Congleton Quick review

Congleton

Barn Road

CONGLETON

Cheshire

CW12 1LJ

I hadn't even set out to do a review when I spotted this 82 seater reastaurant that sits on the edge of town with stiff competition from nearby McDonalds and a large branch of Tesco boasting its own cafe. It was a split second decision about which way to turn, I made the right choice. This restaurant includes drive thru functionality with a covered serving window. This restaurant is of sturdy construction featuring the 'tower design'. In this quick review, I just managed to trial a ZT.

I visited at about 2.10 pm on the 28th January 2010 following the lunch time rush

Decor wise , this branch is still awaiting a re-vamp, but here is a restaurant that has been loved by both staff and clientèle. It does not look tired anywhere but could do with a banquet table. There is a large clear space in front of of the counter from which you can peruse the menu. Unusually this restaurant features an airlock (ie two front door separated by a small vestibule) this meant the ambient temperature of the restaurant remained pleasantly constant. Another nice feature was the 'Trophy cabinet' also in the vestibule this glass fronted cabinet about foot by 3 foot showcased the range of box meals on offer.

I did visit out of peak hours, so maybe they'd had a chance to tidy up after the lunch rush but this place was spotless, utterly impeccable standards of hygiene were being adhered to. The staff seemed all to be young males and served me promptly in a courteous manner.

Zinger tower:

For once the construction was perfect and no changes were required, portions of both mayo and salsa were spot on. The lettuce was crisp and green as always. However the bread was a tad dry and as was the chicken on the last few bites. I would give this a 6/10

The Anciliary Items Island was this well stocked with, Sporks, freshen ups, napkins salt sachets & straws. Pepper it seems has become an increasingly rare commodity in KFC restaurants......is it being phased out?

Overall 6.5/10

Who's The Daddy? Big Daddy Box Meal Review

Apologies to any avid fans out there, the team here at KFB have been somewhat lazy and lackluster of late but today I am here to break the deadlock with a post of epic proportions...and when I say epic, I truly mean it. It occurred to me recently that there was an item on the KFC menu that has not received the attention it deserves. Of course, I am talking about the largest item designed for consumption by a single person - the Big Daddy Box Meal. It's time this bad boy had a full review!

The Big Daddy burger has actually been around for quite a whiIe, originally introduced to the menu as a TLO alongside the fillet tower and zinger tower meals. These days the Big Daddy burger has secured it's own long term spot on the menu, but as part of a box meal in direct competition to the Fully Loaded and Wicked Zinger box meals. I ventured to The Plaza KFC branch on Oxford Street to sample the Big Daddy.

On first impressions, you'd think there was little or no difference between the Big Daddy and other box meals. Just like the FL and WZ box meals, you'll get the burger, fries, 1 small side of your choice and 1 piece of OR chicken (or 2 hot wings with the WZ). "What makes this the so-called daddy then??" I hear you cry. Well, the real difference is in the burger itself.

The Big Daddy burger contains a few ingredients that make it stand out, and one in particular that is found in no other item on the current menu. As well as the staples (kaiser bun, OR chicken breast, hash brown, cheese slice, lettuce, ketchup) the Big Daddy also contains a slice of fresh tomato, creamy peppered mayo and most important of all - bacon. These are the additional ingredients that have earnt this burger it's title based on sheer size, but more importantly, can it earn the KFB seal of approval in terms of taste??

Biting into the Big Daddy, the bacon is not immediately evident. This will come down to the amount of bacon in the burger, which may vary from restaurant to restaurant. On this occasion however, I would have liked some more bacon in my burger - especially seeing as it is the key ingredient here. After a few bites, the flavour of the bacon did reach my palette and it certainly added a distinct texture and savoury smokey note to an already great burger. Another element which took me by surprise was the creamy pepper mayo, which seems to be borrowed from the Mini Fillet burger and added another interesting touch of flavour.

All in all, I enjoyed the Big Daddy burger and the new flavours it offered. My only concern, is the price. At well over the £5 mark, the BDBM is certainly expensive; granted, you get large fries and large drink as standard, but when all is considered the burger is really not so much larger than say, a Fillet Tower or Zinger Tower. If you are a big bacon fan, or specifically have a penchant for the creamy pepper mayo found in the Mini Fillet, (and you're happy to stump up the extra change) then the BDBM may well be for you. However, this blogger will be sticking to what he knows, and loves, best - a Fully Loaded box meal, large enough to satisfy any hungry adult and leave change from a fiver in your pocket.

Kentucky Fried Christmas

Today as usual I went for my annual pre-Christmas KFC banquet. Made particularly special this year by the TLO Hot Rods Boneless box. The two of us eagerly trecked through the frost and the fog to the Stafford Hough Retail Park branch to be confronted by the most soulless space devoid of any allusion to the festive period.

No decorations festooned this branch, no Christmas muzak flowed along my aural canal and the staff, though friendly and helpful as always didn't deign to wish us a happy Christmas nor don festive attire.

