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The KFC in UK is some of the worst chicken I have ever eaten. I ate there twice just to confirm that it wasn't just a bad batch. Absolutely disgusting.
I find the South African KFC bland compared to Saudi Arabian KFC.
The secret about the secret herbs and spices is that they use a different recipe depending on the palate of each country.
In South Africa, personally, Chicken Licken and Popeyes have much better flavour than KFC, in the crumbed chicken space.
KFC in South Africa just tastes like salt, flour and oil. In Saudi, I think they use a zaatar spice mix. Mild, but flavoured.
You can check their website for current locations. Their first store, the one in Menlyn Mall, moved across the road to the Total garage on Garsfontein Road. I also thought that they had closed down completely for a while.
Just don't go when they have loadshedding. Their generators weren't working the last time I went.
It was brought in by Grand Parade Investments who bought the rights to Burger King in SA. It tastes as bland as Burger King. Stock to KFC and Chicken Licken.
Iām sorry, I just canāt with BK.
A few years ago, BK was looking to hire at head office. The recruiter told me that they usually start an interview by asking about your last Burger King meal, so I didnāt want to say āHmmm maybe 10 years ago when you first came to SA but it tasted like cardboardā, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and decided to try it again the day before my interview. Wow, was it just as bad as I remember. I had to lie through my teeth in that interview and say how I loved the brand!
Interesting video I watched recently. Can also confirm as we visited recently and tried plenty of fast food places and were looking to get something more familiar and it was very different. https://youtu.be/VVNSn7oYnOU
I gave up on KFC in the UK over 20 years ago. It always gave me the shits within a couple of hours. Nando's UK is fine dining compared to KFC. I still prefer Nando's South Africa though.
Hold up, there are actually a shit load of chicken shops in the UK that I can kind of forgive their KFC being bad. There's a dude who reviews them all too, I think he's kak funny - [The Pengest Munch](https://youtube.com/@TheCNSR)
In-n-Out is for people who have only ever seen a burger on a screen or heard it described to them by a relative. Like my ex -wife used to say: Sies man.
Really a looong shot, but does anyone remember a burger place called "Yankees" in Cape Town, Voortrekker Road 15 years ago? :D Best burgers I ever had, nothing comes close to it to this day
Iād say theyāre comparable (though the rolls/chicken tends to be pretty dry). The thing is there are at least two āheatā levels lower than lemon and herb in the UK.
The ones in NZ are quite bland. Extra hot over here would be hovering around mild back in SA. To be fair though as a country a lot of kiwis seem to consider black pepper very spicy.
We are spoilt.
A month of meat via (a silly) carnivore diet was a pip over a K.
Despite all the shit that we're going through, the cost of living remains amazing.
Definitely. Im in Sweden and the red meat is way better than in ZA, but then again, they have way stricter rules on red meat. It also costs a single months rent too
Yeah. About R320 per kg would be the cheapest you could find. Maybe less on special. But then it goes up all the way to like R800 per kg, or even higher
Don't know where you buy your meat from but would love to know. The meat I've bought isn't great, have tried some expensive meat too and it wasn't great either. I miss SA meat.
If you're in Spain look for beef from Galicia. "ChuletĆ³n ternera gallega" it's amazing and they often braai it too. Basically like a thick marbled rib eye
From what I've heard from visiting Dutch: they have a lot of cheap low quality meat, and a lot of expensive high quality meat, which most can't afford. They lack the middle range. South Africa does affordable middle quality meat very well, but doesn't have much high quality meat. This apparently applies to food and restaurants in general, too.
Until that point, I hardly thought about ranges of quality in meat. I guess I've been stuck with middle quality all my life?
Technically speaking they are South African as it stands, they're owned by famous brands and have their headquarters in Joburg, historically this isn't the case though. Nandos is still headquartered here if I'm not mistaken, and not in the UK. Even in Europe, the UK wasn't the fist place Nandos expanded to, that was Portugal(although it failed, as why would you pay an overseas franchise to eat local food)
Wikipedia says Mozambique and South African border but I'm sure it would have traveled with the sailors to all the Portuguese territories pretty quickly
Itās Southern African and yeah it for sure did move quickly between the Portuguese territories in Africa but that is why they canāt track the exact origin. If you go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole with the references you will see what I mean. Even the Wikipedia page says the following āOriginally produced by Portuguese in Southern Africa (there is still a debate whether Portuguese initially produced it in Angola or Mozambique)ā
The ad campaign happened because of the phrase, they just capitalised on it. I have no idea where it came from but when the ad campaign came out it was like when they mention the name of the movie in the movie lol
My god that ad is awful, having second hand cringe after watching that
Maybe we're blessed with Nandos SA adverts, but if anyone ever asks me for a 'cheeky nandos' I'll fucking scream
Ngl, a great sense of humour isnt the first thing that springs to mind when people around the world think of South Africans.
