Summary
Chicken 18/20
Sides 8/10
Service 8/10
Magic 8/10
Total 42/50
The story
This is my first KFC reviewed outside of Sydney, and what a start!
This was the first night of our joint Christmas holiday, my Mrs, her sister, brother, and his partner, and we treated ourselves to a special occasion staple at my house; KFC and champagne. Sharing the experience with some non-KFC zealots meant that Ulladulla KFC really had to step up to the plate and thankfully they did.
We got a drive through order which is always a risk (more on this later), but I made sure to make full use of the speed limit to get it back to the table before things started to get soggy. Having successfully completed my Tokyo drift impression the chicken was on the table ready to go.
BTW the champagne in question was Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve. It pairs particularly well with the solidified fat of a cold drumstick. Would recommend.
The order
Another first, I ordered what KFC is arguably best known for, a bucket of chicken. To feed the 5 of us we ordered a Family Feast and two extra servings of tenders (10 tenders total).
The family feast consists of 10 pieces of succulent chicken, 2 large chips, 1 large drink, 1 large potato and gravy, and 1 large coleslaw. Coleslaw is a joke and doesn’t even count as one of your 5 plus a day but there you have it.
It was clear that we needed extra chicken above the 10 pieces in the family feast and the preference of the group was for tenders. I strongly advocated for regular pieces (the bones are where the flavour lives) but bowed to public pressure.
The total cost was an absolute steal at $44.85 (note: I can’t reconcile this to any combination of menu selections but it’s what’s on my bank statement. Potential under charge).
Chicken – 18/20
Fantastic. There’s little more to say.
The combinations were right, the coating was crispy and covered the whole chicken, the chicken was hot and juicy, and the slime levels were just right. To top things off one of my fellow diners shockingly preferred the thigh to the breast, so I got to take my fill of the breast pieces guilt free.
As I’ve said previously, tenders are tenders. No complaints but equally, no chance of being enraptured. They’re a net neutral to the score.
Final score 18/20.
Sides – 8/10
The sides were very good. The chips were hot and crispy and perfectly seasoned. I didn’t ask for extra seasoning either, but they came out just right. Seriously impressive.
The potato and gravy was also exceptional. Tasty, thick, fatty without being lumpy, a good combination of gravy and potato. Faultless.
I didn’t eat the coleslaw because it’s disgusting. Mayonnaise covered cabbage. Who on earth thinks that’s a good idea? I was tempted to score the meal down on the fact that it included coleslaw, but the others seemed to (erroneously) enjoy it so I’ll leave it neutral.
What is not neutral however is my missing chips! I swapped out the pepsi for an additional large chips but when we got back to the house the extra chips were nowhere to be seen. More fool me for not checking before we left, but all the same two marks are lost for this mistake.
Service – 8/10
Extremely friendly and efficient, great job KFC Ulladulla team.
I hit the drive through for the first time in years and years. The electronic menu was down and completely blank, so I had to talk the options though was the guy on the other end of the line. I’ve got a pretty good handle on the KFC menu and he communicated the options extremely clearly, so it wasn’t an issue but one point off all the same.
Another point is lost for the missing chips though. It’s a cardinal sin and a cross category score stinger.
Magic – 8/10
I’d forgotten what fun the drive through is. It took me back to the good old days at the Gore NZ KFC where my love affair started which was nice.
The staff had a bit of a Christmas vibe on, wearing Santa hats over their hair nets. It looked extremely uncomfortable and quite bizarre in the hot greasy kitchen, so extra points for the festive weirdness.
Again, though unfortunately two points off for the missing chips. It just put a taint over an otherwise magical experience.
Sorry I forgot to take photos so here’s a sweet gag.
Mingin or Finger lickin?
Finger lickin 🙂 +
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