicken fillet in addition to the pulled chicken. That's double chicken, folks. And who can forget the wonderful result of the previous double chicken product line?

Check out the line yourself in this charming new ad and let us know if you manage to locate and sample this mysterious new beast.

We've reached out to KFC and will update the post with further information if available.

Daredevil Bites Review

KFC's Daredevil Bites are the latest offering for the UK market, and are available as part of the new Saucy Bites Variety Bucket, Daredevil Bites Box Meal, and also as a simpler meal option with just chips and a drink. Reminiscent of Hot Rods (albeit without the rod) and about three times the size of standard Popcorn chicken, these bite-sized morsels come doused in one of three hot sauces of your choice; choose from Sweet Chilli, Fiery Buffalo and Piri Piri Inferno, depending on how much heat you like. I ventured down to the Bethnal Green KFC branch to investigate.

I opted for the 2 Daredevil Bites meal, which included 2 sets of bites, chips and a drink. Staff at the Bethnal Green branch were helpful and knowledgable, clearly displaying a mastery of the current menu by offering up the choice of mixing and matching daredevil sauces - a nice touch. I ordered the Sweet Chilli and Piri Piri Inferno bites, collected my meal, and grabbed a table in the seating area.

The Daredevil Bites come delivered in separate lidded tubs, each containing 4 of the breaded chunks and with a pool of your chosen sauce at the bottom. There was enough sauce in both of my tubs to allow me to dip the bites at will, liberally coating them as I so wished. The crispy coating was more akin to ETC (Extra Tasty Crispy) than OR (Original Recipe). First up were the Sweet Chilli bites - as expected, the sweet chilli sauce was very mild (not even a hint of heat) but it did have an enjoyable taste, just like the popular asian condiment.

Moving on to the Piri Piri Inferno bites, I half expected these to be equally as mild, but I was pleasantly surprised. The first couple of bites were coated in just a drizzle of the spicy sauce, and failed to produce the desired punch I was hoping for, but upon mopping up the last of the sauce with the final bite, I soon realised my mistake as the heat kicked in. I wouldn't go so far as to call it an inferno in my mouth, but it was certainly a slow-burner and combined with the peppery, paprika flavours, produced a satisfying sensation. I think this is a brave move from KFC, as too often fast-food products labeled as "spicy" are far from it, and are actually tailored for the weak, mainstream consumer who thinks of a Chicken Korma curry as adventurous.

All in all, although the Daredevil bites aren't particularly exciting on their own, they do add an extra dimension to the existing menu and if I were to order them again I would go for the box meal or share the Saucy Bites bucket with friends. I would like to see the sauces (especially Piri Piri) put to use maybe as a topping for a Piri Piri style burger.

KFB Rating: 7/10

Have you tried the Fiery Buffalo bites? We'd love to know how they compare, let us know in the comments section below!

KFB Asian Odyssey Part 4: India

And so we reach the final stop on our travels: India. Land of ancient history, maniac autorickshaw drivers and more types of animals wandering the streets than you're likely to find in most British zoos.
India is intense in many ways, so it came as a welcome relief to spot the Colonel's smiling face while strolling down Jaipur's busy MI road.

The restaurant itself was similar to other branches we've encountered around the world - mostly clean, decked out in the usual red hues and air conditioned (something of a rarity in India). 

We walked up to the staff at the counter and ordered a Chicken Snacker with a 7Up and a Zinger Burger meal, both upgraded to include cheese.

First up: the Snacker. Similar in appearance to a Mini Fillet from back in the UK, the Snacker was a wallet friendly 39 rupees (39p) (15R extra for cheese).  The good news ended there though. We were presented with a squashed burger accompanied by some limp lettuce and mayonnaise. According to my fellow reviewer, the chicken itself was 25% meat, 75% batter. Not a great start.

The Zinger Tower, sadly, fared no better. As with Thailand and Hong Kong, the meat was of the leg rather than breast variety. As we've previously discovered though, this in itself isn't necessarily a
negative thing. The burger comprised the chicken itself, some lettuce, the cheese we added and some mayonnaise. No spicy salsa in sight. And as we'd grown accustomed to: no hash brown.

