Taste Test: KFC Chicken ‘N Waffles meal is a sinful treat

It may sound like a strange combination at first. Waffles are supposed to go with ice cream, while fried chicken is supposed to go with tahu goreng or fries. 

Desserts and, well, non-dessert foods very rarely belong together on the same plate.

Then I tasted the new Chicken ‘N Waffles meal from KFC. 

Trying the new meal was an adventure in itself filled with several surprises. The first came when I dropped by a KFC near my home and found the outlet to be completely filled — a first for any fast food joint I have been to. 

In my mind, I was already quite peeved being unable to dine in. I was expecting the waffles to be thin and sad, and if I was to have a mediocre meal, I figured at least I should have a mediocre meal dining out in case I am unable to soon.

I ordered the meal at the digital kiosk and waited outside the entrance. 

Five minutes. Eight minutes. 

Then a crew member came up to me, asked about my order number, and said the waffles will take a while. 

“The waffles are not like pancake. They very thick one (sic)! It’s all freshly made! You can smell it?”

I pulled down my mask for a very brief moment — and yeah! There was a pleasant aroma even when I was quite a distance away from the counter. 

A few more minutes passed and the same gentle soul passed me the meal and gave the warmest “enjoy your meal!”.

There are two meal options: waffles with chicken and waffles with tenders. I got the former, at $8.95 for two pieces of fried chicken, a waffle served with caramel sauce and a small Pepsi. 

As I opened the box, I was pleasantly surprised to find waffles that are not unlike those from cafes and dessert places. They were fantastic — but it was a race against time.

I can’t say (yet) whether the waffles will be served piping hot if I was to dine in but they were still relatively warm when I brought them home. A quick note about the caramel sauce: it was not as sweet as you would expect. It was savoury enough without being too syrupy to spoil the palette. Still, it would probably be best not to empty the entire packet. 

I ate half of the waffle before I remembered that there were two pieces of chicken in the box. I can’t say much about them except that they are what you would expect from KFC. What I can comment on is if chicken and waffles actually go well together — I don’t know how, but they really do! 

The caramel does a lot of the heavy lifting, injecting the already flavourful chicken with another welcomed layer of zest. Think of the combination between waffles and chicken as something similar to a chicken sandwich. 

Although I do think it’s the best way to enjoy the meal, as I mentioned before, the waffles in my box would probably get too cold if I continued peeling off bits of chicken to pair. It’s with this minor issue where, perhaps, the meal with tenders might be the better choice.

I do have one complaint and something to nitpick about the meal. First, the value for money. At $8.95, it is similar in price to the traditional two-piece chicken meal but the lack of sides is sorely felt, leading to a meal that barely fills the stomach. The combination of waffles and chicken is also rather unhealthy so even though it’s a delicious meal, it’s probably best seen as a sinful treat. 

The KFC Chicken ‘N Waffles meal ultimately comes off as more of a snack or dessert than an actual meal. It’s a surprisingly delicious combination that I wish I could have more of. I do want to make another quick note to check on which KFC of the 49 outlets serve the meal before heading down.

The meal aside, I also want to use this small opportunity on a big platform to express my thanks and appreciation to the crew at KFC Thomson Plaza for their sincere gestures that are far, far sweeter than a packet full of caramel. 

It really made my week.