Food Wars hosts Joe Avella and Harry Kersh swap countries to try each other's exclusive KFC menu items. This is Food Wars Foreign Exchange.
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00:00 A Brit and an American swap countries to try each other's KFC.
00:04 This is Food Wars.
00:05 We're going to start with some things you can get in both the US and the UK to see if
00:12 there are some subtle differences in taste or anything else.
00:14 The first thing for me to try, the main event, the fried chicken.
00:17 So this is just original recipe chicken.
00:18 I've got what looks to be a thigh piece.
00:20 Visually, I think it probably looks slightly more appealing than British fried chicken
00:24 from KFC tends to look.
00:26 The breading is like all over the place.
00:28 There's no bare patches here.
00:30 I always struggle to identify where the bones are in pieces of KFC.
00:33 I don't want to just bite straight into a bone.
00:36 Okay, yeah, this is good.
00:39 Compared to the UK, I think I definitely am getting more flavor.
00:42 I think a fair amount of that is coming from the breading.
00:44 It's actual seasoning and flavor.
00:46 It's like a thick, juicy piece of chicken.
00:49 I don't want to go back to eating regular British KFC after this.
00:52 Right, the six-piece bucket.
00:54 This looks like it has more skin than what we got in the restaurant, I will say.
00:57 Already this looks like it has a better batter to it.
01:01 That is so bland.
01:02 I can taste the flavors and that is strong.
01:05 I'm assuming that's the chemicals we put in our food to make it taste like wow.
01:09 The next thing we wanted to compare was popcorn chicken, which I think in the UK is a pretty
01:12 iconic menu item.
01:13 Although weirdly enough, they've actually cut it from the menu in the US right now.
01:16 The exception being that they will still add it to famous bowls, but we'll get to that
01:20 later.
01:21 So I guess for the time being, I will try a US chicken nugget and see how that compares.
01:24 I mean, this just kind of looks like popcorn chicken.
01:27 It's definitely a bit more dry on the palate.
01:31 Again, I don't see why they've gotten rid of popcorn chicken in lieu of these because
01:35 popcorn chicken is effectively the same thing.
01:37 It's like a shot.
01:38 Oh, how's that?
01:39 Well, I don't taste anything.
01:43 So far, I would say that KFC chicken, both out of the bone and popcorn, in the US, the
01:48 flavor is more pronounced and has more of like a savory flavor to it.
01:54 This flavor has training wheels.
01:56 It'll get there someday.
02:00 Firstly there are some twists on the classic fried chicken, which we can't usually find.
02:04 The first variety we have here is the spicy fried chicken.
02:07 I mean, visually this looks fairly similar to just the sort of standard original recipe.
02:12 Although I will say the breading looks pretty good.
02:15 You get a lot of these little flakes of breading, which really tend to get crisp and stay crisp.
02:20 I don't know if there's enough to call it spicy, because I'm not a guy who has a super
02:25 high spice tolerance.
02:26 And for me, that's like warm, but not much more than that.
02:29 That's very pleasant.
02:30 And I do think it's crispier than the original recipe.
02:33 Very juicy, flavorful.
02:34 I think this is really good.
02:35 I think I would be tempted to buy this over just classic original recipe.
02:39 And it's not just spicy chicken that's available in the US.
02:41 You can also get another type called extra crispy.
02:43 As the name suggests, it's the regular fried chicken, but made extra crispy.
02:46 I think extra crispy should be the KFC chicken.
02:50 Then the original should be like diet.
02:51 For some reason, the branch that we went to today didn't have it in the form of regular
02:56 original recipe chicken, but they did have it in the form of a chicken little.
03:00 I'm just going to like break off the end bit that was untouched by the mayo to see if it
03:03 is actually crispy or not.
03:06 I don't think this is extra crispy, even though they told us it was.
03:09 Maybe their crispinator was broken today or something.
03:13 KFC US is very good at cooking chicken on the bone.
03:17 Less good when it comes to cooking chicken off the bone, because it's a little bit dry,
03:20 a little bit chewy.
03:21 Moving on, the snack wrap.
03:22 This one is the Flamin' Hot.
03:24 Oh, wow.
03:25 This has got some heat to it.
03:29 Okay, UK.
03:30 Yeah, I like this.
