KFC - 11 Herbs and Spices? Yeah right...

KFC have claimed for a long time now that they have a secret recipe which boasts 10/11 herbs and spices which makes their chicken taste so good. Nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised if it was less than half of that.


The meals I used to get at KFC were the family bucket, because whenever I went there it was with the family, so the typical meal would be a few pieces of chicken, chips and a side order. These days I'm more willing to try special meals like the Wicked Zinger which includes a chicken sandwich. It's meals like that (along with the spicy wings) save KFC's popularity.

The actual chicken piece meals have become almost tasteless, the thigh in particular, where there is way too much batter and a disgusting amount of fat in it.

KFC have got to get their act together with the way they prepare their chicken, otherwise they could just become a generic fast food restaurant.

McDonald's - Still the best fast food restaurant chain on the planet

McDonalds is still going strong despite its controversies and criticisms in the past decade. For me, it's still the best fast food restaurant out there. It blows its immediate rival, Burger King, out of the water.


On the topic of Burger King, the most important thing that BK lacks compared to McDonald's is the quality of french fries. McDonald's do them just right, crispy enough on the outside but still maintains an inner fluffiness that BK just lacks. When eating BK french fries, it's like eating one of those salt and vinegar french fries crisps - it's too hollow. Also you can really taste the spices and herbs that have been added to the McDs fries but when eating BK fries it's just like you're eating hot potato.

Another point that McDs beats BK on is value for money. When you have finished a McDs meal you usually get a great satisfaction in terms of quality and quantity and the price is reasonable, but with BK you have to pay £1-2 more for one of the premier meals and still not get the satisfaction that McDs brings.

The Big Mac was the premier meal in the 90s and the early parts of the '00s but this is no longer the case as McDonald's released the McTasty (which I feel is their answer to BK's Whopper) which is an extremely tasty and meatier version of the Big Mac. I don't if it's a 1/2 pounder but it sure feels and looks that way. Sometimes I feel like a kid because of it's size. Kind of like how I used to not be able to handle the Big Mac as a kid because of my small hands.

The restaurant chain has cleaned up its image, especially since investigations and documentaries like "Super-size Me", introducing fruit packages for kids and stuff like that. They've also got a wide selection of desserts including cookies, muffins and my favourite the McFlurry. Its branches also tend to be more modern looking and cleaner with much more comfortable seating than the plastic, hard-on-your back benches of the 90's

One criticism would probably be the state of the toilets but even that has been improved

Domino's Pizza - Best place for takeaway pizza

Domino's pizza have been serving the best quality pizza (for a chain restaurant/takeaway). Pizza Hut used to seem to be the only chain restaurant that specialised in pizza.


I admit the whole experience of Pizza Hut used to be good: the garlic bread and the BBQ chicken wings made great appetisers and when your pizza was served it came hot on a pan and tasted great. But then it seemed the quality deteriorated because the cheese in the deep pan and stuffed crust pizzas seemed way too chunky and this made eating the food more of a chore than as a pleasant experience.

Now Domino's Pizza's UK branch has been here for several years now and as a result are gradually emptying Pizza Hut branches across the UK. They have now made us Britons do what the Americans have done for ages: eat takeaway pizza so you can watch TV.

You have the option of two sauce bases: tomato or barbecue. I'd recommend that you try the barbecue because it tastes great with the toppings and cheese.

For toppings, I usually go for pepperoni passion or meat feast, but there are other great pizzas like meteorite and you can choose your own topping as well. There are a wide selection of toppings to choose from and you can choose to trade toppings, like say chorizo (italian sausage -tastes great) for beef.

The other great thing about Domino's Pizza are the constant offers. And when I mean offers, I mean real offers (not this 10% off for students rubbish). The most popular ones are probably, the Buy one get one free and the 50% off. This is why Domino's is so popular with students.

My one gripe with Domino's would be their side dishes. The chicken strippers and potato wedges pale in comparison to Pizza Hut's chicken wings and garlic bread.

Amigos Pizza Nottingham

The story behind Amigos Pizza is an interesting one. Amigos Pizza Nottingham used to be part of a chain of pizza and burger takeaways but eventually went bust (which in itself is a mystery as Amigos Pizza is located splendidly between Lenton and the University at Derby Road hence having full promise of student customers). The place got bought out by a kebab shop magnate and got completely reinvented into a typical Kebab Shop.




Now what, you may ask, makes this strange transformation so notable? Well by still providing tasty burgers and pizzas whilst adding Kebabs to the menu, Amigos was able to secure a stronger hold of the student clientele that walks through Derby Road. Their food is fresher and cheaper than Chip Box, but it’s best to let the food talk for itself:



The Pizzas: Amigos Pizzas are definitely a cut above other Kebab shop pizzas. The cheese is nice and stringy, the tomato sauce has a nice herby taste to it and the dough is springy and not too oily. Complaints I often have about Kebab Shop pizzas is that often your lips smell really bad after having their pizzas but this is rarely the case with Amigos. Despite being quite good, these pizzas still do not compete with Italian restaurant pizzas or Pizza Hut or Dominos Pizzas, their stand strong only against other kebab shop pizzas.



