KFC's Spicy Korean Burger Vs McD's Grand Spicy Chicken McDeluxe

I was home alone last weekend. So what did I think of doing? Make full use of my ta-pau-ings (takeaways) of course! I had started out intending to make my own meals, but when I couldn't find the pot to boil the eggs, I decided to drive out and get some fast food. And since, I had been mentally taking note to try out the KFC Spicy Korean Burger, I made a beeline to the nearest KFC (5 minutes drive). And so, this is how it looks:

KFC's Spicy Korean Burger

I ordered the Ultimate Hot Box where the Spicy Korean Burger came with a soft drink, cheesy wedges and a piece of fried chicken (that's for my doggie baby boy). It cost less than the listed price of RM13.35 (before 6% govt tax), as they had some lunch deal thingy (can't remember the exact price I paid).

The Burger Verdict: The Spicy Korean Burger was basically a Zinger Burger with a slice of cheese and tomato and some sweetish slightly spicy viscous sauce on the fried chicken patty. Given the cheese and tomato, the burger felt more wholesome but as to the taste, there wasn't much variance to the original Zinger. I've always felt that the chicken patty of the Zinger was a tad bit over-marinated, e.g. somewhat like what the Ayamas Roasters taste like (I really don't know how they do it - the marinade permeates throughout the whole chicken - Good? Up to individual taste buds, I guess).

Back in May or early June when I learned of McD's Grand Spicy Chicken McDeluxe and subsequently KFC's Spicy Korean Burger (I know not which came first - for the record), it immediately sprung to mind that this must be some sort of direct confrontation between the two major fast food chains in Malaysia. Two products very similar in essence (but big difference in taste) i.e. fried de-boned chicken thigh in spicy crispy batter sandwiched between 'special' burger buns - each coming out with a new variant product at around the same time? Hmm... this must be more than coincidence! So, this is how the competitor product looks like:

McD's Grand Spicy Chicken McDeluxe

So for dinner, I decided to try out (again - 2nd time) McD's Grand Spicy Chicken McDeluxe. The dinner McValue meal was RM11.65 (before 6% govt tax), which came with a medium fries and a medium Passion McFizz (passion fruit cordial in Sprite).

The Burger Verdict: As its name implies, the Grand Spicy Chicken McDeluxe is actually a Spicy Chicken McDeluxe with a few embellishments, namely a slice of cheese and tomato, a special sesame sauce to replace the regular mayonnaise and onions in addition to the shredded lettuce. Personally I would choose this over the Spicy Korean Burger - the sauce is great and the onions... the onions! (yes, I like onions... a lot! Fresh onions julienne style gives a crisp pungent surprise to the palate). As for the chicken patty - I've always preferred the Spicy Chicken McDeluxe as it doesn't taste over-marinated (for a want of better word - it tastes fresher).

So I guess, you can actually see which one won hands down in my judgement.