Some of you might remember that last year, KFC brought out a bucket-shaped electric cooker for all your Christmas feast needs in China. This year, the American fast-food chain doubled down on the gimmicky kitchen appliance route with an electric griddle, which is set to be released on 1 December.
This time around, KFC added more focus to the festive feeling in the design with the inclusion of Christmas tree-shaped graphics on the side of the griddle. The griddle itself features Colonel Sander’s face in the centre. You can get one with the 99 RMB (13.66 USD) “Electric Griddle Meal” which includes 2 chicken burgers, 1 burrito, 5 nuggets, 1 pastel de nata custard tart and 2 small colas.
Netizens greatly admire the design of the appliance, but many feel it might be less than practical at home. Also, because last year’s cooker had problems with the finish and coating chipping, so people are worried about the quality of the teased griddle. However, KFC does mention that the fit and finish have been upgraded which we shall see on the day of release.
As with last year, KFC has also launched Christmas-exclusive items. The headliner on the menu is a spicy chicken piece covered in a baked coconut flake batter called “烤椰肉酥. Other regulars like wagyu burgers and whole rotisserie chickens also made appearances. Meanwhile, prize draws bring back the KFC “gold nuggets” and phone stands for some lucky diners.
But why coconut? The official marketing for the chicken is “Yay! It’s Christmas!” (椰！过圣诞了！) as “椰” (lit. coconut) is also pronounced “ye” However, many noticed that the “耶” in “耶稣” (yesu lit. Jesus) is also pronounced “ye”, with the “酥” (lit. crisp/flake) also pronounced “su”. Some netizens feel it’s a deliberate joke and a tribute to the birthday of the King of Kings. KFC is, in this sense, still leveraging the power of memes accumulated through its “Crazy Thursday” campaigns.
