How hard is it to find a crispy chicken burger that’s tasty & tender? Apparently, it is in 2020! During our research for the Ultimate Chicken Burger, we ended up disappointed more times than happy and had to drive to KFC for some poultry consolation. But even KFC have been losing ground by the year, with oily and crumbly chicken offerings that are a far cry from what we used to savour & salivate upon just a couple of years back. In the meantime, other franchises like Chick King have been sharpening their game and rubbing their hands with joy.
One other franchise that came up on our chicken radar is Southern Fried Chicken. This year we visited the Birkirkara place 5 times, during different times of the day and specifically during weekdays. If we saw long queues we would skip the visit, and come back when the staff were relaxed, to give them the benefit of doing the best job they can. Unfortunately during these visits, we were given dry chicken two times in a row. So we were on the fence. We decided to do one final burger test, and this would be it! We tried their Empire fillet, which is made from a chicken fillet piece, hash brown, cheese, lettuce and mayonnaise, encased in a soft sesame seed bun. This time around, the chicken was moist and succulent, with a spiced batter crisped to golden excellency. The chicken part itself was handcrafted with the right amount of crispy batter and a tender core. From a texture perspective, it’s a massive step up from KFC. The portion was generous and had a good diameter and thickness to it. The cheese is an American slice and one element that can be massively improved upon. It would be in place if this was some ground chicken burger like McD do, but we need proper cheese with real chicken! It would make the product taste a tenfold finer. Mayo was well-dosed, but the hash browns were of the freezer bag variety. And that’s something that needs urgent improvement. All this provides 37.9gr of protein, 28.8gr of fats and weighs in at 583 Calories. The fries can be a hit and miss affair too, but when they are left their due time in the frier, they are crispy and savoury, and amongst our take-away favourites.
Despite all these shortcomings, we liked the Empire burger so much, that we went one step ahead, and added an extra chicken fillet into the mix, making this one an “off the menu” double chicken burger exclusive! Now we’re talking! At less than €10 for a meal with drink and fries, this was a no-brainer… #MaltaBurgers approved, with two thumbs up!
