Fast Food Watch: Burger King’s plant-based burger, McDonald’s’ gulai fried chicken, and KFC’s vintage set

It’s no secret that we love fast food here in Indonesia, which unsurprisingly makes the market highly competitive. Sure, each fast food brand has their own takes on crispy fried chicken and burgers, but they have to think ahead when it comes to innovations. For that, Coconuts Jakarta will guide you through some of the newest unique fast food offerings in Indonesia:

Burger King’s plant-based Whoppers

Burger King Indonesia's “Serupa Tapi Tak Sama/Spot The Difference!” package, which consists of a plant-based and a regular Whopper Jr. each.
Burger King Indonesia’s “Serupa Tapi Tak Sama/Spot The Difference!” package, which consists of a plant-based and a regular Whopper Jr. each. Photo: Nadia Vetta Hamid for Coconuts Media

The day has finally arrived for vegans and vegetarians to enjoy the Whopper together with their meat-eating pals. Burger King Indonesia recently rolled out the Plant-Based Whopper, which they developed together with Unilever Food Solutions. The plant-based Whopper patty is made of “sustainable soy, wheat, vegetable oil, and spices,” and don’t worry vegans, you can always opt out of the mayonnaise ⁠— which contains egg yolk powder. 

You can choose between the regular-sized Plant-Based Whopper or the smaller Whopper Jr. We recently tried the new burger, and while the patty does taste different from the real thing, the texture was almost beef-like and without the particularly strange smell usually found in soy-based “meat.”

The Plant-Based Whopper is currently only available in Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi), but it will soon be launched nationwide. As seen on our trusted food delivery app, an a la carte Plant-Based Whopper is priced at IDR55,000 while the Whopper Jr costs IDR32,000. If you’re in for a comparison game, buy the “Serupa Tapi Tak Sama/Spot The Difference!” package of a plant-based and a regular Whopper Jr. each, which will cost you IDR67,500.

 

KFC’s limited nostalgia combo

 

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Feeling nostalgic? Let’s go back in time with KFC’s Classic Combo, complete with the franchise’s signature original (OR) chicken, dinner roll, corn on the cob, with coleslaw and mashed potatoes and gravy as your side dishes. The set menu, which reminds us of a classic Southern-style fried chicken dinner, will set you back IDR45,455 before taxes. The only catch to this offering is that you can only enjoy the Classic Combo at KFC’s Classic Store in Taman Melawai, South Jakarta.

Back in 2019, the Classic Combo was also available for a limited time at KFC’s MT Haryono store in Tebet, South Jakarta. 

 

McDonald’s gulai fried chicken

Ayam Gulai McD with rice. Photo: Nadia Vetta
Ayam Gulai McD with rice. Photo: Nadia Vetta Hamid for Coconuts Media

Have you ever thought about eating a McDonald’s fried chicken with gulai (spicy coconut milk curry)? It certainly never crossed our minds until the Ayam Gulai McD came along, which has been on offer as part of the Ramadan menu since mid-April. It will likely be on the menu for a couple more weeks following Eid.

We recently ordered the Panas 2 Ayam Spicy Gulai McD (IDR54,500) through a food delivery app, and we were quite surprised by the taste. When it arrived, the two pieces of fried chicken appeared to have been dipped in the gulai gravy ⁠— hence the sogginess ⁠— while the rice was packed separately in the paper bag, as per usual. 

While the gulai was pretty run of the mill, we felt like Eid came early because it closely resembled a salty opor ayam (chicken in thick coconut milk curry), which is a Hari Raya staple in Indonesia. Because McDonald’s spicy fried chicken is well, spicy, the gulai actually toned down the spiciness a bit ⁠— though we should remind you that this gravy can be very salty to unsuspecting tongues.

 

Also Read:

Jakarta’s Union ranks 33rd on Asia’s 50 Best Bars, named Indonesia’s best bar in 2021

Bali’s famous French bakery Monsieur Spoon opens first Jakarta café in Pantai Indah Kapuk

Mad Grass, Jakarta’s first plant-based cloud kitchen, is now open

6 hippest new fried chicken joints you can order online from in Jakarta



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