Aji WOW: KFC bulgogi chizza

Aji WOW is my series of unusual Japanese food/drink reviews. 'Aji' (味) means 'flavour', and the name's also a pun on 'ajiwau' (味わう) - 'to enjoy the taste of'.

This time: KFC's 'chizza' with bulgogi.

What's a chizza? Imagine a deep dish pizza loaded with toppings, but the entire base is a boneless fried chicken fillet.

That.

KFC has released a limited-edition chizza before, with pepperoni and cheese. This time, it's covered in mayo, Korean-style bulgogi beef, spinach, more cheese, and spicy red pepper slices.

The bulgogi chizza came out on the 30th - the same morning I found out about it. Instead of being a limited-time menu option, it's on sale 'while stocks last'. So I went straight to the nearest KFC on my lunch break and ordered one.

Each chizza arrives in a pizza box, and is roughly the size of an individual pizza. The (100% Japanese) chicken fillet's pre-cut into 4 slices. More like perforated, for that tear-and-share feeling.

It's about as round as they could make it. Which is not very.

Shockingly, this slab of smothered chicken mooching in its own oil is (barely) less than 900 calories. I added on a small side of 'Colonel-ring' curly fries and a medium drink. The chizza's available with a drink set only.

Maybe they reckon you won't - or shouldn't - need fries to go with it. Spoiler alert: I ended up needing those potato breaks.

The first bite was heaven. The chicken was juicy, and the toppings were amazing. For the whole of that quarter, I felt like I could die happy.

The final bite was hell. By the last quarter, I was flagging. The chicken was still soft and tasty, but the stodge was setting in. Scoffing the first half in under 10 minutes hadn't helped. Every chew became an ordeal.

Taking bites of potato in between chunks of chicken was like palate cleansing. I'm sure it's the only reason I managed to hang in there and eat the whole chizza.

Once I eventually finished, I had a good 15 minutes of my lunch break left to sit and think about what I'd done. It wasn't long enough. The waddle back to the office felt painful, both physically and mentally.

KFC says if they get enough tweets (88,100+) about the bulgogi chizza, they'll bring out a 3rd limited edition. Hide my phone.

Verdict: 9/10. That'll teach me not to share.