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

KFB in Australia World First: The Zinger Black Review

KFC Australia has been on a bit of a roll over the past year or so thanks to an array of new and exciting product variants. Now comes a world first: The Zinger Black. Sure, we've seen black buns from other, lesser fast food outlets in the past but this is the first time we're aware of such an offering from The Colonel himself.

Let's start off with the box. This is no ordinary burger box. This is an all-black, embossed masterpiece that features a listing of all the ingredients once opened.

Of course what we're all wondering is how does this thing taste? We'll start with the bun which is coloured with vegetable carbon (the same stuff used to colour liquorice and other sweets) giving it a very dark tone - more very dark brown than black if you ask us.

The bread itself doesn't taste any different to the usual KFC bun but we noted that it was very fluffy in texture. What's more interesting is that it comes sprinkled liberally with chilli flakes, nigella and sesame seeds which combine to add a subtle but delicious extra layer of flavour.

On first biting into the burger you'll notice the all-new mustard and maple sauce. This is a real winner in our books - sweet but with a curious new type of heat that only mustard could add and an excellent counterpart to the slice of smoked bacon. We don't think it's going too far to suggest that it's genuinely a flavour combo that no other KFC menu item has previously offered.

In the interest of maintaining a balanced review we'll point out a few quibbles that only detracted from the overall experience in minor ways. First off, this may be labelled as a Zinger but there's little in the way of chilli spice here. There is indeed heat but that comes primarily from the mustard in the new sauce. 'The Fillet Black' may have been a more appropriate title. Secondly, and this may have just been bad luck, but the size of the fillet in our burger wasn't overly impressive. Perhaps at some point we'll see a Stacker (or even a Tower Stacker!) that doubles the chicken.

Overall though, KFC Australia is onto another winner and we commend their continued commitment to innovation. It would be easy to write this off as a gimmick thanks to the unusual bun but the overall experience was genuinely heightened thanks to the new flavour profile and great packaging.

Taste: 8
Value: 7
Innovation: 8

Overall: 8

Oh and one last little touch that made the experience even more special - check out the message that's revealed only after finishing off the burger:

Finally, we have another mini guest review, this time from Matt Hunt(ing for delicious chicken):

I concur with the author around the lack of heat I’d expected with the Zinger name.

While I liked the sauce, and it did pair well with the bacon, I felt it was just slightly too sweet and overpowering in some bites, if you didn’t get enough bacon/saltiness to offset it. (Sounds like a potential construction issue to us - Ed.)

Zinger Stacker Meal Review

Finally, those of  us who want a BIG, Man Vs Food style burger, are on the way to getting what they want with KFC's latest TLO - the Zinger Stacker Meal:

This particular TLO is close to KFB's heart. We all have quite a penchant for the Zinger Tower Burger so any meddling with this is sure to receive close attention from us.

Given that there's two Zinger fillets in this bad boy its retail price of £5.99 is pretty good.To maintain this price point they've done away with the regular side and chicken piece that has been a staple of TLO's for some time now.

I was forced to purchase this at a drive through and due to circumstances beyond my control was unable to eat it for a good half hour. By this point it held some residual warmth and although the lettuce was now well wilted; the cheese was nicely melted; acting as a kind of helpful cement for the TWO Zinger fillets.

Upon first glance I thought I was going to need a flip top head to eat it.

Even after such a period of rest this was a satisfying burger with all component parts making their presence felt at some point, including the brioche style bun.

The sauces complemented each other well, although the sweet chill sauce is a bit of an unnatural shade of red for my liking.

Presented in a nice box selling its piquant credentials, it opens to reveal a nice looking glazed bun. You can see from this picture that Sweet chilli has been applied liberally to the back of the box rather than the burger but this was generally a good build.

This burger doesn't need any delicate flourishes to sell it. it's all about brute force and the almost atavistic challenge of two chicken fillets.... Winner! Or at least it would be if you bunged a hash brown on there.

To be fair after a rather dull period 3-4 years ago KFC has really upped their game in terms of KFB's long sought for innovations. With Pulled Chicken, Rice boxes and what is becoming a go to second option for me - the Burrito - KFC has built a range of products really differentiating them from the competition.

The release of this burger has reminded me of a colleague (unaware of my KFC affinity) recounting a tale about his wife filling in a consumer survey. He didn't notice, but when he said some of the questions were by KFC I suddenly took a keen interest in his story. As I recall this was shortly after the 'Double Down' had been launched in the USA, and one of the questions asked was whether a product featuring two fried chicken fillets would appeal. He pulled a face and uttered blasphemy about her saying no an answer with which he seemed to agree. Needless to say we've not spoken since.

