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  • George: From calorie count to portion sizes,

  • we wanted to find out all the differences

  • between KFC in Japan and the US.

  • This is "Food Wars."

  • So, the fries at the KFC in Japan

  • come in three sizes.

  • So this is small.

  • George: Next one is Joe: And back again!

  • George: Large. Joe: The large.

  • Then we got a box.

  • Now let's weigh our largest fries.

  • Ooh, ooh, ooh!

  • [Joe laughs]

  • George: We can do it!

  • I'm shook!

  • As the kids say. By that information.

  • I want to say, though, that theirs is a box.

  • That thing is, like, made to be eaten

  • by more than one person, I'm assuming.

  • But this, clearly,

  • this is for a person. So.

  • So, in Japan, we have three drink sizes.

  • So we have a small.

  • In the US, our drinks come

  • in medium. George: A medium.

  • Then we got a large.

  • And large.

  • So, in Japan, KFC doesn't disclose

  • how much liquid is in each of the sizes.

  • Why?

  • So I will help you, KFC.

  • We will measure the cups right now.

  • Let's go.

  • So now let's measure our large,

  • and just to make sure it's accurate,

  • we didn't clean the measuring cup.

  • Go home.

  • So, at the KFC in Japan,

  • you can order your chicken pieces in

  • one piece,

  • two pieces,

  • three pieces,

  • four pieces,

  • and six pieces,

  • and eight pieces,

  • and 10 pieces,

  • and 12 pieces.

  • KFC in the US,

  • our chicken portion sizes

  • start as a two-piece combo.

  • By the way, come on, guys.

  • This isn't whatever this is supposed to be.

  • Then the three-piece right in front of me here.

  • And that's the exact opposite.

  • I went extra crispy for this.

  • Look at the size of these chicken pieces!

  • Yes, yes to these.

  • And the four-piece.

  • This is somewhere in the middle.

  • Each combo comes with a biscuit,

  • your choice of potato,

  • either fries or mashed with gravy,

  • and all of them come with a medium drink.

  • But we don't stop there.

  • We go now to buckets,

  • where you can get an eight-piece bucket,

  • 12-piece bucket,

  • or a 16-piece bucket.

  • So, now we are going to weigh

  • our eight-piece chicken

  • to compare the weights in each country.

  • Joe: Ooh, ooh, oh!

  • Oh, this is theugh!

  • Yo!

  • It's pretty close!

  • Considering all the variables of

  • size of chicken,

  • bone density, batter.

  • I don't know what I'm talking about,

  • but that's surprisingly close.

  • So, in Japan, a two-piece of original chicken,

  • which are breasts and wing

  • and small fries and a medium drink,

  • costs 800 yen, or $7.27.

  • So, in Japan,

  • actually KFC is considered a little bit more expensive

  • compared to other fast-food chains, like McDonald's.

  • So it's a classic fast food in Japan.

  • That same meal is about $8.99,

  • or in Japanese yen, 992.27.

  • So that's about a 24% cost increase in the US.

  • So, in Japan, to make chicken at KFC,

  • you must be certified as a chicken specialist,

  • and certification takes three months,

  • and your knowledge and skills are tested every year.

  • All right, so let's take

  • the chicken-specialist test right now.

  • All right, George, let's do this.

  • No. 1.

  • "For the original chicken, 100% domestic ... "

  • That's kind of a bummer.

  • Hmm.

  • I'm just gonnayeah. Ba ba de ba ba ba.

  • Animal fat or vegetable oil ...

  • Fried with a lighter weight.

  • With a lighter weight thanthese got hard fast.

  • Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep ...

  • I am in over my head on this one.

  • I don't even know what that means.

  • All right, so just now

  • I've got all of the five answers,

  • so let's check answers.

  • Gold chicken certification.

  • Gold!

  • [applause]

  • Oof!

  • Says "Not KFC material,"

  • and it's a picture of Colonel Sanders giving me the finger.

  • So I'm gonna assume I did not pass it.

  • But anyway, I've got gold.

  • I'm the champion!

  • I am very surprised by that.

  • I think I could work for KFC.

  • I mean, I kind of look like Colonel Sanders, right?

  • Look at this guy.

  • I'm a younger Colonel Sanders.

  • KFC is doing any sort of

  • "The Adventures of Young Colonel Sanders" ad campaign.

  • Is this a face that can sell chicken?

