Summary
Chicken 12/20
Sides 5/10
Service 7/10
Magic 5/10
Total 29/50
The story
What better place to start my mission to find the best KFC that the world has to offer than at the one that is, quite literally, closest to my heart?
KFC Kings Cross opened earlier this year to huge fanfare. The buzz in the community was palpable. Opening during the height of covid restrictions, the colonel’s entry was a special boon to the neighbourhood during a tough time.
The shop opened at the bottom of the Omnia building beside an also brand-new Hungry Jacks. Thoughts and prayers to the fool decided to put the Hungry Hack into the ring against the colonel.
The restaurant itself is a hole in the wall style store without any real seating or waiting areas. I’m not looking to spend any more time inside one of these grease traps than I need to anyway, so whatever. The rule of thumb is get your chicken and run.
I came to this particular meal after spending the afternoon running through the Royal National Park south of Sydney. I came straight off the train into the restaurant stinking, filthy, and half starved. I fit in nicely.
The order
The order itself was my standard, three-piece quarter pack up sized to large for a harsh but fair $14.95. However! You’re forced to order using self-service touch screens. This is a major issue because:
- I don’t know who’s been pawing this thing
- I can’t make any special requests
It’s very important to me to be able to specify that I want extra seasoning and no thigh piece. I love that sweet sweet chicken salt and hate the greasy mess that is a chicken thigh. Under KFCs ordering system I can’t do this. You can still order at the counter but it’s heavily discouraged and if it’s busy they won’t let you. Unfortunately, this was the case today and I was forced to play roulette with what pieces would turn up in my box.
Chicken – 12/20
The chicken is obviously the absolute heart of the KFC experience and so needs to be given the most weight and consideration in the review.
Today at Kings Cross my three pieces were a drumstick, a wing, and the dreaded thigh
.
The drumstick is the most consistent piece in general and today was no exception, no complaints on the drumstick.
The wings are inconsistent and have been getting smaller and smaller recently. I don’t know what’s going on but I don’t like it. Time to pump up the hormones KFC. Additionally, on the actual wing part of the piece, the coating was slightly under done. Not terrible, but not great.
There’s little to say about the thigh. It’s just straight yuk. The piece is slimy and greasy, and the coating never gets properly crisp. Nightmare.
Sides – 5/10
In the same way that the chicken is the king of the meal, the chips are the king of the sides. In regard to my whinge above about not being able to request extra seasoning, I was twisting the truth a little. I ended up hovering near the counter until I knew they were putting my order together and yelling at old mate to load up the salt, which he dutifully did. I had to go rouge to get the job done though unfortunately. The chips themselves were slightly underdone but well salted. Swings and roundabouts.
Bizarrely KFC Kings Cross offers only gravy, not potato and gravy. This is a pretty relatively minor difference but definitely not a positive. The gravy today was weak and runny.
The bread was legit. Heaps of additives and preservatives keeping it sweet and soft.
Service – 7/10
Contrary to my earlier moan about the self-service machines, they do make things a good bit speedier. There were a lot of people in the restaurant, but everything was fast and efficient. The staff were friendly even when I was yelling at them to give me more salt.
Magic – 5/10
Magic is what makes KFC different from its competitors. McDonalds is consistent and ubiquitous. Almost everywhere else has more variety and better healthy options. But nowhere else can match the magic of a perfect feed of KFC. It’s hard to describe, but you certainly know it when you find it.
Unfortunately, today didn’t have the magic.
Special shout out to the sign drawing everyone’s’ attention to the fact that you can get a free drink and chips for doing a survey. I’m not going to do it but fair play all the same.
Mingin or Finger lickin?
Mingin 😦
KFC Reviews 