KFC New Zealand: 2015 Review

Avid readers will recall that back in the heady days of 2011, Paulbot published a review of KFC NZ as part of his celebrated world tour series. 4 long years had passed though and we felt it only right that we travel once more to this far flung land to provide you with an update.

This time we opted to visit a branch in the South Island adrenaline capital Queenstown, a town known chiefly for being the home of extreme sports such as bungy jumping, skydiving and jetboating. The branch, situated on one of the main high streets, was a two level affair with the welcome addition of an outside balcony area affording spectacular mountain views - a first as far as we can recall.

We opted for the bacon avocado burger, chiefly because it wasn't something we've encountered before. In addition to the OR fillet, we were presented with avocado, bacon, crispy onions, lettuce, tomato and creamy aioli. First impressions were positive:

Once we bit into the burger though we were disappointed to find that the fillet was very much on the small side compared to offerings from the UK and nearby Australia - something that Paulbot mentioned in his previous review. This (rather major) issue aside, the burger was pretty tasty if not exactly mind-blowing. The bacon was packed with flavour and definitely complimented the avocado well. We weren't huge fans of the crispy onions, something we've previously experienced in Australia's Kentucky Jack burger. 

The disappointment of the size of the fillet, combined with some pretty average fries combined to make something of an average meal, though the benefit of eating outside with a fantastic view can't be overlooked. Perhaps next time we should try the Hawaiian Zinger burger, though given the fact that it has pineapple in it, perhaps not.

KFB in Australia - Zinger Tower Stacker review

It’s all about the hash brown. No, really. Somehow this unassuming potato-based delight has the power to elevate a burger that’s already a solid 8/10 into the heady realms of 9s and 10s. 

Regular followers of this blog will know just how much we love the UK’s Tower Burgers. To our minds, the perfect combination of taste, size and value. So you can probably imagine our deep sadness upon realising that Towers weren’t an option over in Australia. In fact, and to add insult to injury, they were removed from the menu shortly before our arrival down under. Thankfully though, the Colonel has seen sense and has recently brought Towers back. This ain't no ordinary Tower though - eagle-eyed readers will know that the Stacker monicker refers to the presence of TWO chicken fillets. Yes, you read that right: TWO.

The Zinger Tower Stacker did not disappoint. In fact, it was one of the finest KFC offerings we've ever had the pleasure of sampling. The overly-sweet tomatoey sauce from the regular Stacker has been replaced here with something more savoury and far less overpowering. The chicken was juicy and tender. The hash brown was truly wonderful. If we're nitpicking, there was a construction issue that we had to address: you'll notice in the above photo that the hash brown was placed at the top of the assembly rather than between the two fillets. This was quickly addressed with our nimble fingers:

Taste: 10
Value: 8
Innovation: 5

Overall: 9

To make sure we weren't being overly swayed by the hash brown's ability to transport us back to the familiar KFCs of London, we recruited two Aussie reviewers who had the following to say:

Dave 'Gainz' G:

Cluck cluck cluck- That’s the sound of one happy chicken. A tender, juicy fillet combined with fresh, crisp lettuce, a zingy mouth-watering sauce and not to forget the addition of the humble potato made for one pretty delightful combination. I was blown away by the flavours unravelling in my mouth. Its safe to say that this was a meal fit for a king. I don’t think I’ve ever actually left a dining venue with a smile as big as the one I had spread across my face… In  fact- I’m still shaking my head, grinning at the thought of the entire experience. KFC- I’ll see you soon. You nailed it!!! 5/5

D 'Mafioso' Libs:

The combination of zinger patty and hash brown is an eclectic mix of flavours that combine to satisfy any chicken aficionado 4.5/5

KFC BBQ Boss Meal Review

I have to admit I was a bit trepidatious about today's expeditition to try the latest Time Limited Offer (TLO), the BBQ Bacon Boss Box Meal to give it its official title.

The reason for my sense of foreboding? I had opted to try what one commenter has called 'Worst KFC in the UK' accompanied by a slew of similar comments around 3 years ago. However a later comment posted a year ago paints the place in a better light, but it was time for KFB to check it out.

Why had I chosen this particular branch? Knowing that this TLO contains bacon, I knew a couple of my more regular haunts are halal branches which don't sell the bacon. I presumed, correctly as it turned out, that a small market town in the middle of a national park would not have the ethnic diversity to warrant a halal conversion.

