Growing up in the 90’s and 2000’s Australia, the popularity of the major USA chains had already made an impact here, and started to grow even more in popularity, especially among kids as children’s meals started to roll out.

Being 85 baby, I am old enough to remember the full name, that oddly has made comeback in marketing, Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC Australia officially announced its name change in February 1992 for the South Pacific. It was stated that the main reason to change the name was to remove the word “Fried” from the name.
“There is no bonus using (the word fried) today” KFC South Pacific Vice President told The Age in 1992. “Some of the new products we are introducing are not fried”.
Restaurants over the following year or two would slowly change their signage in Australia, with most renamed by 1993. They also changed their slogan from “Finger Licking Good” to “I like it Like That”.

Some of the non-fried chicken options included roast BBQ Chicken and Fillets.

Original Twisters

KFC Australia introduced Twisters in 1999; the original consisted of Tangy Mayo, Lettuce, Tomato and two Tender Strips.

KFC later expanded the Twister range to include a Sweet Chilli Twister in 2002, and by the 2000s also changed the Mayo to a Pepper Mayo. Back in the early 2000s, you could also toast your Twister as an option, which took it to an entirely new level.

Some of the temporary Twisters that joined the menu over the years including the Ceasar, a Ranch one, the Grilled Twister, the Sweet Fired Grill Twister, the Zesty Twister, the Twister Salsa, the Spicy Hot Twister, Chicken Bacon Egg Twister, Sweet Seasame Crunch Twister, BLT Twister, Honey Mustard Twister, Honey BBQ Twister, SuperCharged Twister and Bacon Lovers Twister.

Sadly KFC removed the tomato and lettuce from the modern Twisters on the menu today, and replaced it with some terrible sauce, cabbage and corn chips.

KFC Krushers

“Full of real bitz!”

KFC Krushers was launched in July 2009 nationally, it was launched as an alternative to McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s milkshake, smoothie and Frappe lines, but as a more premium drink often featuring “bitz”, and took heavy influence from the Wendy Mega Shakes.

Its original launch included fruit-based drinks, or milk-based drinks, and the flavours included

Golden Gaytime Classic Krusher
Kookies n Kream Classic Krusher
Strawberry Smoothie Krusher
Mango Smoothie Krusher
Mixed Berries Smoothie Krusher
Mixed Berries Fruit Krush
Mango Berry Fruit Krush

Krusher flavours through the 2010s included:Choc Hazelnut, Ice Coffee, Salted Carmel, Toffee Honeycombe, Milkybar, Caramel Popcorn, Choc Brownie, Strawberries and Cream, Iced Mocha, Pine Lime, Violet Crumble, Triple Choc and Choc Mint.
The fruit based smoothie drinks were discontinued very early on, and the later Krusher ranged focused more on milk-based Krushers.

Krushers were originally around $3 to $4, but competition heated up when McDonalds and Hungry Jacks both lowered their Frozen drink range (Frozen Coke/Fanta) to only $1 in the early 2010s. There were Krusher happy hours for $2 on certain days and times (weekdays 2pm to 5pm), and eventually a permanent price drop to $2.

KFC Krushers were deleted in January 2019 due to poor sales and costs to make the drinks and the clean/maintain the work stations, probably due to the heavy competition of the $1 frozen drinks by rivals, in which KFC responded by launching its own frozen Pepsi and Mountain Dew lines to match for the same price.

Colonel Burger

KFC’s Australia’s answer to a cheap and small Maccas Cheese Burger, the Colonel Burger was a cheap Chicken pattie, Lettuce and Mayo on a sesame seed bun.
In the 1990’s it was a meal on its own for $1.99 with chips, and toys were extra on top.
However later it was found in kids meals including Fun Buckets and in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the Chicky Meals. Many people that grew up in the 90’s and 2000’s fondly remember this burger. Cheese was later added to the Colonel Chicken Burger.

Fun Buckets (90s)

In the early 90s, KFC actually sold the toys separately as an additional cost to any meal. However at some point KFC Australia introduced proper children’s meals in the early 90s, and labelled them the “Fun Bucket”, in an attempt to take on Happy Meals at Maccas. Meals came often came with a Colonel Burger, Fries and a Toy. The meal came in a collectible bucket, often with licensed characters on it. It came with a lid that had vents so the food would not go soggy. Fun Buckets were phased out in the late 90s for Chicky Meals meals.

After 1996, Kids meals came in cardboard boxes, and in QLD Buckethead boxes.

Chicky Meal (late 90s/2000s)

If you are an younger millennial, you may of missed Fun Buckets, because in the late 90s KFC replaced them with the Chicky Meal.
The Chicky Meal went one step better, not only did it have a drink, Burger or Chicken and Fries, it also came often with a Bertie Beetle too. If you were a QLD kid, you had your own special meal under the Buckhead name.