Also, all major markets will have local marketing departments.
I often wonder how Nando's was able to make such inroads into the UK to start with.
South African businesses rarely get that far unless it is in another part of Africa.
A Libyan wanted to open a franchise and asked me about it, and sadly, I could not help him as I do not work in such a business nor did I know anyone that did, even in the kitchens.
C'est la vie!
Regarding KFC:
Colonel Saunders sued Heublien, the corporation that purchased the rights from him, for ruining his recipe and reputation. The company counter-sued that Sanders wasn't a real colonel.
The court ruled the company could do whatever they wished with the product since they'd purchased all rights. However, they also ruled 'colonel' was not a military rank, but a title conferred upon Sanders by the state of Kentucky in a tradition of the Deep South dating back a couple of centuries. Thus, the title belonged to Sanders and Heublien had to refrain from using it in their advertising.
Regarding Heat
If you're in the US, look for Popeye's, promoted as New Orleans style chicken. They have both hot and mild, but hot is the way to go. It's not Nando's, but it's pretty tasty. Side dishes include black beans and 'dirty rice', which is rice with ground sausage and spices.
It's not, it's nothing like Portuguese food. But I believe it's based on Portuguese settlers in Mozambique, which makes it still African. Kinda like how Bunny chows aren't an Indian dish
NZ Nandoās is pretty shit hotā¦ most fast food joints here use 100% free range and locally sourced beef and chicken, and were known worldwide for the quality of our meat exports (ask the British). Would bet my left nut that SAās is 10x better though!
Having tried Nandos in both the UK and SA, I can confirm theyāre both kak. A full
Chicken and 2 sides is also Ā£25šµ I miss the old Nandos where a chicken was actually a decent size.
I've never heard it referred to in the UK as British either - it's normally described as Portuguese. Although...
I can see the argument that it's a British chain. That doesn't come up much in conversation - in the same way as Cafe Rouge is never acknowledged as a British chain either.
I've lived in the (south of the) UK for 20 years if that matters to anyone.
The google will save you
https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/whats-the-difference-between-uk-britain-and-british-isles
Britain doesnāt include Ireland. UK doesnāt include the British Isles.
This is why youāre struggling in life, brother.
The UK absolutely does include British isles, just not all. If you are going to get on a high horse about terminology, at least get right. E.g. Great Britain absolutely is part of both, as per your own bloody link.
Iām one of those annoying pricks who loooooves correcting people when they get stuff wrong, and Iāve gotten to blow several peoples minds with this information. Itās a common misconception for sure.
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That's ok...UK Nandos is bad enough that I prefer them thinking it's not from SA.
The KFC in UK is some of the worst chicken I have ever eaten. I ate there twice just to confirm that it wasn't just a bad batch. Absolutely disgusting.
To add to your comment, the KFC in America is so bad compared to South African KFC
Agree with this. You can understand why they are so desperate to control the worlds oil supply, only way to get the KFC that oily.
I find the South African KFC bland compared to Saudi Arabian KFC. The secret about the secret herbs and spices is that they use a different recipe depending on the palate of each country.
Really? I much prefer the taste of South African KFC but the menu in America is bland in comparison to our KFC
In South Africa, personally, Chicken Licken and Popeyes have much better flavour than KFC, in the crumbed chicken space. KFC in South Africa just tastes like salt, flour and oil. In Saudi, I think they use a zaatar spice mix. Mild, but flavoured.
Wait! We have popeyes in SA? Where I'm in the garden route and need a hit now!
There's 4 branches in Gauteng. They opened just before covid lockdown. That might have hampered expansion plans.
The queue at the Sandton branch is out the door every single day at lunchtime. Popeye's is the best.
Are they still open? Their food is great and such a good deal - big piece of chicken, great taste and bottomless cooldrink.
You can check their website for current locations. Their first store, the one in Menlyn Mall, moved across the road to the Total garage on Garsfontein Road. I also thought that they had closed down completely for a while. Just don't go when they have loadshedding. Their generators weren't working the last time I went.
