On KFC and other declining US brands...

I used to love KFC, in particular, its chicken in original recipe and butter-soaked corn on a cob.  During the days when I lived in Australia with my sisters, we used to drive out to KFC in the evening, bought bucketful of chicken pieces, corn, coleslaw, and mash potato with gravy.  One of my sisters used to work part time at a KFC during her college days, but she's never tired of it.  Another sister loves the coleslaw.  I like the mash potato (no gravy), chicken, and, in particular, the corn.  We would have the big meal on the table, munching while watching our favorable TV shows.  (In those days, there were still decent TV shows, like X Files, rather than trash like reality TV these days.)

How times have changed.

I still love a good KFC meal after I moved to US, though I haven't had one for quite some time now.  Perhaps I'm getting older, and I'd like healthier meals than the very greasy and salty KFC chickens, and such.  It's also true that the attitude of local Americans towards KFC is very different from those overseas.

If you're in, say, Asia or Middle East, the general perception would equate brands like KFC or McDonald's with all things American.  The establishments are generally clean, well-staffed and well-lit.  In fact, in places like Hong Kong, McDonald's and KFC are owned and operated outright by the company, rather than as franchise, which could have added vested interest in ensuring its success.  Food might be the same, in general, but people (young folks, in particular) go there to hang out because it's cool.  Just ask anyone from Hong Kong, young and old, for example.

Back home in US, things cannot be more different.  The area where we live, which is a well-off neighborhood, the McDonald's couldn't survive and closed down a few years ago.  In its stead, we have Panera Bread and Starbucks.  If I have to find a Big Mac or KFC, I have to drive to other more blue-collar, working class neighborhoods.  (I don't mean to sound demeaning or mean-spirited, but it's true.)  Even so, you don't generally see those franchises busy.

About two weeks, I suddenly have this craving for the KFC original recipe.  You may call it nostalgia, but craving is craving, and it has to be satisfied.  So, I drove out to another town, for the lone KFC within maybe five miles radius of where we live.  It was around lunch time, but there's only one sit-down customer.  I bought a two-piece chicken meal, original recipe, that comes with a mash potato (with gravy), a muffin (that I didn't eat), and a colesaw.  For what's worth in a box, it sounds like quite good value for the money.  I do reckon KFC probably spends a big chunk in the packaging (and all those little containers) than the actual food.

In any case, I opened the box with much anticipation, bear in mind that this is my KFC meals in maybe ten years' time.  I was hoping the taste will bring back fond memory.  But, I was quite sorely disappointed with the chicken which is not crispy.  I tasted the saltiness but it didn't have the flavor it used to have.  Both the chicken pieces fell apart when I tried to pick them up.  There's a lot of "stuffs" on the skin (that is supposed to be crispy though it's not), but not much meat, never mind the stuffings (even though I don't care about stuffings).  To its credit, the mash potato was still more or less the same (though I realize now that I prefer real mash potato rather fake ones from KFC).  Same goes with the coleslaw.  (I never touch the muffin; I should have told them I don't need it.)

In the end, I've decided that I ate probably one third of what's in the box.  Or, I should have said, about one third in that decent sized box is edible.  For the money I've spent, expecting a lunch, I was still hungry when I was done.  Most disappointing was original recipe chicken which I used to love a lot, but THIS is not it.

While driving home from this very disappointing encounter, I've decided that I've had it with KFC.  This would probably be my last encounter with KFC.

As I was reading the article, about US brands that are now not meant to be, I have to say, there's a lot of truth in it.  Perhaps I'm not alone in my disappointment with KFC, or even McDonald's; those American brands that were staples but have fallen out of favor for a long time now.  McDonald's does try to change with the times, adding healthier choices to its menu, and its coffee isn't that shabby.  I can't say the same with KFC which has a sense of constancy in its decor and food (the look of it, but not the taste), but neither is that appealing to me anymore.  Even though my family has been blessed with good genes (*touch wood*), and we never have to worry about problems with weight, or heart, or cholesterol that comes with eating junk food, I'm getting more conscious about healthier eating habits these days.

Perhaps for those people overseas, they might still mistakenly think that, by eating at these establishments, it'll make them more American and more cool.  In reality, it cannot be further from the truth since a large swath of Americans have ditched these brands, if not for good.  Sometimes, one has to wonder how long these brands can sustain on this kind of illusion in their overseas markets?!?  I'd have to say, sooner or later, that façade has to come off.  It's just a matter of time.