On an 18-year quest spanning 24 countries and five continents a fast food lover hunting for the best KFC in the world has decided the finest “finger-lickin’ good” chicken is in Mongolia.
Jacky Tan, a 41-year-old marketing consultant from Singapore, began his adventure to find the world’s best Kentucky Fried Chicken in 2005 after finding the Original Recipe tasted different abroad.
Since then, he has taken every opportunity to try the deep-fried delicacy while traveling for work or with his wife Michelle, a 41-year-old assistant who he often has to persuade to take a reluctant detour from their holiday.
Even on the couple’s honeymoon, Jacky managed to visit a KFC in Barcelona, but Spain had the worst he has tried, closely followed by Hong Kong and Australia.
Jacky makes the same order in every country and has developed a ranking he has dubbed TaF-CA, an acronym for taste, freshness, crispiness and aroma – the four key criteria he uses to evaluate each KFC.
Asked why the quest means so much to him, Jacky said: “I don’t come from a very rich family, so I would have to save up to afford a KFC.
“So for me, it’s really a luxury.
“Now of course, I have my own income. I can’t say exactly how many KFCs I have had, but definitely more than 1,000.”
While there are many strong contenders, Jacky’s research found Mongolia stood out from the rest, where he said he had to queue for an hour but the deep-fried poultry was “unique”.
“I visited the KFC in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in 2013 during a business trip with my colleagues,” Jacky said.
“It had just opened and there were loads of people queuing so we had to wait for an hour. But the wait was totally worth it.
“I rank the chicken based on taste, freshness, crispiness and aroma, and the Mongolian fried chicken hit all of these indicators. It’s very unique. I was totally impressed.”
After Mongolia, the next best chicken on Jacky’s list is more than 7,000 miles away in Cape Town International Airport’s departure terminal, which offers more than a good meal.
“The KFC in South Africa has a really nice view of Table Mountain, so they have one of the best spots. Their chicken also hit all the right notes but it still wasn’t quite as good as Mongolia,” he said.
Completing Jacky’s top 10 are Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Chile, the Philippines and South Korea.
Trying KFC across the world is not always easy for Jacky and one of the first hurdles is convincing his wife, who does not share the same enthusiasm.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to get my wife’s approval because she says, ‘how come you are doing this, we’re in another country, we should try something different rather than just getting a KFC’,” he said.
“When I spot a KFC from far away, she’s like, ‘oh no, don’t do this’, but I’ll just keep talking about it and then towards the end of our trip, she’ll be like, ‘OK, just go try it’.
“I don’t go looking for the KFCs but if I see one along the way then I want to try it. I’ve travelled to 38 countries but not every one had a KFC.
“For example, when I visited Fiji in 2017, they told me that KFC had left the country, so it’s not always easy.”
To make sure his TaF-CA ranking is valid, Jacky has adopted a consistent approach when ordering KFC.
“So that the ranking is fair, I always order the Original Recipe chicken, two or four pieces if I’m hungry,” he said.
“If the chicken doesn’t make it past my first criteria, taste – because it’s too salty or bland, for example – then I don’t really bother with the rest.”
The UK did not impress Jacky’s experienced palate, ranking 21st, ahead of only Australia, Hong Kong and Spain.
He said: “I visited a KFC near Piccadilly Circus a long time ago and it wasn’t necessarily bad, it just didn’t really make an impression on me.
“I do remember the one in Spain though, because it was too dry and totally bland, like eating rubber. The best thing there was probably the soft drink.”
The US, where KFC is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, also failed to impress Jacky, who places it in 19th behind France and Bolivia.
While he has certainly tried more KFCs than most people, there are still plenty of places to be discovered given the fast-food chain has more than 25,000 outlets in 145 countries.
Sometimes Jacky spots a KFC at the wrong time after having already eaten, but this does not necessarily stop him from giving it a try.
He said: “There are times when I was already too full, like in South Korea, for example, so I had to take the KFC back to our hotel.
“I rank South Korea in 10th, because there is a lot of fried chicken there and so it’s difficult for the KFC to stand out.”
Jacky appreciates that not everybody will agree with his world ranking and says there are many other factors to take into account.
He said: “Though I ranked based on taste, freshness, crispiness, and aroma, the ranking was based on my opinion at the time when I was trying the food!
“The one that I ranked the lowest might not be indicative of the KFC standard in the country or that restaurant.
“I also often review my list. That is why Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore rankings are not always consistent.”
Jacky’s full global KFC ranking is as follows:
1. Mongolia
2. South Africa
3. Sri Lanka
4. Indonesia
5. Malaysia
6. Thailand
7. Singapore
8. Chile
9. The Philippines
10. South Korea
11. Vietnam
12. China
13. Japan
14. Peru
15. Taiwan
16. Italy
17. Bolivia
18. France
19. USA
20. Germany
21. United Kingdom
22. Australia
23. Hong Kong
24. Spain
