So I had a little bit of time in between errands at work, so I popped by KFC at Bugis Street for lunch. I had been meaning to try their new O.R. Chicken Chop, since they tagged it as such - “Treat Yourself Everyday”. To sum up my experience, it was less “treat” and more “trick”.

It was only after being absolutely disappointed by the visual before me that I noticed, on their tray covers, it carries the phrase “Servings featured are for illustration purposes only”. In other words, “We know it won’t look anything like this, but we can’t advertise the reality”. Needless to say, I should have read the small print.

But let’s dissect that pathetic meal that set me back by $5.95, shall we?

Firstly, the Chicken Chop itself was actually good, and arguably the only innovative thing in the whole meal. The size could do with more of a boost, though. Without the bones, the painful truth that KFC doesn’t serve large portions becomes too obvious to ignore. My chicken chop was no bigger than my fist.

The hyped “Special Mushroom Gravy” turned out to be the same gravy you find in your whipped potato. Not only that, if rumours are to be believed, the gravy is really just the leftover oil after they cook their chicken. Which is disgusting, even by my standards. As for the toadstool cousins, while I wasn’t expecting portobello mushrooms, I was hoping for a little more standard than something even Campbell’s wouldn’t put in their products.

Moving on, the “Delicious Raisin Coleslaw” was revealed to be the regular coleslaw with three or four Sunshine raisins thrown in. No sign of the peas and carrots in the advertisement. It was a huge disappointment. I’ve always liked KFC’s coleslaw, but this was misrepresentation!

And last, but not least, their “Golden Brown Crinkle-Cut Fries” looked more like “Sickly Yellow Wrinkled Fries”. But after all the previous disappointments, this one was easily dismissed. The quantity was as limited as the rest of the meal.

So while I do commend KFC for trying to diversify their menu, adding extra ingredients to an existing meal and removing the bones is NOT the way to do it. Two thumbs down for their latest “effort”.