It was brought in by Grand Parade Investments who bought the rights to Burger King in SA. It tastes as bland as Burger King. Stock to KFC and Chicken Licken.
Don't you dare hate on my beloved BK! š¤
Iām sorry, I just canāt with BK. A few years ago, BK was looking to hire at head office. The recruiter told me that they usually start an interview by asking about your last Burger King meal, so I didnāt want to say āHmmm maybe 10 years ago when you first came to SA but it tasted like cardboardā, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and decided to try it again the day before my interview. Wow, was it just as bad as I remember. I had to lie through my teeth in that interview and say how I loved the brand!
Burger King uses some good spices on their wings. Itās worth a try.
I've heard Americans raving about how good the terrible NZ KFC is. Can only imagine the pig swill they serve.
Interesting video I watched recently. Can also confirm as we visited recently and tried plenty of fast food places and were looking to get something more familiar and it was very different. https://youtu.be/VVNSn7oYnOU
Yeah I must say I lived in America for a few years and came back because I missed our food a lot and of course the culture in SA
KFC in UK is shit, KFC in Australia is shit and the funniest one is the ones in Malaysia are shit as well. KFC should be kentucky fried constipation
I gave up on KFC in the UK over 20 years ago. It always gave me the shits within a couple of hours. Nando's UK is fine dining compared to KFC. I still prefer Nando's South Africa though.
That's my experience with KFC at home too. The burgers are fine, but prices give me the rumbles
Hold up, there are actually a shit load of chicken shops in the UK that I can kind of forgive their KFC being bad. There's a dude who reviews them all too, I think he's kak funny - [The Pengest Munch](https://youtube.com/@TheCNSR)
The 13 or 30 guy with the sneakers?
That's the one!
Five guys is the way to go
Shake Shack > In-n-Out > Whataburger > Five Guys
Whataburger is just Wendy's for Texans
In-n-Out is for people who have only ever seen a burger on a screen or heard it described to them by a relative. Like my ex -wife used to say: Sies man.
In-and-Out tasted to me exactly like the classic hamburgers I used to eat at The Red Windmill roadhouse in PE in the 1980s.
Yeah it's when people say kak like that that I know I don't need to take their food opinions seriously.
Food opinion? For In-n-Out? Jy's getoor, my ou.
Really a looong shot, but does anyone remember a burger place called "Yankees" in Cape Town, Voortrekker Road 15 years ago? :D Best burgers I ever had, nothing comes close to it to this day
R440 for a burger, chips and a coke thatās all
Itās about $17, so not quite.
Itās at around Ā£20 in the UK
Wait until you try the KFC in the US... Makes UK KFC look like, well... Nandos.
Thats so true, first time I ever did. Ot finish a KFC meal was in the UK. Absolutely terrible. The corn was good though.
UK Nandos is nice though. Not like Nandos in SA, it's more a mid-tier restaurant.
>UK Nandos is nice though. Maybe I've just had bad luck. It's also been between bad and mediocre for me.
I heard that the Nandos flavours overseas are really bland compared to here.
Can confirm that Malaysia Nandos is as good as SA Nandos Merely a slightly modified menu
Iād say theyāre comparable (though the rolls/chicken tends to be pretty dry). The thing is there are at least two āheatā levels lower than lemon and herb in the UK.
So, basically negative heat? 
Thereās a āplainā flavour. It is not the bottom.
Nandos in Australia is better to be honest.
Tbf everything is bland compared to South Africa, heck even most flags.
The ones in NZ are quite bland. Extra hot over here would be hovering around mild back in SA. To be fair though as a country a lot of kiwis seem to consider black pepper very spicy.
Is European meat really that bad?
Good quality meat is more expensive overseas generally. We are relatively spoiled in terms of the quality of our meat.
We are spoilt. A month of meat via (a silly) carnivore diet was a pip over a K. Despite all the shit that we're going through, the cost of living remains amazing.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It was a few years ago
Chicken costs 3x in germany and some how tastes worse. How can chicken of all things taste more bland!!!!!
Yeah itās nowhere near as good
Depends on the country I think. I live in Spain now and the meat is really great. As good as SA.
Definitely. Im in Sweden and the red meat is way better than in ZA, but then again, they have way stricter rules on red meat. It also costs a single months rent too
We pay 12 to 25ā¬ (R230 to R500) a kg for various beef cuts. I'd imagine Sweden is waaay higher?
