#FastFoodFriday: KFC Garlickin’ SOY & Chillickin’ HOT Wings Review: Tastes More Like Rice Crackers

Today’s review will be a little special… because instead of just 1 reviewer there will be a total of 4!

It’s definitely because there’s the opinion that what we’re reviewing looks like 4 fingers and not because the rest of the office didn’t want to eat it.

There’s no real need to protect their identity, but I’ll be calling them Jesus, St. Andrew and Bee Hoon here.

And this is what we’ll be reviewing.

KFC’s new saucy wings:

From my perspective, free food is always good. FREE fried chicken is even better.

But for you readers, you have to pay (unless you’re applying to work for Goody Feed!). It’s being sold as Wings meal (choice of Garlickin Soy or Chillickin Hot) for S$10.95, with 4 wings, 3 Nuggets, 1 reg Whipped Potato and 1 reg Pepsi.

The wings came in looking pretty good. Garlickin SOY looks almost like a replica of the ads, though Chillickin HOT doesn’t quite have an even coat like the ads.

First Impression

Opening the box reveals a strong smell that wasn’t like fried chicken, but more like fresh rice crackers. Nobody else really commented on this.

Spoiler alert: It was a 3-1 Like:Dislike ratio among the reviewers overall, with me being the only one who disliked the new items.

Everybody preferred the Garlicky Soy.

Without a new box, I’m unable to replicate the scenario and ask my colleagues about their opinions on this.

So the smell doesn’t matter since my colleagues are dumb so their opinions don’t matter that much. And I’m the one actually writing the review so I can manipulate the results anyway.

Test: Spicy

Let’s start off with what everybody agrees with – The Chillickin HOT is not great.

Mr Jesus: It looks like 4 fingers. Didn’t really like it.

St. Andrew: Quite a kick, more than the usual KFC spices but not that tasty. Looks like KFC, as in Korean Fried Chicken?

Bee Hoon: Too spicy.

Me: It’s like eating rice crackers with bland chicken meat, topped with chilli flakes that don’t bring much to the overall flavour. Yeah, the chicken is tender, but there isn’t much flavouring or marinade. On it’s own the meat is just bland.

The skin is relatively thick, with rice cracker-like taste and smell. Rice flour, which some Korean Fried Chicken recipes use, is probably somehow involved.

But it ain’t KoreanFC. It tastes too much like rice cracker that I don’t think it blends in with the seasoning or enhances the chicken.

Overall, I’d have to give this 1/5. Would rather eat rice crackers.

Test: Garlickin

Mr Jesus: Tastes kinda like Four Fingers, but Lao Hong. Later corrected that it’s still crispy though! (?????????) Definitely liked this over the Chillickin hot.

St. Andrew: Much better, and has a more solid taste.

Bee Hoon: Definitely better than the hot one. The coating’s sweetness can be tasted, the skin is crispy, and overall the chicken tastes good.

Me: I guess it’s fine. Sometimes the world is against me, but I still have to stand alone.

The sweet and salty coating is an improvement over the Chillickin HOT, but that really isn’t saying much. It helped a little in masking the rice cracker taste, but it didn’t change much that the meat here is bland.

Did I mention that the wing tasted too much like rice crackers? Because I’m going to say that again and again. It’s that strong.

Nobody gave a score, so manipulating the numbers, I’d give Garlickin SOY 2.5/5.

I wouldn’t buy it, but fried chicken is still fried chicken.