KFC Chizza Special Review

Chicken. Pizza. Chicken....Pizza....Chizza? We can only imagine this was the thought process behind KFC's foray into combining two of the world's greatest foods. 

For those of you who aren't aware, KFC Malaysia began offering the mythical Chizza last year, following hot on the heels of Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Naturally, we felt it was our duty here at KFB to make the trip across the seas to sample its mashup delights. 

So here's the breakdown: a chicken fillet acts as the base and is smothered with a chunky tomato sauce, cheese and pineapple (controversial I know) plus a small sprinkling of fresh oregano.

First impressions were...cheesy. As you can see, there's an abundance of what tasted like mozzarella on this bad boy. The tomato sauce was rich and benefited from a liberal smattering of onions. The chicken itself was the star though - fresh, juicy and oh so crunchy. Oh and the pineapple - we didn't hate it! We should also point out that the photo really doesn't do the taste any justice. 

Overall, at a mere £1.53 for the Chizza alone or £2.29 with the addition of fries and a drink this was an absolute bargain and surely well worth the several hundred quid in flight and hotel costs.

Next up we surely have to sample the delights of the Double Down Dog.

Taste: 4.5
Value: 5
Overall: 4.5

Double Down UK Review: By The Fans, For The Fans

Finally. First announced back in 2010 as a US-exclusive, the Double Down has become a thing of legend among true chicken fans across most of the globe. If you don't already know what it is, well, you're probably reading the wrong blog.

KFB's frustration at the Double Down (DD) not making an appearance on UK shores was at one point so intense that we opted to recreate our own version rather than wait on its UK appearance (and thank goodness we didn't given how long it's been since it hit the US!). We've also been lucky enough to sample the DD (complete with hash brown!) in Australia and of course in the States.

Well, October 9th 2017 shall henceforth be known as Double Down Day (DDD) here at KFB HQ. And to honour it's less than speedy introduction, we assembled a crack team of chicken connoisseurs to share their thoughts:

First up, Stevie G:
"It was really good, like an Uncharted game: it looked great, tasted and played great but got a bit repetitive. I'd say the main drawback is that it wasn't easy to eat and was quite messy. I'd get another but if it was on menu all the time I would get a WZTM (Wicked Zinger Tower Meal).

Be warned though, chicken fans:
"The queue was massive - about 30 metres outside the Liverpool Street Branch and that's before midday."

Next to sample the Colonel's delights was Digital Aitken:

"Overall it’s impressive, albeit mine was poorly constructed (cheese not melted thoroughly and the chicken could have been crispier). My honeymoon double down in the States was better but I’m putting that down to the under-trained staff.

Didn’t need hot wings but a gravy dip would have been a great compliment to the DD. Guess I’ll have to go back in for more"

Aitken also had qualms about the messiness and overall consumption difficulty though:
"I actually removed the DD altogether from said packaging and discarded it. Then realised the hard way how hot fried chicken is"

And finally, Wellbad got his chops around two tender breast pieces:
"Mine was good, although the cheese wasn't melted enough either. But I went for the bacon which was a nice addition. I like the packaging too, would be such a mess were it in a standard wrapper."

So there we have it, positive thoughts all around for the most part with some practice required in order to overcome mess hurdles from the fans and cheese-meltiness from the assemblers.

What do you think, folks? Was it worth the wait?

*UPDATE* Padman has now sampled the DD and came across an alarming construction issue, further reinforcing our aforementioned concerns. See if you can spot what it was:

Yes that's right, the bacon and cheese were placed above one of the chicken fillets. You'd think such a glaring error would be obvious but apparently not. Padman didn't let this slip-up detract from his overall enjoyment though:

"The whole experience was glorious. I did open the packet the wrong way which was my own fault. Chicken was moist and perfectly cooked and the bacon does help the whole experience. If acceptable, I would have one every day till it goes off the menu. Hats off to Shepherds Bush KFC".

KFB in Australia: Zinger Mozzarella Review

Long term readers will know that the Zinger burger family of products has a very special place in the hearts of all of us here at KFB HQ. Over the many years of innovations though, none have truly managed to best the OG itself: the Zinger Tower. Still, we're always more than willing to give every new offering a 'red hot go' as they say down under. 

The Zinger Mozzarella burger, as the name suggests, adds a layer of gooey mozzarella to the mix. And this layer just so happens to be breaded and deep fried, much like all the greatest things in life.