The Kebabs: One special mention that must be done is towards Amigo’s Chicken Kebab. Their chicken kebab is the reasons I come back again and again, they have the best chicken kebab I have ever tasted. If you are ever in Amigo’s the one thing you must try is their chicken kebab. The meat is perfectly tender and newly cooked and the spices mingle with the fresh salad so beautifully you’ll want to eat another after you finish the one you are eating. I personally really recommend one eats the chicken kebab with mayonnaise as the pairing is really good. As for the other kebabs, they are pretty much to the same standard as other kebab shops but theirs a bit more expensive, so really I’d get a doner kebab from somewhere else. But again, their chicken kebab… Amazing!!



The Chicken Wings: The chicken wings in Amigo’s are really good but also really small.



The service: The staff at Amigo’s are easily the friendliest Kebab shop staff I have ever met. When I go there everyone says hello and they even know my name and my favourite orders. They also cook to serve very quickly and maintain their shop very hygienically.

Chip Box Nottingham

Easily abut 60-80% of students at the University of Nottingham have eaten from Chip Box at least once. Its great location alone (along the way from the University Park towards Lenton, the most popular student housing area) ensures that plenty of the hungry students heading home after a long day of lectures will pass by there. With only competition from Amigos Kebabs (which is only open after 5) and from Subway (which is small and always full) Chip Box has secured themselves a place in the memories (and stomachs) of plenty of students.

“How about the food?” You ask? Well after consulting all my friends and colleagues about their opinions of the food there (and obviously eating there quite often) I now present you a review of their food:
Fish and chips: The signature dish of any fish and chip shop and how do they fare? Actually not amazingly well, most of my contacts have described the fish and chips there as being ok and edible yet nothing special, preferring the recipes they know from their own homes. I myself find that the fish is definitely ok with the fish being fresh and the batter crispy, yet I have never been a huge fan of their chips. They seem to have no shame in serving cold and/or soggy chips.

The Burgers: My favourite comment about their burgers is “wet” and this is far from a compliment. Their burgers are more often than not squishy, moist and wet and quite thin at the that. Furthermore they partner the burger with horrible floury baps, not good old burger buns.

The Kebab: Yeah, despite not being a kebab shop they still do attempt to serve kebabs there. More often than not these are served in cheap pita bread, not naan. The meat itself is of decent quality and the salad they put with it is quite fresh.

The Chicken: Didn’t look too appetising at first, but very tasty once I got stuck into it. The chicken pieces are quite large for something non-KFC but fortunately don’t have the crappy- excuse batter that a lot of the local takeaways have.

The Service: The people working at Chip Box are actually very nice and despite often being under heavy pressure never take it out on the clientele. They are also very personable and even remember your order if you eat there often enough.

Value for money: Before I would have certainly said that their prices seemed very fair but with their recent surge in prices with no significant change in food quality, I would say that it is not worth it.

Venice Pizza... No we didn't go to Venice for Pizza...

I looked past the confusing presentation of the lamb doner kebab: packed with meat with the salad in a tiny corner intermingled with chips and soaked in 4 different sauces.
The kebab gave a good first impression, the meat actually tasted like “meat” (rare for the kebab takeaways around here) and there was plenty of it – too much perhaps.
Pretty soon though I realised that I was just passing cold, tasteless food into my body and the takeaway needed a reheat. By that time, there was little meat left (due to the moronic presentation of the kebab). I was just left with too much salad, too much naan, too much sauce, some chips and huge chunks of cucumber and tomato that were just revolting to look at.
Overall, completely underwhelming.

The Flaming Dragon has Burnt Out

Advantages: Good location in Nottingham

Disadvantages: The food and restaurant

I have eaten in very good Chinese restaurants.
I have lots of Chinese friends whom I eat with.
I cook chinese food well.

Flaming Dragon is not a good chinese restaurant.

In my opinion this argument suffices to tell you to not bother eating here but I'll give a few more points to drive the message through.
Flaming dragon is one of many mediocre Chinese buffets that have sprung up around and inside medium sized cities in the UK (like Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry etc.) It has about three tables of food from which you pick out the food you like. Out of the 70 or so dishes they had available i only touched about 8-9.. I only liked three. Most of these dishes are just imitation chinese adapted to english taste but are not really authentic nor carry good quality. The set-up is also really horrible as the tables and chairs are really close to each other and you are practically eating with the people in the next table. The drinks are way overpriced as I got a small glass of coke for over 2 pounds.
If you want to go to a good chinese restaurant go to the ones where you sit down and order from a menu. These buffet style ones are just sad... SAD.