It’s finger lickin’ so good
So, in Japan, KFC is running an ad campaign celebrating the Colonel’s birthday. On the 7th, 8th, and 9th you can grab yourself three chicken fingers and three pieces of fried chicken for the low low price of 990円.
Chicken fingers. Except its more like Japanesey chicken fingers. Maybe the Colonel had a distant Japanese cousin that passed him down the recipe.
I would like to mention how un-Kentucky KFC is in Japan.
But first, let me describe to you the experience of walking into KFC in Japan.
The store looks like what you would get in America. Except there’s a statue of Colonel Sanders grinning happily at you as you walk into his cardiac arrest encouraging establishment. The workers wear the same uniforms, if not slightly different, than their American counterparts and it smells like a KFC in America. But that’s where the similarities end. One look at the menu and you suddenly realize that this KFC is different. It’s not like the good ol’ Southern cooking you’re used to having in America, preprocessed, doped up on chicken hormones, and delivered to you in under 5 minutes. There’s no mashed potatos, there’s no gravy, there’s no corn, there’s not even an all you can eat bar.
Instead, you have karage, a katsu sauce chicken sandwich, some imitation cole slaw, something that resembles a biscuit, and some other funky Japanese interpretations of the Colonel’s good ol’ Kentucky fried food. KFC in Japan is more of a chicken fast food joint, where you don’t get bucket deals — instead you only get combos with fries and a coke. You can use your Loppi point card and score some points while you’re at it.
It’s like what Americans would do to a Asian resturaunt coughpandaexpresscough if it was in the states. It’s American inspired food, it’s far from being American. Even the cole slaw tastes Japanese, with the bitter vinegery flavor of Japanese mayo mixed in with cabbage and carrots. Not the soft and delicately sweet taste commonly found in America.
It’s not bad. People find California Rolls to be quite delicious. The same can apply to this Japanese interpretation of KFC. It’s quite good and I love the chicken sandwiches (the cole slaw is fucking shit). It sates my longing tastebuds for a good American dish when I need to get my hit. KFC in Japan is unique. While other fast food restaurants try to remain as unified as possible to their American-owned counterparts as possible, KFC decides to break the mold. Which would probably explain why KFC is such a iconique image during Christmas… Something, that until I actually experience it, baffles me.
Well, that’s it for this entry. Now, I’m gonna finish my birthday box and watch some tv.