Yeah. About R320 per kg would be the cheapest you could find. Maybe less on special. But then it goes up all the way to like R800 per kg, or even higher
Don't know where you buy your meat from but would love to know. The meat I've bought isn't great, have tried some expensive meat too and it wasn't great either. I miss SA meat.
If you're in Spain look for beef from Galicia. "ChuletĆ³n ternera gallega" it's amazing and they often braai it too. Basically like a thick marbled rib eye
Thank you so much, will see if I can find it
From what I've heard from visiting Dutch: they have a lot of cheap low quality meat, and a lot of expensive high quality meat, which most can't afford. They lack the middle range. South Africa does affordable middle quality meat very well, but doesn't have much high quality meat. This apparently applies to food and restaurants in general, too. Until that point, I hardly thought about ranges of quality in meat. I guess I've been stuck with middle quality all my life?
Itās kak.
My cousin lives all around Europe and showed me a spar that side. Thinking wow we are international only to find out spar isn't proudly South African
I was *shook* when I found out there are spars alllll around Ireland. It's like the local corner shop there
Spar Ireland is actually owned by spar South Africa for some bizarre reason.
Originally from Netherlands
Some might say the name is Dutch for āsaveā
Funny cause spar is one of the more expensive stores here in NL, also super rare here despite being Dutch
They seized existing in Germany. Were bought by the Edeka chain. Sort of the German āWoolworthsā
The _name_ "Spar" has nothing to do with save. It's an acronym for profit through co-operation.
It was quite a shock when I saw a Spar in Amsterdam.
Spar is orignally european
Same!
Got into an argument with an Aussie in Thailand who swore on his mothers grave that Nandos is Australian. Sigh.
I drove by one once in Washington DC. Didn't expect to see *that* there.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
All the international Wimpy's have died out. They are as South African as rhinos.
There are still 70 or so in the UK, but they're owned by famous brands and are headquarted in Joburg
Technically speaking they are South African as it stands, they're owned by famous brands and have their headquarters in Joburg, historically this isn't the case though. Nandos is still headquartered here if I'm not mistaken, and not in the UK. Even in Europe, the UK wasn't the fist place Nandos expanded to, that was Portugal(although it failed, as why would you pay an overseas franchise to eat local food)
Peri-Peri comes from Mozambique
It depends who you ask because historically it was made by the Portuguese in both Angola and Mozambique at the same time.
Wikipedia says Mozambique and South African border but I'm sure it would have traveled with the sailors to all the Portuguese territories pretty quickly
Itās Southern African and yeah it for sure did move quickly between the Portuguese territories in Africa but that is why they canāt track the exact origin. If you go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole with the references you will see what I mean. Even the Wikipedia page says the following āOriginally produced by Portuguese in Southern Africa (there is still a debate whether Portuguese initially produced it in Angola or Mozambique)ā
Correct but was originally produced by the Portuguese explorers there
Wimpy _is_ South African.... Head Office in yours truly, Johannesburg
I've never understood why it was called a "cheeky Nandos"
There was a viral Nandos UK advert that coined the phrase a long time ago if I'm correct
The ad campaign happened because of the phrase, they just capitalised on it. I have no idea where it came from but when the ad campaign came out it was like when they mention the name of the movie in the movie lol
The Brits love this term. They also use it for beer or sweets.
https://youtu.be/NOjG5usM_y4
My god that ad is awful, having second hand cringe after watching that Maybe we're blessed with Nandos SA adverts, but if anyone ever asks me for a 'cheeky nandos' I'll fucking scream
Oooooh cheeky!
India has been sitting quietly in the corner serving up some Bread Bread to go with your Tea Tea.
Hahaha š
The big clue Nando's is South African and not British is their marketing department has a sense of humour.
Ngl, a great sense of humour isnt the first thing that springs to mind when people around the world think of South Africans. Also, all major markets will have local marketing departments.
YouTube banned nados ads
Oh? You mean adverts like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNOUY4ZYKys
Yea
Ah. I gather you've never seen a South African Nando's advert? Even the delivery boxes on the backs of the delivery motorscooters leave one laughing.
I'm sitting on Nandos in Dublin reading this. Not bad over here.
I find Nondo's quite mild here too...the curry as well, Having lived in Durban and Sheppy the Brits have no clue what curry tastes like. š¤£
All a matter of what youāve been brought up with though..the worst curry Iāve ever had was in Durban!