03:31 This is really good.
03:32 Kansas barbecue.
03:33 Okay.
03:34 This barbecue sauce is pretty good.
03:37 I mean, this is definitely a sweeter sauce, which I think is indicative of Kansas City
03:41 barbecue.
03:42 Anyway, yeah, not bad.
03:43 Sweet chili bites.
03:44 Too sweet, not that spicy.
03:48 Now we're onto an item which I've been watching from across the pond with a mixture of horror
03:52 and fascination.
03:53 It's the KFC Famous Bowl.
03:55 Instead of me trying to explain it, I feel like we should just get Joe in here.
03:58 Joe, do you want to come and explain the Famous Bowl to me?
03:59 A little bit of everything that's on the menu, just in bowl form for anyone who just pretty
04:04 much given up on life and doesn't care as long as they get it in their stomach.
04:08 Thanks, Joe.
04:09 You're welcome.
04:10 It's looking more like an infamous bowl right now.
04:14 It's not horrible.
04:15 There's just a lot going on.
04:17 There's a lot of flavors fighting with each other right now, vying for supremacy.
04:21 The main thing I get, I think, is the corn, actually.
04:24 I would have assumed that the mash and the chicken would have been some of the stars
04:28 of the show, but if anything, it's everything else in there that you can actually taste
04:31 more.
04:32 To me, it feels a little bit like you're eating baby food for adults.
04:35 I was going to say I'm more excited to try the next bowl, but I don't know if excited
04:39 is the word, maybe less anxious to try the next bowl.
04:42 This is the KFC mac and cheese bowl, but the kind of color on that is some cause for concern.
04:50 So I think this actually works in harmony with the chicken much better than the famous
04:55 bowl does.
04:56 If I had to get a bowl, I think I would be leaning more towards the mac and cheese bowl
04:59 than the famous bowl.
05:00 Next up is the KFC pot pie.
05:02 It's funny to see this on the menu at a KFC in the US because I feel like meat pies are
05:07 generally associated with Britain more.
05:09 We love a meat pie in the UK, steak pie, chicken pie, Gregg's, pucker pies, all that good stuff.
05:15 So with like a meat pie in the UK, what you'll often get is the pastry on the bottom as well.
05:19 So it's like a self-contained pie.
05:21 Whereas I think with a pot pie, you just have a layer of pastry on top and then filling
05:24 underneath and there's no bottom layer of crust, but let's find out.
05:28 They haven't skimmed on the carrot.
05:30 I taste a lot of the carrot flavor.
05:31 In the UK, for example, with a meat pie, you tend to get like a gravy that will kind of
05:35 run out when you cut into it, but this is like staying on the spoon.
05:39 It's not like running off the spoon.
05:41 It's not great, but it's not bad either.
05:44 It's like the sauce needs a little bit more seasoning.
05:47 I think it's a little bit bland, bit more salt and pepper would not go amiss there.
05:50 I think with a few minor adjustments, they can make this really good.
05:53 And I do think Brits would go for this.
05:54 This is super weird.
05:55 Look at that.
05:56 There's a hash brown in there.
05:57 What does that do with a tower?
05:58 That much?
05:59 I like everything that this is made of.
06:06 Together, I don't think it works.
06:08 So if I was to get this, I'd ask them to separate it across three containers and just eat the
06:13 hash brown and the chicken, finish it off with a slice of cheese.
06:16 There you go.
06:17 This would be closer to like what our extra crispy is.
06:21 This is supposed to be a spicy one.
06:22 It's going to zing me with spice.
06:23 Not bad.
06:30 It's not that I dislike anything I've had so far.
06:33 It's that it's all 60 to 70% as far as flavor and intensity that I'm used to in the United
06:40 States.
06:41 You can also get yourself a zinger stacker and a zinger tower burger.
06:45 Yo, this is a thick one.
06:47 Wow.
06:48 I'm not going to bite into this, but man, that's a lot.
06:52 This would be right at home on the US menu.
06:55 This would be like, yes, of course.
06:56 I'd like the double zinger and everyone's like, yeah, of course it's double.
07:00 Okay.
07:01 Vegan burger.
07:03 It kind of looks like chicken.
07:05 The mayo pretty much missed it, right?
07:07 See how it came?
07:08 So I got to kind of like activate the mayo.
