January 17, 2009 - Afghan Fried Chicken (01/19/09)

Weekends in Kabul are usually quiet these days. There’s considerably less to do outside the house as a result of the increased security restrictions. You end up doing even more reading at home, watching movies or TV shows on your laptop, or checking on the status of the snow that has piled up outside in the front yard.

Not all of the news in Afghanistan is bad. You still get hungry, you have to eat and sometimes you get to try new restaurants. Last Saturday afternoon, I hadn’t had lunch yet and was feeling particularly hungry. Instead of the usual preparing or warming something up in the kitchen, an appealing image popped into my head… fried chicken.

On the way back from work every night, we pass by a fast food restaurant called Afghan Fried Chicken. It’s brightly lit up inside and out. The logo is a white chicken giving a “thumbs up” and leaning forward on a red Afghan Fried Chicken sign. To the left above the chicken there’s a barely noticeable trademark symbol. Outside the restaurant are several barber shop style candy cane poles. The whole place has a festive western feel.

We had heard that the restaurant is popular among young Afghans. An expat friend of ours who lives up a side street nearby the restaurant said that there’s sometimes no parking outside her own house. The street is full of cars whose owners are picking up their order at AFC.

The past few months a voice in my head had said “You should try it one day.” It was time to put an end to the background chatter.

I found the number to the restaurant and made a call on my cell phone. An Afghan man answered who spoke English quite well. I asked him about the packages of fried chicken available. I asked if they had chicken burgers. I asked if they delivered. He said yes to all of the above so an order was placed. He said that he had my number (most of Afghanistan is now connected by cell phones) and that the driver would call when he was close to our house.

I waited about a half hour and my phone rang. The driver was close and asked me to come outside to receive him. I won’t forget the size or shape of the Afghan Fried Chicken delivery car. It was an ultra-mini van, the color white with the logo, cartoon chickens and business phone numbers pasted all over. There were two men in the car. The one on the passenger side got out and handed me a bag full of food which smelled delicious. I gave him the total and told him to keep a little of the change as a tip. He replied with a big smile as did the driver. He put his hand to his chest to indicate his appreciation and said tashakur which means Thank You in Dari.

I took the bag inside our compound and up to my room. Both the bag and packaging were nicely branded. I had ordered six chicken pieces and a “King Burger” which came with a soda and order of fries. The intention was to have leftovers later. I don’t remember what happened next but before I knew it, a good portion was gone and I was rendered immobilized and sleepy. The taste was impressively like Kentucky Fried Chicken back in the US. It was a bit spicy and very crispy. The experiment was a success so I saved the number to my phone.

Believe it or not, Afghan Fried Chicken is not alone in Kabul. There is another fast food fried chicken restaurant right up the street. It’s called Kabul Fried Chicken or “KFC” for short and is a stiff competitor. Rumor has it that it’s quite good too, even better according to some. I’ve also heard that it’s starting to have legal problems with the real KFC in the west. The logo has the same Colonel Sanders on a red background that we’ve all known since childhood. It might be a good idea to try KFC before it closes.