Flavour was sorely lacking. In fact, the strongest flavour came from the cheese rather than the chicken. And without that salsa or any trace of a marinade on the meat, the Zing was utterly absent. The real lowlight was yet to come. The fries were among the worst we've ever encountered at a KFC. Luke warm and clearly left for far too long under a heat lamp, they were chewy, depressing imposters for the much maligned KFc fry.  Oh and to make matters worse, there was a small piece of plastic in the bottom of the packet (see below). 

Were it not for the fact that we were in a huge rush and really really didn't want any more fries, we'd have complained and demanded replacements. The only saving grace for the meal was the price. We paid a very wallet friendly £3.32 For all the food that day.

Taste: 2Value: 4Overall: 3


Epilogue
And now comes the time for reflection. What exactly have we learned from our gastronomical voyage across Asia? Well the most obvious conclusion is that the KFC in the UK beats the socks off anything we sampled. Yes it's more expensive and yes we frequently bemoan the <<lack of innovation but when it comes down to it, we should count ourselves lucky that's it's almost universally delicious. For now,  our voyage to locate the globe's most finger licking chicken shall continue.

Kentucky Fried China

After having visited the only KFC in the whole of Mongolia, it was time therefore to revisit arguably KFC's biggest and most important market........China. We hopped on a train and 33 hours later, we were there - Beijing, where we were soon to encounter the most radical menu item ever!

Emerging from Beijing central railway station KFC appeared to be in rude health. From my standpoint outside the main entrance I could see no less than three separate branches!

What better way to celebrate our arrival in the world's fastest emerging superpower than a visit to a multinational chain owned by its economic rival?... we went in to be confronted by a fairly conventional restaurant, layout wise, but a fairly unconventional menu. Chicken featured, of course, but so did many other weird and wonderful creations.

On this occasion we went for a 'Dragon Twister' - KFC's take on the famous Peking Duck: a wrap including fried chicken, cucumbers, spring onions, and duck sauce. The second choice was a 'Shrimp Burger' - consisting of four King Prawns set into some kind of potato patty; it was pretty good although looked fairly bland.

I should have clocked that a Shrimp Burger meant there were non-chicken menu items available, but what I found in the next branch we visited truly astounded me...... A KFC Beef Burger:

Although this isn't going to win any beauty contests, the six ultra thin beef patties fused together to form one burger provided a surprisingly juicy offering with some mushrooms on top giving a nice extra bit of sophisticated flavour you'd not find in the West.

KFC China confounded my expectations and turned all received wisdom on its head. In my two branch visits I didn't even order a chicken product (though I did try my PA's). Whilst I enjoyed trying and reporting on the strange menu items, to state the obvious... it just ain't chicken. That said, if the stats below are anything to go by they're doing something right. 




KFC CHINA OVERVIEW

To understand the staggering magnitude of this operation, take a look at the below from YUM Brands, the KFC Parent company:

KFC was the first quick-service restaurant chain to enter China in 1987. Today, KFC is the number one quick-service restaurant brand in China with more than 4,400 restaurants in more than 850 cities. In fact, we open more than one new KFC every day in China. In addition to Original Recipe chicken, KFC has an extensive menu featuring beef, seafood, rice dishes, fresh vegetables, soups, breakfast, desserts, and other products that appeal to Chinese consumers’ tastes.

KFB last visited China in March 2011, and looking at the figures above you'll see they've added over 700 new restaurants since then.... a phenomenal rate of growth.

And the list of superlatives continues:

Clifford Coonan of The Irish Times describes KFC as "by far the most pervasive symbol of Western culture in China". This is evidenced by the below picture of a KFC I visited at Badaling, where you can just see China's famous Great Wall in the background:

Ninety percent of Chinese sites are company owned, in contrast to just 11 percent internationally.

In 2008, Novak (Yum Chief Executive) said that he envisioned eventually operating more than 20,000 restaurants in China.

McDonalds, the arch rival boasted only 1705 restaurants in China in 2012 so KFC has clearly stolen the march on its old foe.