#FastFoodFriday: Popeye’s Fiery Cheesy Chicken: The Stars Aligned For This

Someone sue Popeye’s for false advertisement here.

Yet another fast-food chain misrepresenting what they’re selling.

But this time… it’s different.

It looks better than advertised.

Impossible.

Image: Knowyourmeme

Take a look if you don’t believe me. This is their advertisement:

Image: Popeyes

And this is the real deal.

Image: Giphy

The chicken had more sauce than the advertisement?? What is this? Am I living in an alternate reality?

Thus…

It’s Time For #FriedChickenFridays

Image: Giphy

But first, before talking about the star of the show, we have to talk about the two sides.

You know what I’m talking about. The mashed potatoes and the fish bites.

When I ate a spoonful of the mashed potatoes, this is when I noticed something terribly wrong.

Today’s Popeyes seemed awfully better than usual.

The mashed potato didn’t have the usual instant mashed potato dryness, and was actually moist and buttery smooth.

And the fish bites. Oh, the fish bites.

These babies were so crisp. So juicy. So bouncy. It’s the bounce that indicates the meat cooked to perfection. Not overcooked, not undercooked, and just right. It’s so bouncy I swear if I threw it on the floor it would bounce right back – and into my mouth.

You might be asking how is that a bad thing. Because I have eaten Popeyes before, and they’ve never been this good.

There was always something a little wrong. A little too greasy, too little sauce, meat ain’t fresh, or the product ain’t good.

The Chicken

So I was more than a little terrified when it came to the chicken. If nothing went wrong thus far, then the only thing that could go wrong would be the chicken.

But no. This was the day a star employee put his/her heart and soul into preparing this particular meal, and I don’t know when or if this is replicable to you guys out there.

I have used up my luck for Popeyes this year. The stars aligned for me. I fear that my next meals will end up like Popeye’s Ho-ho-holiday chicken (everything went wrong for that one).

Anyway.

Imagine just minding your own business, then you hear a crunch and turn your head to see someone eating fried chicken.

I’m talking crunch you can hear from the next table.

That’s right. Even all sauced up and moist. You’d think there is no possible explanation for it to be crunchy.

But. It. Is.

The cheese itself doesn’t have much taste through the heat from the Sze Chuan peppers, but it added a moist, salty layer of gooey river for the flavours to flow.

With flowery, lemony notes from the Sze Chuan peppers and a moist juicy chicken, there isn’t anything much else I could ask for. It’s spicy, cheesy and crunchy without compromising on one another — the dairy from the cheese probably helping a little with the heat.

You’re thinking: “If only I can taste through the screen”

Unlike my previous review where I had to drink 3 cups of water to help chug down my meal, there was none of that here.

(But stay hydrated peeps.)

Everything in the box today was just right.

Image: Deviantart (Doutarina)

Is this what they mean by finger-lickin’ good? That you’d eat the chicken, then lick off the remaining sauces on your fingers?

Wait a minute. Wrong company.

Rating: 4.5/5

Woah, how did a raving review like that not get 5/5?

Call it a PTSD-tax, or a distrust of fast food. Yes, that Popeye’s Ho-ho-holiday chicken was so bad it leaked to the next Popeye’s review and I had to mention it twice.

I’m not confident whoever is reading this review will get the same quality I had today, so I had to mention that even the rest of the box was better than usual.

Your mile may vary.

To the underpaid employee frying my food today: Good job.

Image: Imgflip