  • Yeah! Haven't you guys ever read the secret?

  • I'm putting the energy that I want

  • out into the universe, and it comes back to me.

  • Conner: Manifesting.

  • It's called manifesting.

  • So, here is everything you can only find

  • on the menu at the KFC in Japan,

  • but not in the US.

  • And here is everything you can find on the menu

  • at a US KFC you cannot get in Japan.

  • Here, we've got KFC biscuits.

  • Both places have biscuits,

  • but their biscuit has a hole in it.

  • And it looks a lot fluffier. Right?

  • Our biscuit, on the other hand,

  • is just this Southern style.

  • Not exactly a scone,

  • but kind of looks like one from a distance.

  • Dry cornmeal biscuit.

  • It comes with honey maple KFC.

  • George: Ahh. Joe: Oh, ho ho ho ho!

  • Yeah.

  • This is good.

  • The maple is a little bit sweet for me.

  • Mac and cheese.

  • I can't believe you guys do not have macaroni and cheese.

  • Mwah. Love mac and cheese.

  • Mashed potatoes and gravy.

  • You don't have that in Japan?

  • Guys.

  • Guys!

  • Demand this from your Japanese KFC.

  • You want the mashed potatoes and gravy.

  • So, we also have dip packs.

  • Ooh.

  • So, it's got Colonel Crispy,

  • and some nuggets,

  • and boneless Kentucky,

  • and some original chicken.

  • So this dip pack,

  • it comes with this fries

  • and also

  • these three dipping sauces.

  • And now for the quickest Sauce Talk ever.

  • Sauce Talk.

  • KFC sauce.

  • I think the KFC sauce is like a brown mustard mayo.

  • Yeah, that sauce is good.

  • So, we've got

  • barbecue sauce

  • and mustard,

  • and this pink one is called mentaiko mayo.

  • Mentaiko means it's spicy cod roe,

  • and it's very popular at KFC in Japan.

  • This is actually great.

  • I'll dip this.

  • Mm!

  • It tastes fantastic.

  • Winner!

  • So, if you want to have a little bigger one,

  • you can order dip barrel.

  • I mean, it's double amount of this dip pack,

  • so it's going to be very big.

  • So, this one right here is called

  • four-piece red hot chicken box,

  • and it comes with a pie and fry,

  • and a medium drink.

  • And actually we have other box options,

  • like four-piece half hot and half original box.

  • And it comes with fries as well.

  • And six-piece half hot and half original box.

  • It comes with fries again.

  • So, in Japan, we have tori no hi pack.

  • That means chicken day.

  • It's on every 28th of the month.

  • And two stands for ni,

  • and eight stands for wa.

  • And it becomes niwa,

  • and niwa is synonmous with niwatori.

  • Niwatori means chicken.

  • So that's why it's called chicken day.

  • KFC in America has extra-crispy chicken.

  • This is the best type of chicken.

  • I mean, look at this.

  • I don't know what they do to this,

  • but the skin is practically falling off.

  • It is so crispy and so delicious.

  • I love extra crispy so much.

  • I got this little guy.

  • The Chicken Little. Look at this guy.

  • Eh? Look at this little guy.

  • Comes with pickles, mayo.

  • The pot pie that they have here,

  • they're not kidding when they say "pie" in the pot pie.

  • Look how thick this is!

  • Speaking of big dishes of stuff,

  • the Famous Bowl.

  • Once upon a time, a KFC employee was like,

  • I'm gonna put everything into one dish and call it a day.

  • And ta-da, the Famous Bowl was born.

  • This has to be, like, 3 pounds.

  • All right, so here we've got

  • two special twisters.

  • So this one right here is called

  • pepper mayonnaise twister.

  • Ooh! It looks great.

  • [applause]

  • 9 out of 10.

  • KFC, thank you!

  • Thank you for making me happy.

  • So, next, we've got,

  • ooh!

  • Teriyaki twister.

  • Should be great.

  • It's kind of gross.

  • [laughs]

  • It's got mayo and Colonel Crispy,

  • some veggies,

  • and I hope this is teriyaki sauce.

  • Itadakimasu!

  • Mm. Mm! Mm!

  • It looks gross, but it tastes incredible.

  • 10 out of 10. Congratulations.

  • Oishii!

  • It means delicious!

  • Look how tiny those twisters are.