First impressions were good with solid construction and an ample but not overbearing amount of sauce. Speaking of which, the Zinger Mozzarella features a new, tangy tomato sauce that ends up being a fairly dominant flavour with plenty of punch but only a little spice. Oh and the rasher of bacon? Always welcome.

The Mozzarella itself added a creamy richness not usually found in the Colonel's offerings and though it didn't quite stretch out in a gooey string of cheese as the TV ad promised, it was a welcome addition indeed. 

Overall, the Zinger Mozzarella burger is a tasty, albeit temporary addition to the Zinger range here in Oz. Don't worry though, Zinger Tower, your crown remains intact.

Taste: 7
Value: 8

Innovation: 7

Overall: 7

KFB in Australia: Tobasco marinated chicken mini review

G'day once again from down under, chicken fans. You may have noticed a distinct lack of updates recently for which we apologise. It's fair to say that there's been a lack of exciting Colonel related news to cover...until now.

Ask yourself two important questions:

Do you like fried chicken? (If not we strongly suggest seeking out an alternative blog)

Do you like spicy things? (What's up, Zinger fans?)

Assumning the answers to both of these questions is yes, you're in for a treat with KFC Australia's latest limited time offering - Tobasco chicken. We reckon they've marinated the meat in a Tobasco-infused sauce ahead of breading. The Tobasco taste hits you straight away - initially sweet and sour then with only a slight kick: chilli-heads aren't going to get much of a fix here.  

We had a piece of the special edition chicken in a Zinger Burger Box Meal and it made for a great accompaniment to the burger itself. But you know what would have made an even better acccompaniment? A hash brown, that's what. Seriously, sort it out Australia and put Towers on the menu permanently.

Recommended.

P.S. Bonus points for the itsy bitsy Tobasco sauce you get with the meal seen bottom left in the pic above

KFB in Australia: KFC Breakfast Review

So excited were we about the launch of the KFC a.m. range in the UK that we dedicated two review posts to it. In the first, we covered off the amazing range of 7 unique items on offer and sampled the delicious a.m. Charger and a.m. Wrapstar, both of which contained chicken sausages! Be sure to expand the image in that post to see the full, innovative range of items on the menu back in those heady days of 2008.

In the second post, we trialed the a.m. Loader (made with eggy bread!) and a.m. Platter. All products were well received. The Colonel had done it again. Then, with great regret, we had to write a follow up 3rd post, perhaps one of our most negative to date, bemoaning the fact that all of that innovation had been replaced with a bog standard, uninspired breakfast menu and not a chicken sausage in sight.

It was therefore with great trepidation that we entered KFC on Swanston Street in Melbourne's CBD to trial their breakfast offering. The menu hardly looked extensive and the sausage was of the classic pork variety. Were we in for further crushing breakfast disappointment?

We ordered the Chicken, Bacon and Egg Twister. Yes that's right, there's chicken in that there flatbread. Sure, it was no chicken sausage but we can't help but feel that with this product, the Colonel is doing a great job of legitimising early morning fried chicken consumption for all.

The Twister itself was fairly standard in appearance and we immediately missed the lack of toasting - those wraps can sadly be quite 'doughey' tasting without it. Other than that, the general flavour was good with the chicken adding to the mix nicely. The egg was of the scrambled variety rather than the poached version that appeared in the marketing materials. One element we didn't enjoy though was the BBQ sauce. We can get behind chicken before noon but BBQ sauce is morning madness.

In all, we found the breakfast fairly average. For $8.95 including a tasty hash brown and drink it was pretty good value. Or at least that's what we thought until we glanced across the restaurant and noticed what's surely one of the greatest deals of our time. Behold the $5 Brekky Box:

If only we'd known about this before we'd ordered. The only upside of course is that it means we'll certainly be back soon to see just how delicious true value tastes.

For our Brekky Twister:

Taste: 6

Value: 5

Overall: 6

To ensure total fairness, we invited along a fellow chicken aficionado, Matt Hunt'ing for Chicken' to provide an extra opinion:

To be honest I still can’t get my head around chicken for breakfast and also think the chicken may have made the overall wrap seem a touch dry. Something like a breakfast sausage tends to have a bit more fat/juice to it, which generally helps out. But fried chicken, maybe not so much?

 
The wrap – a bit of toasting would have been great. And the BBQ sauce – surely there should be a tomato sauce option here? I’d even suggest a tabasco option could be quite interesting. 

I also thought the hash brown could have been a bit crisper, and even seasoned a bit more

Overall: 5.5/10