Welcome, KFB readers, to the land down under. I've been sent on special assignment to the other side of the world so expect a special series of Aussie KFB posts coming your way. And be sure to check out our previous Australia write-up here.
Upon arrival in Melbourne I was excited to find not one but two special edition burgers on the menu. The intriguing sounding Kentucky Jack (complete with coleslaw and crispy fried onions) will be covered in a separate review but for today our focus is on the Zinger Stacker. Let's address the elephant in the room first: yes the Zinger Stacker features TWO Zinger fillets in one burger, bringing it up to Double Down levels of chicken provision. But unlike its well-known American cousin, this bad boy is sandwiched, quite literally, in a bun. Other ingredients include 2 slices of cheese, spicy salsa, lettuce and Supercharger sauce. I opted for the combo meal which set me back $10.95 (about £5.90 at current exchange rates)
As you can see in the above photo, construction was solid, with the white cheese binding the fillets to both each other and the bun.
The first bite was a good one - this is a whole lot of chicken. Compared to the UK Zinger fillets though I couldn't help but find the chicken slightly lacking in flavour and kick. The Supercharger sauce is the same as has been found in the UK and is a kind of richer, tasty mayo. The lettuce was unremarkable.
The spicy salsa, as seen in the above photo was less chunky than the UK equivalent and mustier in taste. It was also quite sweet but not in an unpleasant way. Sampled by itself it had a decent kick which was sadly lost in among the other ingredients.
Overall, and as we've frequently noted, this burger was missing something and that something was a hash brown. In fact, I'd go as far to say that I'd rather they swapped the additional fillet with a hash brown or in some kind of dream wonderland, added a hash brown to the two fillets on offer here. That variety in texture and flavour is very important.
A quick word on the fries: it was as if I'd gone into some kind of time machine and emerged in the UK back in the depths of 2013, for the fries on offer in Australia are of the thicker and slightly floppier variety we were so accustomed to in the UK. They were hot, fresh and came in a strange carton rather than a paper packet but were nothing to get overly excited about.
Taste: 6/10
Value: 7.5/10
Overall: 6.5/10
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.
