The Best KFC in The World

I have always been a fan of KFC from Malaysia, which I always said to be the best in the world. Not anymore, I have a new world’s best.

In a recent business trip to Ulaanbaatar, we had were talking over dinner about the fact that chicken was not a staple meat in Mongolian cuisine. And then someone from my entourage asked out of the blue which would be my favourite KFC in the world. Without thinking twice, I said Malaysia. And then, he pulled out a news article that Mongolia had the best one in the world.

So right after dinner, we went straight to KFC to verify the claim. KFC opened its first branch in Mongolia in 2013 with 35 employees, but today it has more than 800 employees working in 14 branches, including 3 drive-thru.

And it offers the same original recipe pressured cooked chicken with 11 secret herbs and spices.

Firstly, the two piece meal looked almost the same as what we have in Singapore – two piece chicken with fries and a small drink. Coleslaws were available but as an add-on. But they do not serve mashed potato. And in all fairness of the experiment, I asked for chicken drumsticks.

But you can see from the thigh and breast pieces, the chicken there was succulent and bigger than the ones we have here. Taste wise, they were much more saltier (but it could be the altitude that is screwing up my tastebud), but definitely much more flavourful and juicier.

The KL Comparison

A week later I was in Kuala Lumpur for business, and I could not resist to try the same experiment.

The conditions were the same; we just had dinner, and decided to just try the chicken right afterwards. So appetite does not get in the way. By comparison, there are over 600 KFC outlets in Malaysia, and the chicken were sourced locally.

I ordered the same two piece meal, and asked for two pieces of drumsticks just to be sure. The meal came with an additional bun, which was not there in the Ulaanbaatar one.

You can see that the chicken was rather dry, especially the skin was deep fried to death. My mouth was nearly cut by the razor-sharp deep fried skin as I bit into one. The meat was still juicy, the flavour was not as intense as I previously experienced, and definitely not the same as the Mongolian one.

The only saving grace of the meal was the chilli sauce that came with the chicken. Ulaanbaatar can only offer ketchup.

Conclusion

So there you have it, Ulaanbaatar KFC has officially usurped Malaysia for the crown of the best KFC in the world. After so many years not eating KFC in Malaysia, I was surprised by the big drop in quality. Unfortunately it is far and few chances in between that I would be returning to Ulaanbaatar to try the delicious fried chicken again.

Of course many things can be argued about the differences in standards – outlets, timing, the staff’s mood, etc all have a part to play with the final product. But being a fast food chain I would expect a more consistent experience across the globe, all, at least within the country.

Both outlets visited in May 2023.

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