Globalization has reached the far ends of the earth. And with it, some of the renowned
food chains have made their mark in international waters, though not without needing to adjust
to the food preferences in different countries other than America. Depending on the country,
the typical US fast food menu has received a makeover, offering up all new items, not
available in America. So hop on board and fasten your seatbelt as we take off and check
out the 10 international fast food items America is desperate to try.
The might of the Kuro Shogun Burger
As much as the name sounds super cool, the aesthetics of this burger are awesome as well.
But this particular beast is not accessible in the United States, so you might be wondering
where you could lay your hands on it. If you’re looking to get your hands on the Kuro Shogun
Burger, then your search will bring you to Japan. Japanese Burger King outlets have this
unique burger stocked, and wait till you hear about what goes into making it a reality.
It comes with a beef patty; complemented with eggplant; black hashed sauce consisting of
red wine, squid ink, tomato, onion and garlic; along with cheese bathed in bamboo charcoal.
The bun also consists of bamboo charcoal. Yes it might look alien, but the ingredients
that go in it definitely make it worth wanting to explore brave new frontiers. This is something
you’ll want to try, but due to its localized availability, you will not be able to order
it at your Burger King, unless that Burger King is in Japan. So what are you waiting
for? Time to pack your bags and hop off to Japan to try it out.
The Canadian Taco Bell Crunchwrap Slider
While the US enjoys a mix of Taco Bell and Doritos, Canada on the other hand decided
to do something a bit different. The Cheetos Crunchwrap Slider comes with a combination
of ground beef with nacho and cheddar cheese. To further add to your taste buds, it is loaded
with Crunchy Cheddar Jalapeño Cheetos. It doesn’t end there. There are flavor choices
that comprise of Beefy Cheddar, Supreme, and Spicy Chicken. Despite how much your mouth
is watering right now, you might need to take a bit of a long drive before getting this
bad boy. The slider is strictly only available in Canada, so you’ll have to trek to the
Great White North to check it out. The Cheetos Crunchwrap Slider is so popular, that to celebrate
its honor, Taco Bell has created the first slide-thru window. You take a conveyor belt
up one of Ontario’s highest tubing hills, place your order at a typical looking drive-thru
intercom, then slide back down in your Taco Bell-branded tube, where a cheery (and likely
cold) Taco Bell employee is waiting with your steaming hot and cheesy Crunchwrap slider.
Sadly the slide-thru event only happened for a single weekend - but who knows if they might
ever bring it back. If you are brave enough to challenge the wintry woes of the country,
the wrap would be worth the effort. Just make sure you put on a lot of layers before you
go.
Ebi burger, the answer to the Filet-O-Fish
Another unique fast food item coming out of Japan is the popular Ebi burger, offered by
McDonald’s. It’s also known as the Ebi Filet-O and in Hong Kong, the Shrimp Burger.
“Ebi”, by the way, is the Japanese word for “shrimp.” So obviously, this is a
shrimp sandwich. Rather than just slapping some shrimp onto a bun or making some kind
of minced shrimp patty, this sandwich consists of whole shrimp bundled together with panko
breading, embedded into a classic burger-patty shape, with a very nice crunch to it. Of course,
there’s also lettuce, and to spice things up, a sauce is thrown in. The sauce is apparently
a perfect blend of creamy, sweet, sour, and spicy. This seafood delight is housed inside
a classic sesame seed bun. It might be the answer to the Filet O-Fish that we’ve been
waiting for. Sure, the combination does sound weird at first, but it has its fan following
and is something that needs to be tried out. Or you can simply try making it at home, if
flying thousands of miles to satisfy your curiosity doesn’t sound like the best idea.
The Flying Fish, stuffed crust pizza
They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but there will be whole lot to judge once
we go through the name of this next fast food item on the list. The Flying Fish Roe Salmon
Cream Cheese Pizza is part of Pizza Hut’s offerings in Hong Kong. To call the name quite
a mouthful would be an understatement, but how else would you name a pizza with that
many unusual ingredients? Apparently there’s a lot of stuff going on in the crust as it
comes filled with a salmon flavored cream cheese and flying fish roe. Then there are
the two options for what goes on the pizza. The Crayfish Seafood Deluxe, for example,
includes crayfish, scallops, clams, red onions, and cherry tomatoes; while the Sausage, Pepperoni
& Pomelo option includes berry sauce, peaches, pepperoni, sausage, and so on. These pizzas
are next-level unique, comprising of a lot of different things to create a distinctive
taste. If you think this sounds unappealing, the commercial for it might change your mind.
All the close up shots of these loaded up, stuffed crust pizzas could coax you into letting
your fears crumble into dust like the aftermath of Infinity War, and jump aboard the Flying
Fish Roe Salmon Cream Cheese Pizza train. All aboard.
Say ‘cheese’ and wrap
Let us set our gaze towards India and see what fast food fare they have to offer that
America is sorely lacking. It would not be an exaggeration to safely say that Indian
fast food chains have made quite a few changes in their menus to cater to the religious and
cultural sentiments of the people there. About 30% of the population in India is vegetarian
- that’s more than the rest of the world combined! Obviously, that means McDonalds
can’t just rely on the Big Mac for sales. So let's introduce ourselves to the Big Spicy
Paneer Wrap available at McDonalds in India. As it has been advertised, the wrap consists
of paneer, a type of soft cheese with a mild flavor, which does a really good job of picking
up the other flavors around it. Then there’s also the crunchy batter, topped with creamy
sauce, mustard and melted cheese. Mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and various herbs
and spices follow close behind to make the experience as exquisite as possible. This
is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to vegetarian treats in fast food chains and
you won't have to feel isolated for being the only vegetarian sitting in a restaurant.
