Potato Wars

Posted by Ian Galliguez in Eat and Drink | 0 comments

Who doesn’t love French Fries? when I was in high school, my friends and I would go to McDonald’s in SM City and order boatloads of their french fries to munch on. It’s a relatively simple snack and it’s cheap and filling. Perfect for a student’s allowance. Now that we’re older, we seem to have taken on fries as some sort of comfort food that takes us to the memories when we were younger. however, our tastes have developed and I personally, want more from my fries than my younger self did.

DiscoverPH.com reviews the different fries and potato food products that different companies have to offer. We base our review on three main things: The Take Home test, the authenticity of the potato and the Add-ons factor.

KFC Fries

KFC’s fries are quite thick cut, well, thicker than most fast food joints. They’re also rolled in a batter before it’s deep fried. This technique is usually done in the Southern US States and is called Southern Fries. Which makes sense since Col. Sanders is from the South. Fries are served in regular, large and bucket sizes. I wish they wouldn’t call it a bucket though because it’s not a bucket. It’s a tub at the most.

They claim that their fries are “crispy” but unfortunately, it’s not. Even when it’s freshly taken out of the frier, it’s not quite as crispy as they claim to be.

Take Home Test Result: KFC usually gives you fair warning about their fries when it gets delivered. They warn you that the crunch factor might be lost and you’d get soggy fries. They don’t cover the “tub” in hopes that it would slow down the process of it being soggy. So far, it passed the Take Home Test although it was still soggy but not so much.

Potato Authenticity: We did see some potato skin on the fries and it tasted like a real potato so KFC passes this test.

Add-ons: KFC provides you with a large container of gravy for dipping.

Final Verdict: We like the batter and we like the gravy. KFC passes but we weren’t impressed.

POTATO CORNER

Potato Corner prides themselves as being the first flavored fries store/establishment in the Philippines.  And of all the fries/potato snacks we’ve tried, they’re also the most affordable. They also have the most variety of flavor – for the fries (I have to stress that because another company has more flavors in terms of dips).

I personally like the fact that they cook those fries fast. Sometimes when you’re just hankerin’ for a quick snack, you don’t want to wait for 10 to 15 minutes just to have your meal. One thing that bothers me though is that they just seem to weigh the fries for show. I mean, they drop the fries on to the weighing scale and in half a second they know how much it weighs. The little needle hasn’t even stabilized yet! I also have some reservations about the powder flavorings they use. It’s yummy, yes, I admit to that but what’s in them? I don’t want my kids to be putting chemicals inside their bodies. Plus, the plastic tubs that they “shake” the fries in are used over and over again. Granted, one tub is just for one flavor but don’t you want to clean them up like after every 3 shakes or something?

Take Home Test Result: Potato Corner fails the Take Home Test. After a few minutes of being in the plastic bag, the condensation made the fries so soggy and wet that it was just a congealed potato mess.

Potato Authenticity: It’s obviously commercially processed potato. We couldn’t see any potato skins.

Add-ons: No dips or ketchup. What do you need them for? The fries are already flavored!

Final Verdict: Potato Corner, though affordable isn’t really the best one out there. They’re popular because they’re affordable but if you have some change to spare, we suggest you try something else.

JOLLIBEE

Jollibee, the country’s favorite fast food chain also claims to have the crispiest fries. We agree that their fries are very crispy but only if you eat them in the store. Sometimes though, their fries borders to the hard side rather than the crispy side and on rare occasions, they’re burnt.  But those times are far and few in between.

They’ve also managed to shake things up a notch with their fries, such as the Cheezy Fries campaign they had a few years back. They also had a beef and cheese fries, similar to chili cheese fries but with a Pinoy twist. I wish they’d bring that back though.

Take Home Test Result: Jollibee barely passes the Take Home Test. They had some fries that were already soggy (those at the bottom of the container) but some were still in good crispy condition.

Potato Authenticity: Also commercially processed, we couldn’t find any potato skin or any clue that they were indeed using real potatoes.

Add-ons: Every order of fries gets at least two packets of ketchup.

