Look, I’m sure it won’t look quite that good. But who knows? Photo: KFC/Bree Winchester.
Sometimes, when you randomly spot a Vietnamese delicacy on the menu of a fast food restaurant born in America’s deep south, you gotta take one for the team.
You have to investigate to get to the bottom of what this strange treat is doing sitting on a menu among 178 versions of fried chicken. And then you have to report back to the public servants sitting in their cubicles, looking for an excuse (any excuse) to tip out last night’s tuna pasta bake that’s waiting in the fridge, and head to KFC instead.
So, I offer to you, dear Canberra, my review of the limited edition Zinger Banh Mi, currently available at KFC stores across the capital – not everywhere and not all the time, according to the KFC app. (Yes, KFC has an app. Yikes.)
With value like that, how could you say no? Photo: Bree Winchester.
I head to the best KFC in the Canberra region to conduct my review. It isn’t in Canberra, it’s in Jerrabomberra. The chicken and chips are always hot, crispy and fresh at the Jerra KFC.
They just get it so right.
The banh mi roll on its own is $9.95, so I order one and a can of Pepsi Max and avoid the chips (Kingsley’s are better)
Glorious. Photo: Bree Winchester.
Bless them. They’ve done their best to dress up the roll to look like banh mi. They’ve used an actual long Saigon roll (the crust cracks in that Saigon roll way) to pack the ingredients in. Good start.
I deconstruct the roll and find a Zinger fillet, coleslaw and two or three pieces of token chilli and coriander. I roll my eyes. I mean, they started so well with the Saigon roll. The dressing looks to me to be the supercharged mayo you get in any other Zinger burger. Disappointing. But after some intense research (on the KFC app), I discovered there’s also a new banh mi mayo on there as well. We shall see.
The bun does a good job of hiding, well, the insides. Photo: Bree Winchester.
It’s missing some of the things you’d expect on traditional banh mi, like pickled vegetables and protein that’s grilled, not fried.
When I take a bite, I’m a bit confused. I expect it to taste like a Zinger burger with the standard KFC coleslaw piled on. Not so. It’s actually … nice. The banh mi sauce is delicious – do I taste garlic and sriracha?! – and the slaw is actually Vietnamese-style shredded vegetables. It’s messy like real banh mi, and I actually enjoy it. Well played, Colonel Sanders.
Drumroll, please. Photo: Bree Winchester.
The verdict: Don’t get me wrong, this is not traditional banh mi in any way, shape or form. This is the KFC interpretation, but it does taste good.
If you’re already going to KFC to get nuggets for your children, should you try it? Yes, because it’s a good story to tell your friends and work colleagues. But go out of your way to get it? No. Head to AJ’s Takeaway on Queanbeyan’s main street instead. The banh mi there is to die for.