07:13 Twist your vegan sandwich before you eat it.
07:15 Should I even ask what the mayo is made of?
07:20 I mean, when you rip it apart, it's like one of those big erasers.
07:22 I mean, I wouldn't just want to eat this in general, but as far as a fake meat, it's pretty
07:28 close.
07:29 And I don't know why if you were vegan, you'd be like, finally a chicken sandwich at KFC.
07:34 No, you can eat this.
07:35 There's no chicken meat.
07:36 It's like, yeah, but you're still killing them by the millions.
07:38 So there is a category in the menu of twisters, rice boxes, and salads.
07:42 They had no rice boxes or salads.
07:44 They did however have the twisters, but this is called a twister, not a wrap.
07:51 What's twisted about it?
07:52 What's that twisted?
07:53 It looks like they took a chicken breast and cut it in half.
07:56 And this was like one long tender.
07:59 It's also smaller.
08:00 I bet they wanted to appeal to a more male demographic.
08:04 So don't get a wrap, get a twister.
08:05 I'm a big man.
08:06 I don't want to ramble on Twitter.
08:07 Yes, twisted.
08:08 Wraps are for the ladies.
08:09 The dudes have twisters.
08:10 I don't think that.
08:11 They think that's KFC.
08:15 Shame on you.
08:16 Let's talk about some exclusive sides that you can't find in the UK.
08:19 Firstly, if the mac and cheese bowl is too much mac and cheese for you, you can just
08:23 get a little cup as a side.
08:24 You can also get a side of corn.
08:27 You guys just produce so much of it.
08:28 You can't get rid of it fast enough.
08:30 I'm not trying corn.
08:32 I'm like, here in the UK, you guys have corn on the cob.
08:38 Obviously ours is corn off the cob.
08:40 But this would be easier for driving or like eating on the go, right?
08:43 Have you ever seen someone walking down the street just chewing on a cob on a stick?
08:47 Is that a stick?
08:48 You've never seen that?
08:49 Keep your eyes peeled.
08:50 I would like to get that trend going.
08:51 And of course, apparently it wouldn't be a US fast food menu without biscuits.
08:56 This is an American biscuit.
08:57 It looks a lot like a British scone, at least on the outside.
09:00 However, generally I think it's a bit more like bready and maybe slightly drier than
09:04 a scone.
09:06 Texture check.
09:08 It's confusing because with a British scone, they're generally like sweetened with sugar
09:12 because they're eaten with things like jam and cream.
09:14 And it's more of an afternoon tea/dessert type thing.
09:16 Whereas these ones are supposed to be eaten with a savory meal, but actually smell kind
09:20 of sweet.
09:21 I think of the biscuits I've tried from fast food menus in the US so far, this is probably
09:25 my favorite one.
09:26 But it's somewhere between like a British scone and a bread roll.
09:29 Baked beans.
09:30 Yeah.
09:31 Yeah, these are way more tomatoey.
09:35 Tomatoey, excuse me.
09:36 The tomato sauce that it's in is like similar to like whatever Spaghetti-O's come in.
09:40 I will never be in the mood for that.
09:42 Southern rice.
09:44 What the hell?
09:45 I don't know what they think Southern is.
09:47 I'm surprised at how different it is.
09:48 You'd think an international food chain would want it to be same everywhere, but playing
09:52 to the UK tastes, I assume.
09:54 KFC in the US has a bunch of sauce options that we can't get in the UK, which means it's
09:58 time for...
09:59 Sauce talk for an exchange!
10:01 The theme seems to be that they have a lot of honey on the menu when it comes to their
10:04 sauces at KFC in the US.
10:05 The sauces on offer here are hot sauce, honey sauce, a honey barbecue sauce, KFC sauce,
10:12 and yet more honey, a honey mustard.
10:14 I usually like a honey mustard, but I do think you have to get the balance of honey and mustard
10:18 right.
10:19 Yeah, that's not bad.
10:20 That's a pretty well balanced honey mustard, I think.
10:22 I'm intrigued by KFC sauce.
10:26 I quite like it.
10:27 I really can't put my finger on exactly what's in it right now.
10:30 Next up, we've got the honey barbecue.
10:32 Oh.
10:35 Really sweet.