  • I could eat, like, three of those easily. Easily!

  • All right, so we have nuggets.

  • We have three pieces,

  • five pieces,

  • and they come with only ketchup.

  • Also at a US KFC that you can't get in Japan

  • are wings.

  • You can get wings at the KFC

  • in units of six, 12, 24 or 48.

  • I believe the three wing flavors that I got here are

  • standard Buffalo,

  • the honey barbecue,

  • and if you're a total wuss,

  • unsauced?

  • What's wrong with you?

  • Yeah. Very sketchy.

  • You can also get them, in a limited time,

  • Nashville hot sauce.

  • Now we have special sandwiches.

  • This one right here is called

  • Japanese-style chicken katsu sandwich.

  • So let's take a look inside.

  • So, it's got mayo,

  • and it's got cabbage,

  • and chicken katsu right there.

  • Itadakimasu!

  • Mm.

  • Oh!

  • This sauce is soy-sauce-based sauce,

  • and it's a little bit sweet.

  • And this mayo is also great with this sauce.

  • This looks really small,

  • but it has huge amount of chicken.

  • So if you eat this, you're gonna be full.

  • And next one, we've got chicken fillet.

  • Wow. This is also huge.

  • All right, so this one right here

  • is called black hot sandwich.

  • Ooh!

  • Look at this. It's, like, pepper mayo?

  • I just tasted this pepper mayo,

  • but it has a little, like, spiciness.

  • Ooh, ho ho.

  • Oh, man. It's too strong.

  • I wouldn't get it. Be careful.

  • Now, of course, the US has a chicken sandwich.

  • But our chicken sandwich and their chicken sandwich,

  • as you can see, is way different.

  • You can also get it spicy or classic.

  • This is a classic.

  • All right, so this one right here

  • is called Colonel Crispy.

  • Is it only in Japan?

  • I cannot confirm the difference between

  • a Colonel Crispy and a KFC chicken tender.

  • They call their tenders Colonel Crispies,

  • and we call our Colonel Crispies chicken tenders.

  • It's been a while since I ordered this one,

  • but it still has crispy bits.

  • Good job.

  • Japanese KFC's technology, state of the art.

  • We currently have a Nashville hot chicken

  • and hot tenders.

  • I went ahead with the tenders.

  • I've just been informed

  • this was a big TikTok thing for a minute.

  • Something about biting it and crunching it.

  • I don't know anything about that.

  • I can say just by holding this,

  • there's no way these are crispy.

  • [crunching]

  • Was not that spicy.

  • That's kind of spicy.

  • I do like this a lot.

  • I can't stop eating it.

  • Ooh. That heat's catching up with me.

  • Slow burn. Slow build on the heat.

  • So, here we've got Japanese exclusive drinks.

  • This one right here is

  • water,

  • but it comes with this Assam tea pack.

  • It's supposed to be hot, but it's cold.

  • And next one, we've got coffee.

  • So, this one right here is

  • roasted rich coffee.

  • Itadakimasu.

  • It's a little bit better than the normal coffee.

  • And here we've got Earl Grey iced tea.

  • It's not sweet at all.

  • And next one is melon soda.

  • It has bright green color.

  • Horrible. It's too sweet.

  • Here is ginger ale.

  • Nothing special.

  • And the last one,

  • it's Nacchan refreshing orange.

  • Fountain drinks. There's a few that we can get

  • that you guys cannot over there in Japan.

  • The first one is a beverage that

  • I have yet to meet one human being who enjoys it.

  • Of course, I'm talking about Sierra Mist.

  • Maybe grossest soda ever.

  • Oh, it's so bad.

  • Another drink that you can get at KFC

  • that you can't get at Japan,

  • and here it is right here,

  • Mountain Dew's great.

  • When I was in college, I worked at a pizza place.

  • I drank so much Mountain Dew, I threw up.

  • And now I'm drinking Mountain Dew.

  • Let's see if I can do it again.

  • My favorite beverage, Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning.

  • So good. So good.

  • So, drinks are just normal, nothing special,

  • but chickens are

  • finger-licking good.

  • Desserts at a US KFC,

  • you can get this chocolate chip cookie.

  • Recognize that guy?

  • I just look just like this guy.

  • And, finally,

  • a chocolate chip cake.

  • So, let's talk about Christmas in Japan.

  • So Christmas is one of the biggest events in Japan,

  • even though about 1% of Japanese people are Christians.