Shocked, I cast my mind back to those halcyon days when Stafford Greyfriars was open (read of its sad demise here) and the scene I once saw there. Had I captured it on celluloid to share with the world, I mused as I queued today.

Not celluloid, but perhaps in binary, on an early Pre blog camera phone that just may have been languishing in the bottom of a drawer. It believed its useful life was over, and was little aware of how much Christmas cheer it could spread, if only I could persuade it to give up the KFC Christmas secret it holds, and the proof that the Grefriars KFC should have never have been closed!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, I give you the most perfect, beautifully decorated Christmas tree the world has ever known as seen at Greyfriars branch Christmas 07:

KFB visits Europe's biggest KFC Part 2

Missed part 1? Read it here.

We drew ever closer to the holy land, still in awe at the sheer size of

the building. Some research prior to our trip informed us that the behemoth we were witnessing was in fact 2650 square metres in total. And they certainly put the space to good use: a covered drive-thru, 2 levels of covered parking, 2 levels of dining, an outdoor seating terrace and a children's play area (more on that later). Couple all that with between 150 & 200 seats and you can begin to appreciate that this, my friends, was epic.

We stumbled through the doors, leaving a trail of saliva behind us. Immediately our senses were bombarded - the usual delicious smell, muzak emanating from the speakers and...wait...surely not? KFC TV??? If only this music video playing channel was available on Freeview or Sky here in the UK - our TV certainly wouldn't be tuned into anything else. But enough about the building itself, 'what of the chicken?!' I hear you scream.

Being our first visit to a German KFC we knew we had to try something new (though all the usual culprits were present as well as the Griddled Chicken currently being tested up North in the UK). But as usual, with so much choice on the menu it was a lengthy decision-making process. Eventually, we settled on the Double Crunch burger along with quite possibly the greatest side dish we've ever had the pleasure of tasting (sorry, Hot Rods): chilli and cheese-topped fries! We headed out onto the outdoor terrace to begin the tasting.

Essentially, a Double Crunch consists of two Crispy Strips, cheese, mayo and lettuce in a non-Kaiser bun. Whilst it was succulent enough and certainly filled a hungover void in our stomachs, the Double Crunch lacked that certain special something only found in Zinger marinaded meat or anything Original Recipe coated. What we can attest to however was that it certainly does live up to its name - each bite resulting in a thunderous roar, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the morning after Hot Rod consumption.

So we're lead onto the fries:

Now this, my chicken-loving friends, is what we're talking about. Warm liquid cheese and spicy chilli is lovingly poured over piping hot fries and assembled into a small KFC branded ceramic tray. For our American readers out there, this is very similar to sister Yum Foods brand's Taco Bell offerings. The fries were delicious. If we had to pick holes though, it could be argued that if you don't consume them quickly enough, the fries themselves can become slightly soggy. You therefore have our OK to stuff them down with great vigour.

We were by this time absolutely stuffed but our journey didn't stop there. Oh no. Now it was time to explore the children's play area. Ok, we say play area but the only part we weren't too embarrassed to explore was a 3 storey high tubular slide. The perfect way to end a foray into a foreign chicken world, we're sure you'll agree.

And now we've hit the biggest in Europe, there is of course only one way to go: bigger. Our Dallas insiders have informed us that the world's biggest KFC is located in Quianmen, Beijing, China and stacks up at an incredible 1,285 square metres with 3 levels and 455 seats! If anybody out there would care to sponsor us, please get in touch.

TLO Hot Rods are back

Let us welcome back an old friend for his third incarnation. We first welcomed the Hot Rods box meal roughly 18 months ago and it quickly became a modern classic and firm favourite amongst the KFB team. We were therefore delighted when this reappeared as a TLO just 6 months ago and are ecstatic to see it appear yet again at this very special time of year.

KFB has made many entreaties to have the hot rod box meal added as a regular menu item much the way the Big Daddy meal and the boneless banquet have crept in. The genius here is the boneless element as opposed to the bony piece of chicken that usually adorns my box meal. Their satisfying size, texture and latent heat that unleashes itself after a few chews is incredible.

Although we've seen a 40p price rise in 18 months and the Hot Rods Box meal now costs 4.89 this is still a great product which saves me (who doesn't eat bony chicken) wasting a piece from my individual box meal.

The advertising has altered slightly with the current batch featuring a thermometer that's overheated due to being used to attempt to ascertain the heat of a hot rod. and we also now have the addition of a 13.49 family size boneless banquet featuring the Hot Rod.

And the special time of year, aside from Christmas being an important religious festival, December holds its own special significance for KFC lovers. December was the month when our lord Harland ascended to Chicken heaven from the top of mount Poultry to oversee his empire for all eternity. To be able to enjoy the Hot rod at this special time is truly a gratifying experience.

Not Much remains to be said about the Hot Rod box meal. this is a TLO at its best. You can read past reviews here.