10:36 Both on the honey side and even on the kind of barbecue side.
10:38 Let's have a look at the honey sauce.
10:40 It's fine.
10:41 It does taste pretty much just like honey.
10:42 And then finally, they have a hot sauce.
10:43 Yeah, that's pretty comparable to like a Frank's Red Hot.
10:46 Barbecue.
10:47 Okay, Kentucky smoked barbecue.
10:49 Actually, this is on point.
10:51 Sticky sweet chili sauce.
10:53 Why is it sticky?
10:54 Yeah.
10:55 Oh, that's good.
10:56 All right, garlic, buttermilk, mayo.
10:58 I like all three of those things separately.
11:00 Yeah, it's pretty good.
11:03 Now let's look at some exclusive drinks served in these delightful Diablo branded cups.
11:08 You guys love a advertisement tie-in, don't you?
11:11 So I believe this one is Starry, Joe's beloved Sierra mist.
11:15 Unfortunately, cold recently and replaced by Starry.
11:17 Let's give it a try.
11:20 It's more what I'm used to, I guess, from like a UK version of a lemonade style drink.
11:24 And of course, we have a US style lemonade.
11:29 It's pretty good.
11:30 Again, to me, it's slightly weird what Americans consider lemonade considering coming from
11:33 the UK, lemonade is basically Sprite.
11:36 It's like a clear carbonated lemony beverage.
11:38 It's pretty good.
11:39 It's probably like slightly more refreshing and hydrating than a Sprite is in the UK.
11:43 There are a couple of other exclusive drinks which we can normally get, but unfortunately,
11:46 our local branch did not have.
11:48 Devastatingly, because I really wanted to try the Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning and regular
11:52 American Mountain Dew.
11:54 We ordered the bottles of drinks.
11:55 Didn't we think it was just going to be like a personal one?
11:58 I don't know, the Tango, orange.
12:01 Seven of three, Pepsi Max Cherry.
12:03 Crushems.
12:04 UK, of course, has exclusive Crushem drinks in front of me.
12:06 I said, "Give me one of each," and they did.
12:08 Milky Bar.
12:09 Mm, aero.
12:10 Is that normal?
12:11 It kind of was advertised as a healthy chocolate.
12:12 It's just got more air in it.
12:13 Because there's more air in it.
12:14 We're still charging the same, but it just says you get less in there, so okay.
12:22 Less calories by default because it's filled with air.
12:25 I might be the last person to point this out, but like they took the candy bar and they
12:28 crushed it, and that's why it's Crushems.
12:30 Oreo one, I mean, come on.
12:33 That's really good.
12:34 I would definitely get this.
12:35 Dessert, exclusive desserts.
12:36 You get a white chocolate chip cookie.
12:38 You could also get a pineapple stick, but they didn't have any at the location we went
12:42 to.
12:43 Also, I don't know what a pineapple stick is.
12:44 Why is that desserts?
12:49 I think if I could pick one item from this menu to take back with me to the UK and put
12:53 on our menu over there, I think it would probably be the spicy chicken.
12:56 I just like how it was slightly more crispy than the regular chicken and just added a
13:00 bit more flavor.
13:01 The level of heat was really good.
13:02 Yeah, I think that would come back with me.
13:03 If I could remove one thing from the US and all other menus from KFC, I think it would
13:08 be the famous bowl.
13:09 I'm sorry, guys.
13:10 I don't want to start some kind of revolutionary war again, but I just feel like it's not very
13:14 good because those ingredients don't really go together.
13:17 Texturally, it's a bit of a nightmare, and honestly, there's just way better things you
13:20 can do with the stuff on the menu.
13:22 I was really impressed with the Flamin' Hot Wrap.
13:25 I might have dogged that a little bit earlier because it was smaller, but that spicy sauce
13:28 you guys have is actually pretty good.
13:30 Honorable mention, the vegan burger.
13:32 Obviously, I'm not vegan, but I guess I was surprised by how kind of decent it was.
13:38 It's not my favorite, but I mean, points for it being edible.
13:42 Way to go.
13:43 I will do everyone a favor, and I will say I'm not cutting a menu item.
13:47 Let's get that potato off of your sandwiches.
13:51 They just don't work together, period.
13:52 Activity.
13:53 [Sounds of wind and wind]