  • We just enter Christmas as just a fun event.

  • And as for KFC for Christmas in Japan,

  • back in 1970s,

  • Japan KFC launched

  • a hugely successful advertising campaign

  • called Kentakki ni wa Kurisumasu.

  • That's Kentucky for Christmas.

  • And with that strong marketing campaign,

  • it became so popular

  • to have KFC for Christmas in Japan.

  • And now about 3.6 million Japanese families

  • eat KFC for Christmas.

  • And talking about my personal experiences,

  • yes, when I was young,

  • I would eat KFC for Christmas with my family.

  • But when you started dating, you know,

  • Christmas makes the transformation

  • from a family event to couple's event.

  • And I'm looking for the one

  • who can enjoy KFC for Christmas with me.

  • So, in Japan, one drumstick of ori

  • ooh!

  • So, in Japan, one drumstick of original chicken,

  • on average, has 237 calories.

  • Chicken's looking a little limp there, George.

  • In the US, one stiff drumstick of original recipe

  • is 130 calories.

  • But according to KFC's US site,

  • that's for a 53-gram piece.

  • Now, adjusting for the 87-gram piece,

  • like that of Japan,

  • the calories go up to 210.

  • Does that make sense? Great.

  • Now, take this bad boy and make him extra crispy?

  • You got 270 calories.

  • So, in Japan, a two-piece of original chickens

  • and a small fry and a medium drink

  • is roughly 717 calories.

  • A US two-piece, individual fry, and medium drink

  • comes out to be 990 calories.

  • So a lot more.

  • It's too many calories.

  • Mm.

  • Not enough calories, if you ask me.

  • But finger-licking good.

  • I think KFC got to George.

  • He keeps dropping that slogan.

  • Are they paying George?

  • I think George is getting some money on the side from KFC.

  • Oh, my God.

  • If George turns out to be Colonel Sanders,

  • I will lose my mind.

  • So, KFC in Japan doesn't disclose their ingredients.

  • So we emailed their customer support,

  • and this is what they told us.

  • And in the US,

  • our original-recipe chicken ingredients are:

  • first, with the fresh chicken,

  • it is marinated with salt, sodium phosphate,

  • and monosodium glutamate.

  • On to the breading,

  • it's breaded with wheat flour,

  • tricalcium phosphate,

  • maltodextrin,

  • triglycerides,

  • natural flavor,

  • Colonel's secret original recipe seasoning.

  • They also said our fries are made of potatoes, obviously,

  • and vegetable oil and fat.

  • The batter is made of rice flour,

  • vegetable starch,

  • and dextrose.

  • And our fries,

  • which contain sea salt,

  • monosodium glutamate,

  • tricalcium phosphate,

  • hydrolyzed soy protein,

  • potassium chloride,

  • potatoes, that's good,

  • degermed yellow cornmeal,

  • disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate,

  • to maintain natural color.

  • What's more natural

  • than disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate?

  • Rolls off the tongue.

  • And one thing I have to say

  • is that our fries are imported

  • from both America and Belgium.

  • And some of the Belgian fries

  • are made with potatoes from France.

  • So our fries are truly, truly French.

  • Bonjour!

  • In the US, we have four chicken shapes.

  • In Japan, we have five chicken shapes.

  • Let me explain.

  • So, we have this one.

  • It's called kiru.

  • Kiru is like chicken's breast, right here.

  • [laughing]

  • I'm gonna say chicken's chest.

  • Breasts ...

  • [laughing]

  • Kiru is like chicken's chest, right there.

  • The first one is the breast.

  • This is the big piece of chicken your dad gets.

  • And also we got wing.

  • It's a, as you know, chicken wing.

  • This is supposed to be a wing.

  • This is laughably small.

  • And we've got this one.

  • It's called rib.

  • Chickens have ribs?

  • So, rib is, like, under the chest, right here.

  • And we got this one, thigh.

  • Thigh is, like, chicken's lower back.

  • And the next piece is this, which I think is the thigh.

  • And, of course,

  • the next piece, everyone knows the drum.

  • And this is a chicken's leg.

  • Hey, if you enjoyed watching this episode

  • of US versus Japan KFC,

  • we actually have another series

  • comparing the US and the UK,

  • and you can watch that KFC episode right here.

George: From calorie count to portion sizes,

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