Final Verdict: There’s a reason why the Pinoys love these fries. It has the right salt-oil ratio. It’s not too oily and it’s just right with the salt. However, it’s also commercially processed. We give it three stars out of five.

TWISTIX

First off, we love the novel idea of a twisty potato on a stick. These days, you can apparently put anything on a stick and eat it! (Heads and hearts are not recommended though) They also use palm oil so that’s another plus for them. It’s not a snack that you can munch and dash with. The length of the stick might make it a wee bit difficult for your kids to maneuver with in the mall. Trust me, I have three kids and they had to stop and sit down to finish the snack before they could move.

I do have a question though: Why put a biblical phrase on the potato cradle? Maybe it’s me but I kinda turn away from commercial or retail items that have religious themes or religious anything on it. I keep on remembering the scene when Jesus got angry at the vendors in the church. It makes me think about Jesus copyright, I guess. it’s a personal quirk though. Some people appreciate it, just not me.

Take Home Test Result: Twistix passed with flying colors! The potato was still crispy and crunchy. I even went as far as leaving it on the table for about half an hour and then sealing it in a microwavable container. I left it on the dining room table over night and the next day, they were still fresh and crispy! Bravo Twistix!

Potato Authenticity: You cannot get more authentic than this. It’s an entire potato! If you’re looking for the real deal, this is it.

Add-ons: Sadly, no add ons but you can flavor your Twistix with their Barbeque, Cheese and Sour Cream and Onion powders. But then, there I go again with the powdered flavorings. How healthy and how safe are these powders? If I were you, I’d rather go virgin and just ask for salt.

Final Verdict: We love this product sans the religious text and the powder flavorings. It’s an awesome product and a novel idea. If they can have like a mini or something for the kids, that would be great. And yes, it is quite expensive for just A potato but given the choices and if my number one favorite product isn’t availale, I would most definitely go for Twistix.

NYFD

Hands down, this is our favorite. Now, take note that it isn’t the most affordable but let us tell you why we think it’s awesome. First off, they’ve very conscious about being transparent. Aside from the menu that they have, they also put up the containers and marked them accordingly (price and name) One might say that Potato corner does that, I agree so point goes to Potato Corner as well, however, they are also very clear about the weight of the fries per container/order. A Large should be at least 200grams, a Giant should be 400g or something. I forgot the exact measurements but they were there, in black and white. Now, I’m not sure about the other franchises but the one in SM Southmall is awesome. The girl behind the counter even asked me if I wanted to check the scale.

They were also very conscious of not touching any of the parts of the utensils that touch the food, which is why, aside from the fries scoop, they also have tongs. She also wore different gloves for grabbing the fries from the bag and for handling the cooked fries.

Take Home Test Result: NYFD passed the take home test with flying colors. I went a step further by leaving it on the table for half an hour and then refrigerating it. The next day, they were still firm but no longer crunchy. I nuked them in the microwave and they were still firm but still no crunch. It didn’t matter though because they were just so nice and firm and soft – just how a potato should be.

Potato Authenticity: Yes. Absolutely real potatoes. The skins prove it and the couple of dark lines from a potato with a crack would usually show.

Add-ons: Depending on the size of the potato, you get to have one to three dips. You can purchase another dip if you’re a dip person. They have a lot of flavors to choose from. I personally like the Barbeque (tangy, sweet and spicy) and the Pepper steak (I can literally feel the heat from the peppers)

Final Verdict: We love them and think they’re the best because of the customer service we received and the authenticity of the potato. It’s also cooked right – crispy on the outside and soft and puffy on the inside. They also have Onion Rings for those who prefer them over spuds. But the best of them all is that they have Cheese and Chili fries!

They only use Non-Trans fat oil to cook their products in and if you’re not in the mood for dips, they also have a variety of toppings – Vegetables for the health conscious, bacon & cheese, gravy & cheese or chili for the rest.

Want some meat? No problem. They have chicken nuggets.  They also have sandwiches and other hot meals but only for their NYFD Premiere outlets. (Which I would have to try soon) they also have a Diner located in Makati.

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