An illuminated sign stands atop a KFC outlet in the Sydney, Australia, suburb of Villawood April 27, 2012.TIM WIMBORNE/Reuters
This week, Japan will take Kentucky Fried-based gluttony to new levels.
Remember the Double Down, the "sandwich" that featured two pieces of fried chicken fillets instead of bread?
And remember thinking when it was introduced in 2010, well, that KFC couldn't possibly take it further. Well, you were wrong.
On Feb. 7, KFC Japan will introduce the Kentucky Chicken Rice, the latest in fast food stunt sandwichery.
Available for a limited time, it will cost ¥450 or approximately $5.
Like the Double Down, the new sandwich features two fried chicken fillets. Stuffed in between them, however, is a rice patty gelled together with ketchup and mayonnaise.
The champions of artery-destroying meals will balk that the new Chicken Rice does not feature bacon. But the sandwich nevertheless outperforms its predecessor on the calorie counter, coming in at 585 compared with the original Double Down's 540.
At what point does something cease to be a "sandwich" and qualify instead as a "pile of junk foods on top of each other"?
Here's a more pressing question: What should the Canadian version of a KFC pile of junk foods stacked on top of each other look like? A beaver tail in the middle drizzled with maple syrup? Deep fried Nanaimo bars wrapped in Canadian bacon and crammed between two fried Moose fillets?
Once you throw aside a need for cultural authenticity or concern about what goes into your body, the possibilities become endless.
Dave McGinn