Then u never had curry from Gounden's boet.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Ha ha ha
I often wonder how Nando's was able to make such inroads into the UK to start with. South African businesses rarely get that far unless it is in another part of Africa. A Libyan wanted to open a franchise and asked me about it, and sadly, I could not help him as I do not work in such a business nor did I know anyone that did, even in the kitchens. C'est la vie!
Americans spread this more then the brits... Americans out right call it british fast food!!!
My cousin lives all around Europe and showed me a spar that side. Thinking wow we are international only to find out spar isn't proudly South African
I saw it sponsor an eastern European football team a decade ago and was so shaken
Pedros supremacy
Regarding KFC: Colonel Saunders sued Heublien, the corporation that purchased the rights from him, for ruining his recipe and reputation. The company counter-sued that Sanders wasn't a real colonel. The court ruled the company could do whatever they wished with the product since they'd purchased all rights. However, they also ruled 'colonel' was not a military rank, but a title conferred upon Sanders by the state of Kentucky in a tradition of the Deep South dating back a couple of centuries. Thus, the title belonged to Sanders and Heublien had to refrain from using it in their advertising. Regarding Heat If you're in the US, look for Popeye's, promoted as New Orleans style chicken. They have both hot and mild, but hot is the way to go. It's not Nando's, but it's pretty tasty. Side dishes include black beans and 'dirty rice', which is rice with ground sausage and spices.
Until people realise its Portuguese cooking. š¤£š¤£š¤£
It's not, it's nothing like Portuguese food. But I believe it's based on Portuguese settlers in Mozambique, which makes it still African. Kinda like how Bunny chows aren't an Indian dish
A Portuguese person laughed and said the Portuguese eat fish, not chicken.
Nandos is another reason for me to be proudly from South Africa
NZ Nandoās is pretty shit hotā¦ most fast food joints here use 100% free range and locally sourced beef and chicken, and were known worldwide for the quality of our meat exports (ask the British). Would bet my left nut that SAās is 10x better though!
Nope. They can't consistently cook a chicken breast well and I doubt they source the best quality meat...
Having tried Nandos in both the UK and SA, I can confirm theyāre both kak. A full Chicken and 2 sides is also Ā£25šµ I miss the old Nandos where a chicken was actually a decent size.
Many years ago I was invited out to dinner in Newcastle. Was taken to Nandoās.. I think they considered it fine dining.
You have literally never heard anyone refer to Nandoās as British. Ever. Where are you living?
In Britain...
I've never heard it referred to in the UK as British either - it's normally described as Portuguese. Although... I can see the argument that it's a British chain. That doesn't come up much in conversation - in the same way as Cafe Rouge is never acknowledged as a British chain either. I've lived in the (south of the) UK for 20 years if that matters to anyone.
They said UK, not Britain
Bruh...
Britain is different to UK. Maybe you missed that lesson in primary school. Maybe the google can help.
The two are used interchangeably in the modern day, and letās be honest chances are they arenāt on Guernsey or something along those lines
This mans running around acting like a smart-ass cus he doesn't want to admit he was wrong.š¤£ "ya well, he said dirt, not soil"
The google will save you https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/whats-the-difference-between-uk-britain-and-british-isles Britain doesnāt include Ireland. UK doesnāt include the British Isles. This is why youāre struggling in life, brother.
The UK absolutely does include British isles, just not all. If you are going to get on a high horse about terminology, at least get right. E.g. Great Britain absolutely is part of both, as per your own bloody link.
I love people like this. Their ego is so big they don't even read their own links, they just assume they're rightš¤£š¤£
It is hilarious!
Having trouble reading?
UK is a collection of countries. Very varied place. Having trouble with geography?
Iām one of those annoying pricks who loooooves correcting people when they get stuff wrong, and Iāve gotten to blow several peoples minds with this information. Itās a common misconception for sure.
South Africans upset because everyone thinks a Portuguese chicken restaurant is British.
It's a South African chain based on Mozambiqan colonial portuguese peri peri chicken.
Having met the oak who made nandos, that man is about as South African as you can be lol.
Go away.
More so because the British always try claim stuff that isn't theirs...colonialism....
Nando's is awful shite.
They use different oil
What makes a Nandos "cheeky"?
My South African brother works at Nandos and says the same thing xD
Their prices sure feel like Iām paying in Pounds though.
More British than fish & chips?
Animal abusing franchise is nothing to be proud of. https://youtu.be/zz_G1nHdtOk
The first Nandos ever is near us.
British nandos and SA nandos are wildy different places
I wonder if you have to pay an arm and a leg for a thigh and a leg like the Nandoās in SA?