The Location: As we are all most certainly aware of, Hong Kong is currently being occupied by thousands of protesters pressurizing the PRC Government into granting an electoral system, with the majority of demonstrators being based around the Admiralty area where the Government offices are located.
The Place: At Admiralty Station, the world’s top two fast-food giants are situated that offer 24-hour service to its customers. One of these two franchise restaurants is Kentucky Fried Chicken (in short: KFC), specializing in fried chicken.
The Food & Beverage: I occasionally enjoy fast food and have not had KFC in a while, so I decided to go for KFC as opposed to going to its major competitor (the chain-restaurant with the golden “M”). I was excited to have fried chicken; It came as a real surprise to me when I entered the chain-restaurant to see that all advertising had been removed; the restaurant did not look the way I am used to (their concept in terms of branding is very clear and almost the same around the world). I am no expert when it comes to KFC meals, so I found it difficult at first to pick food as no menus were available; I kindly asked for help from the cashier and she happily told me that no set meals were on offer but that I could order the food separately and create my own meal. To my surprise and against international standards, the chicken which I had ordered had not been battered appropriately, the mashed potato tasted odd and old, the drinks mainly consisted of ice having left little room for the liquid itself; in addition to that I was not offered any ketchup or an alternative, there were no napkins available, the restaurant was unclean and looked like a dump.
The Price: I was shocked and at the same time very disappointed when I received the bill; I had ordered 4 pieces of chicken, a small portion of mash, and 2 medium drinks; I was asked to pay 90.20HK$ for that.
It is shameful to realize that the restaurant owner decided to take on the capitalist approach and went for free enterprising taking full advantage of the large amount of protesters on the streets fighting for a brighter future. I fully understand the concept of supply and demand, however this is just plain rude. I should have gone to the market leader instead where I would have received an entire meal consisting of a (double)-burger, fries, a drink, all with a sauce, prepared according to international quality standards, for only 21HK$ instead of 90.20HK$ (reference: Meal No. 8). I will certainly never return to this particular KFC branch should I ever crave KFC again. Shame on you!