But for that to happen, you would have to go find out for yourself if it is going to
be yay or nay.
The Colonels Singapore connection
While we have been going on about McDonalds and its exploits around the globe, we can’t
just brush KFC’s presence abroad under the rug. Like many fast food chains, this juggernaut
too has different variations of food items, depending on where it has been opened. It
comes as worth mentioning that Singapore’s Parmesan Chicken with Truffle-Flavored Cheddar
Sauce is a delight in its own right. This dish is fresh, hand-breaded chicken, with
a touch of deep fried to make it extra crispy, served along with grated parmesan cheese.
All of this makes the experience of eating it a memorable one. The crunchiness of the
chicken will make you realize that the texture tastes completely different from the original
recipe counterpart. To top it off, there’s a truffle flavored cheddar sauce, which one
can use to either pour on the chicken, or dip the meat in the sauce. Whatever the case,
the sauce has a certain flair about it, and makes this chicken hard to miss. We recommend
pouring the sauce in just the right amounts to make it extra special. After all, food
demands an artistic touch for it look and taste good. Sure it's all going to go down
in the end, but savoring the experience is what matters.
Another vegetarian item coming your way
At first one might contemplate what vegetarian has anything to do with KFC. The name of the
franchise makes it quite clear. Well one should never underestimate the unordinary as these
things do happen outside the realms of America in the food department. Most of those alterations
bring in a nice change of taste from the usual stuff served. We have to go back to India,
and for this time around mention the presence of KFC and what they have to offer over there.
Vegetable strips is one of the many options available and they do come extra crispy. A
mishmash of peas, potato, corn and carrots adds to the color of the strips. The vegetable
is given the same deep fried batter treatment and the only catch is, that there’s no chicken.
It comes with rice and other options one can choose from, and makes an awesome snack. Similar
to the vegetable strips, the restaurant also serves the vegetarian Zinger Burger, and it
tastes just as good as the chicken burger. The potato Krisper Burger and the Paneer Zinger
are also some of the choices available. Now only if the States decided to introduce such
items on their menu, there would more variety and the move would probably make their clients
happy. Like they say, variety is the spice of life.
Zinger Porridge? Yes that’s a thing
Now when we think about KFC, the most likely thing that would come to mind would be the
standard chicken which we have all come to know and love. The least likely thing would
be something like porridge. But since there have been major alterations to global food
chain brands, depending on the country they’ve opened their doors in, this also should not
come as a surprise. Like most of the items covered so far, this one too is a popular
one in Asia. It’s available in Singapore, China and Malaysia. The original porridge
recipe consists of boiled rice, which you might think sounds bland in general. So what
does KFC do about it? It adds special ingredients like little chunks of breaded chicken, bursting
with Sanders’ classic spices. What better way to start the day than by having KFC Zinger
Porridge? It would probably provide you with some really good fuel to power your morning.
Wonder what’s going to get a transformation once KFC decides to further include more things
in the breakfast menu? Zinger pancakes with bacon and eggs? We’ll have to wait for any
such announcements. Till then, the porridge it is.
You can have your coffee cup and eat it too
Dubbed the ‘Scoff-e-cup,’ KFC introduced the first edible coffee cup, and the UK gets
to enjoy this new invention. The cup is made out of biscuit, with sugar paper wrapping
it up. In order to keep the coffee hot and the outer layer of the cup crispy, there’s
a layer of heat resistant white chocolate added to it. Once you start having the coffee,
eventually the chocolate starts melting, which further leads to the biscuit coating softening
up as well. If your taste buds aren’t enticed yet, wait till you hear this straight from
the inventors themselves: the cup apparently comes with “mood improving aromas.” So
it just doesn’t taste good, but it also smells good. The aromas in all the cups are
not same, as they are instilled with aromas like ‘freshly cut grass,’ ‘coconut sun
cream,’ and ‘wild flowers.’ The purpose of these delicious smells is to remind us
of all things positive like sunshine, summer holidays and warm weather. Initially it was
introduced in limited quantities back in 2015, to test the waters. Now you don’t have to
worry about piling on that garbage bin with coffee cups, as you could just eat your cup.
And while you are at it, you can dream about your best summer vacations, and maybe come
up with a new plan for the summer to make it extra memorable. Just don’t forget your
cup though.
The next evolution of a pizza, we give you the Chizza
First off, whoever came up with the name took the easy way out with a portmanteau, but we’re
not really complaining - it’s catchy. And anyway, what’s behind that name is more
interesting to mull over. Before we go into the details of what exactly this item is,
we should warn you it is only available at KFC restaurants in Japan, India, Thailand,
Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea. Compared to other fast food
that has been covered on this list, this particular one is available in a lot of countries. So
what is a Chizza one might ask? It is everything but a pizza. Instead of a thick or thin crust,
there is breaded chicken which acts as a base and the toppings come all over it. Mozzarella
cheese, chicken, ham and pineapple enhance the overall exquisiteness of Chizza. Served
hot, the cheese melts over the chicken and that’s the sign for you to chow down. There
have been reports, by some who have tried it out, that there is a downside to it as
well. Because of the melting cheese, chances are that the chicken becomes soggy or if put
aside for some time, the chicken becomes cold. Looks like this fast food item has been controversial
since its experimental inception, but it's good know that KFC has jumped in with both
feet, eager to experiment with new things in their overseas market. Whatever the case,
you would have to check it out yourself to make your own decision, so start planning
that trip to an Asian KFC.
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