We went native this Christmas and ordered our Christmas dinner from KFC. Yup, you read that correctly – Kentucky Fried Chicken. As Japanese don’t tend to have ovens, there is no way to make a turkey dinner, so Okinawa has adopted a chicken dinner from KFC. It’s a huge deal on this island. The orders are placed a month in advance and you schedule your desired day and time slot for pick-up. Josh and Jamie embarked upon this particular adventure with us, so Jamie and I ordered a Party Barrel and a Party Pack shortly after Thanksgiving.
Our Party Barrel came in this wonderful bag with handles. The whole set was wrapped in perfectly Japanese fashion.
Did we mention the Party Barrel was a bit like “Where’s Waldo?” Can you spot a UFO?
Or how about a dragon?
Back to the wrapping -the first layer was our collector’s Christmas Plate:
We look forward to proudly displaying it with our Christmas décor in the future. It even came with a stand!
Next came the top:
The third layer was our 8 pieces of Original chicken, contained in their own plastic dish:
A thick cardboard divider kept the top half stable.
Next came the packets of utensils, napkins, and condiments.
Cesar and cheese dressing, bacon bits, and “White Christmas Ball – Salad Topping.”
Then onto the Christmas Cake – a wonderful hazelnut chocolate.
Delicious whipped icing with festive gold leaf sprinkled in the middle.
This was our first time to enjoy the Okinawa Christmas Cake tradition. Christmas Cakes come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. I suppose it makes sense that bakery-bought cake would be the Christmas dessert here, as again, not many families have an oven, so no Christmas cookies. Seems like a lot less work and stress at Christmastime. And yes, the cake was quite tasty.
The final layer was the “Christmas salad.” (That’s what the order form said.) Lettuce, red peppers, and yellow peppers.
Bit smaller than we anticipated. (But once we added the Party Pack, Jamie’s mashed potatoes and gravy, my baked mac-n-cheese, and rolls…needless to say, we had plenty of leftovers.)
And just in case you were wondering what those “White Christmas Balls” were, they seemed to be a puffed rice ball.
As I mentioned, we were feeding two hungry boys, so we also ordered a Party Pack.
Three pieces of BBQ Chicken, 6 chicken tenders, and 8 or so delicious chicken nuggets.
Quite the impressive, festive, Okinawa KFC feast! Delicious, fun, and a very happy Christmas dinner!