13 January 2012

Kentucky Fried Chicken

Between traveling for work and visiting home for the holidays I have been absent from the Nairobi social scene and foodie adventures for a few months.  Now that I am back in town I am ready to eat! 

Did you know that Colonel Sanders did not find his true calling of selling hot, fried chicken to the masses until he was 70?

KFC opened at Junction in August of last year to great fanfare and long lines. I didn't particularly understand the excitement then and was not intrigued enough to wait for hours in long lines for fried chicken. (Personally I'm waiting for a Taco Bell.) I was also surprised that of all of the American fast food franchises that the first to enter the Kenyan market was one that does not fulfill a niche in Nairobi's growing restaurant industry. Grilled meat and chicken joints already litter the landscape of the city; some are good, some are not so good, why add another one to the mix? 

When I finally got around to checking out KFC I was disappointed to discover that the chain, dependent on their American brand name, unfortunately does not come with the same American menu; theirs' is derived from the South African restaurant's sandwiches and chicken meals. All I wanted was one of KFC's Famous Bowls with some mash and nuggets. Is that too much to ask for? Instead I settled for a Colonel Burger Meal with cheese and a large side of mash and spicy gravy. My roomie, the Cocktail Contessa, who has the propensity to emotionally overeat during times of stress, ordered the Fully Loaded Box Meal which comes with a Colonel burger, a piece of fried chicken, small mash and gravy, and a soda. 

As we were too lazy to actually go to one of their two locations at Junction or the Galleria we instead placed our order online with Mama Meals on Wheels who delivered the food still warm within 45 minutes. Colonel Sanders smiled up at us from the familiar logo on the KFC bag beckoning us to chow down. The chicken burger was fine, but nothing spectacular and while the fried chicken satisfies your immediate desire for fast food, it leaves you hollow inside when you realize it's just not the same or as good as the KFC in Egypt. Not only was there an excessive amount of gravy on my mash I felt lied to as it was not in the least bit even a little spicy. 

Having gone on multiple romantic dates there, the Cocktail Contessa states that the food is better at the actual restaurant (at Junction) than delivery, however, this is not to say that it meets the high standards that she has set for KFC. They have no apple pie.

1 comment:

  1. A) Did you know that Nairobi Nights info is a website by "Sue, the Kenyan prostitute building a brand" ?
    B) Manchester got it's first Taco Bell a while ago. People were super excited. I still haven't been.

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