After a number of fairly innovative recent TLO's the product design teams seem to be taking a break and have thrown together this burger from existing ingredients pretty quickly before adding an alliterative moniker to capture the attention:

When ordering I stuck with the Original Recipe (OR) fillet so I could enjoy this burger as Colonel intended. I opted for a side of gravy too and was delighted when the branch supervisor agreed to substitute my piece of chicken on the bone for a mini fillet ( although she said she wasn't supposed to, when I whipped out my Colonels Club card with it's swollen points total, I think she knew she was rewarding a real fan).

Following the comments I wasn't expecting much but was presented with a well constructed burger, just a couple of minor gripes, the hash brown was a little too brown and the bun had hardly seen the toaster, so was rather cool. The fries too looked a little overcooked but in fact were very nice and the gravy was an incredible three step that passed the standing chip test:

The Burger itself was exactly what you'd expect although I have to say it was well balanced with each of the key ancilliary ingredients (Cheese / Bacon / BBQ) coming through nicely. I just had one bite where the the BBQ was a little overpowering. The OR, so often overlooked by KFB in favour of Zinger was also very tasty although given I was tucking into this at about 13:20 not as fresh as it could have been.

The Buxton branch I have to say exceeded my expectations, It was clean with good service and helpful friendly staff.

Although there's a lack of innovation here, this is a solid contender hot on the heels of some good TLO's therefore earns itself a solid 6.5 out of ten.

KFC's of Europe - KFC Belarus

When researching my trip to Belarus; a country popularly labelled as Europe's last dictatorship; I was unable to determine whether or not there was a KFC here. A google search turns up little but a number of articles expressing the opinion that a KFC will be opened sometime in 2015. The other results are in cyrillic script and as this in not a strong suite of mine we were going in blind.

In the late September sun, having strolled round most of the capital's main thoroughfares and having seen no evidence of one existing I was suddenly bouyed by a glorious sight:

However this led to a further problem. Belarus is not blessed with many gifted English speakers so we were on our own. Apart from the delicious looking burger, featuring - look closely - a base of gherkin slices; the thing that excited me most about this billboard was the clue to this branches whereabouts in the bottom right corner.

Having spent a few days in the city I had learned to discern signs for the city's metro system and could even navigate it. I followed the billboard's instructions and travelled to the very end of the line.

And ended up at this very busy intersection with no KFC in sight:

I looked around in earnest I asked passers by who gave me blank looks and finally (due in part to a less dedicated travelling companion - Not a member of the blog writing team) I conceded defeat and went back to my hotel defeated.

Since my return I have researched again and there appears to be a fully fledged website and evidence that the branch is exactly where I was. I could see no evidence of either any building under construction or an open restaurant.... I am hoping that the cyrillic text in the billboard said 'Coming Soon' but know this Colonel... I tried

If anybody who reads the blog goes to this branch we'd love to know more.

KFC's of Europe - KFC Poland

My First KFC in Poland was pre KFB, back in 2005. I have dim but happy memories, and remember a fellow traveller remarking with a note of jealous wonder in her voice, after I consumed my burger with a certain veracity that she'd 'never seen anybody eat chicken like that'. Regardless of the intent I wore the comment as a badge of honour.

The branch itself is located near the Warsaw Central Sstation, and, unusually given the different parent companies shares premisis with a burger king, their kitchens merely seperated by a glass panel and the restaurant seating available to patrons of either brand.

Due to some unfortunate timing, we were forced to have KFC for breakfast and I was very happy to see the branch open and serving a full menu at 09:30am.

The menu had a lot of traditional favouries, Wraps, Boxmasters, Zingers and towers as well as a couple of innovative chinese inspired menu items not too disimmilar from our own current UK Time Limited offer (TLO) ricebox.

Due to hangover and a desire to get the measure of the branch in terms of the quality of their bread and butter items I opted for something a little more familiar, taking a fairly standard wrap whilst my travelling companion sampled the Boxmaster (here called the Mega Pocket). Both were made using good quality ingredients throughout:

I have to say that the qualty of the branch was all to a high standard, as was the food and weighing in at around 16 Zlotych for a standard meal this came in at around half the price of it's UK counterpart for comprable quality.

Not content with scoring highly on all of the above and great early opening to boot, the Polish KFC had one more excellent boast - Beer as a drink option. I see a bright future for KFC in Poland