Not Chic, Not Even King

We dined at ChicKing when it first opened in Tropicana City Mall, early last year. The food was really nothing to write home about. However, I was surprised that the quick-service restaurant managed to stay open for this long. Either the UAE franchise really does have some rich sheik behind it, or else, it is the lack of any other fast food chain in the mall which is sustaining it.

Abandon taste, all ye who enter!

Whatever the case, Kit and I decided to see how bad the food still was. Understand that I was under no impression that things had changed for the better. It is sad, but this is Malaysia. Things rarely change for the better. The stamping out of corruption only means one party is getting a smaller share than before. There are no real solutions. So why should I expect differently from a small franchise, when even Wendy's with all the might of Berjaya behind it, can't make sure their signature Frosty is consistent in texture?

Anyway, I ordered the Value Meal (RM8.50) which came with one piece of spicy fried chicken and two regular chicken strips and rice. The chicken tasted like chicken. And truly, unseasoned chicken is not a very nice meat to eat. I could smell the chicken fat under the skin. It was so underseasoned or underbattered. The skin was crispy, but it was unappetizing because it lacked flavour enhancers.

If this was a Value Meal, what would be a no-value meal to them?

The chicken strips were dry and crumbly, and also notably underseasoned. The only thing that helped was copious lashings of chili sauce. And I really did not understand why the chili sauce from their dispenser was cold! Who refrigerates their condiments? Oh yes, that other loser fast food franchise, A&W! Or at least the one which is still eking out an existence at Ikano!

The salt content was upped maybe 2 micrograms from last year. Still not enough!

The rice accompanying the meal as slightly more salty than the helping I had last year, but that did not mean much!

The Royal Wrap Combo cost RM8.60 and constituted of a fried chicken fillet wrapped in a flatbread. It was tastier than it sounds, since there was quite a bit of fresh lettuce and a lot of mayo in that wrap! The meal came with a Pepsi and regular fries which tasted like they'd been fried in rancid oil. Pale and flaccid, they felt like they'd just been robbed of any sense of what a self-respecting fry could aspire to.

Enough of mayo and anything can be transformed!

Sorry state of fries at ChicKing.

The six-piece nuggets cost RM6 (that's highway robbery!) and were delivered pipping hot, which helped a lot, but they also needed a lot of chili sauce to make them taste anything like a fast food nugget. By which I mean a McDonald's nugget. By the way, ChicKing uses red and yellow for its interiors and logo. Is that coincidence or wishful thinking?

The lab finds no evidence of salt or pepper in this nugget.

While I am now trying to move away from absolutes ("Never again!" has a way of backfiring), I think this second try cemented what I said on the first visit. UGH.