Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Double Downs Burger

When "My Wedding and Other Secrets" came out in the movie theatres, I heard nothing but how I should totally go and see it because I, the Asian girl, have a Kiwi boyfriend and could therefore relate. This is what it has been like with every movie that has ever been released. My friends tell me how hilarious it is and hype it up so much that, when I finally do watch it, I am inevitably let down because I had such high expectations. This is also what it was like with KFC's new Double Down Burger.

I use the term "burger" loosely.

Really not impressed
Very loosely.

After having great success in the U.S. the Double Down Burger has finally made its way to New Zealand and caused a lot of controversy -it even has it's own Facebook page! It's like any other burger, except it has two of the Colonel's original recipe chicken fillets instead of the bread bun and, if you wanna choose the 'healthy' alternative, you can go for grilled chicken fillets.

Even the pictures I find on the internet aren't very appetising

Now I'm a great fan of chicken, but even I know that there is a line. But the protein overload wasn't my main concern. Neither was the massive amounts of calories this burger contains (which, apparently, isn't much more than most burgers from other fast food chains).

My original fear of this burger that the chicken fillets would leave my fingers all gross and greasy but KFC had obviously thought of that and wrapped it in a paper bag to protect my delicate little fingers.


From top to bottom: Chicken fillet, cheese sauce (montery jack and pepperjack cheese), bacon, chicken fillet
The burger was quite a bit smaller than we had expected but we were pleasantly surprised -any bigger and we would have had to split the burger into more than just halves.

"All it needs is a bun, some lettuce and tomato" says Jason.

I must admit, he's not wrong, but some small part of me really enjoyed slapping quality food in the face and digging in to this protein monstrosity. I just really like chicken. The biggest problem was how salty the bloody thing was. It's as if they were trying to make up for the lack of burger qualities by rolling the fillet around in the Dead Sea every step of the way.

Pepperjack and monterey jack cheese left at the bottom of our box
 I felt really bad about myself after finishing it though. But it's ok, I washed it down with a mint chocolate milkshake and I forgot everything as I fell back into a food coma..

Placemat: I love how they have an emergency stock of chicken. It shows how dedicated they are.
So all in all, it wasn't as great as it was hyped up to be, but not as bad as some of the facebook status' I read. It was just so so. Would I try it again? Probably not. What if there was a gun held to my head? Happily.

Facts:

Official title: KFC's Double Down Sandwich
Ingredients: Two boneless Original Recipe® Filets, two strips of bacon, two slices of monterey jack and pepperjack cheese, Colonel's Sauce.
Price: $7.50
Combo Meal Price: $10.90 (includes fries and a large soda).
Calories:460
Fat: 32 grams
Sodium: 1380 milligrams

Verdict (as of Saturday 14th May, 2011) as told by Jason and Lucy:

Taste: 4/10 It wasn't terrible. It's pretty hard to stuff up chicken, bacon and cheese but, as Jason said, it needs a bun, lettuce and tomato. SO MUCH SALT! Make sure you have a drink on hand or you will dehydrate and turn into a prune.

Appearance: 2/10 Definitely could improve in this area. Surely KFC has enough money to hire a food stylist. Pfft

Ease of eating: 6/10 Despite the attempt at keeping my fingers clean, the paper bag does little to prevent the cheese from going all over your face reducing you to a sad, sad mess.

The idea of having an emergency stock of chicken: Priceless


Oh yeah, we have yet to see My Wedding and Other Secrets..

8 comments:

  1. Firstly, I get the impression there that you shared it.. Which doesnt count. At all. Did you share it??
    Also, I had mine without bacon and didnt notice the salt, so perhaps thats an option for cutting down on the saltiness.
    Finally, love you Lucy

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  2. Yeah I did share it, it would have been unbearable otherwise. You had it without bacon?! But bacon is so good!

    I was originally going to split the 'burger'/'sandwich' between two plates and have it with mash and a salad.. But that would probably have been going too far

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  3. Combo meal price $6.99? Don't you mean $10.90? :)

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  4. I cannot bear the thought of putting this into my body, so I'm glad you reviewed it! I am surprised at how little the calories were, although still that's probably a third of my daily intake! Didn't think it would make it to NZ to be honest, we went to KFC on the day that it came out and the drive through was backed up ridiculously far! The hype for something that is essentially just a "burger" is INSANE. Good review!

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  5. Thanks anonymous. I'm gonna blame it on the food coma..

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  6. I can handle a piece or two of KFC very very occcaisionally without suffering too much, so just had to try this. I actually quite liked it, but it was a bit too salty. I only tried it once as it was here for a limited time, but I would have had one again.... in about 6months!

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  7. Hehe I still haven't tried one of these yet. I actually never thought that they'd make it here-you know those legendary stories of American fast food. I actually thought that it was a joke at first. But I do like chicken, cheese and bacon so a part of me is curious!

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  8. OMG...that's huge! I've never heard of it before, but with the bacon on it I'm sure it must be good. It's just so big! Guess that makes it perfect for sharing! :)

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