Looney Tunes Cups

The were $2.95 with any purchase in 1993, but they must of been successful because it appears KFC Australia repeated Looney Toon cups multiple times through the 90s. They would be kinda awkward with Dishwashers that are found in most houses these days however! I remember them being quite popular back in the day, and you can often still spot them at places like the Salvos.

Bean Salad

I personally never had a Bean Salad from KFC, but many people that grew up or lived in through the 90’s swear it was one of the best side items on the menu, it was a side often available for Family Meals.

Tender Roast or Kentucky BBQ Roast Chicken

KFC were doing whole Chickens in the 90s, and it was sold under two names, BBQ Roast Chickens and Tender Roasts.
The Tender Roasts were like the modern Coles or Woolies chicken, using modern fan-forced ovens and pre-marinated/injected Chickens. For the time, they were one of the tastiest and moist Whole Chickens you could get on the market, because most supermarkets were still using roastiere types of ovens.

Crispy Strips

The original Crispy Strips were magical, and for whatever reason KFC Australia phased them out in 2015 and replaced them with Tenders.
They did improve the breading in 2025 however.

The Works Burger

This baby was your typical KFC Burger with the lot! Add bacon, cheese and pineapple to your staples of Lettuce and mayo, and you get the works. It tasted amazing, and to this very day people are asking KFC to bring it back. It was a staple of the early 90s, and was also available in Zinger too.

KFC Fillers (subs)

These babies were some of the best tasting items to ever grace a KFC Menu. They were 9 inch subs with bacon, chicken, lettuce and cheese and various sauces. Smokey BBQ Bacon and Fireball were top tier.

Rollers

These mini wraps were full of goodness, a mini wrap with cheese, bacon bbq sauce and Pop Corn Chicken, I enjoyed smashing out a couple of these bad boys.

Pop Corn Chicken Melt

These came out in 2012, and they were essentially larger versions of Rollers, minus the BBQ sauce and nacho cheese sauce. It was a large toasted tortilla with Pop Corn chicken, basically a KFC version of a quesadilla.

Fillet Supreme

Imagine a Fillet of Chicken with Ham and Cheese baked inside of Crumbed Chicken Breast, and that was what the Kentucky Supreme was. It does not appear to have come back since the 90s where it was available multiple times.

Chicken Loopys

KFC Australia did Chicken Loopys multiple times, including in 1994 and 1997. Basically just Chicken Rings, similar to the way Calamari is prepared. They often came with a free dipping sauce included in the meal.

Mashies

I always thought these were over-rated, but everytime they get them back social media gets into a frenzy. Crumbed balls of Mashed Potato and Gravy, sometimes the Gravy is on the inside, sometimes as a dipping sauce.

Tower Burger or Burger Tower

The Burger Tower first came out in 1995, this bad boy was two Colonel Chicken Burger patties, a special Tangy Tomato sauce and a hashbrown, with lettuce, cheese and mayo. In the 2000’s it was replaced with one regular Chicken pattie, and was not quite a tower then. It was my personal favourite burger growing up, and as a 12 year old I found it quite filling. Zinger versions were also available in the later 90s.
There is this unique combo of flavours of the tangy Tomato sauce that binds well with the hashbrowns and chicken patties.

Corn Cobs

Yes back in the day with a family meal, along side your Chips, your dessert and Pepsi, Potato and Gravy or Bean Salad, you could also get Corn Cobs. For some odd reason as a child I loved getting a side of Corn with my junky food KFC.

All You Can Eat KFC

Yes these did exist in Australia, there was at least one in WA, also one at Bondi Junction, NSW, and Eagle Street Brisbane in QLD too . I personally never went to one, but anyone who attended one growing up in the 2000s in Australia swears it was one of the best experiences ever.

Deli Cup Dessert

Instead of soft serve and deep fried dessert options, KFC often used premade desserts, including the iconic Vienetta, Sara Lee Pies or single serve icecream were often chucked in.
However they also sold small deli cups of desserts, and they were amazing. I did not get these often, but loved it when I did get one on the rare occasion. The Chocolate Mouse was the highlight.

Ritz

The Ritz was basically an oversized Twister, containing the same ingredients however the wrap was bigger, and instead of Chicken Crispy Strips it used a whole fillet from a burger, great if you were hungry.
These were available in the early 2000s, but not for very long due to the popularity of the Twister.

Pocketfuls

These were upgraded versions of the Ritz, basically, but with some extra sauces and fillings, and came in 3 flavours. They were also toasted.
Flavours included Smokey BBQ bacon, Nacho Cheese, Classic and Fiery Jalapeno. These were available in the late 2000s.

Zinger Tacos

These babies came out in 2015, and combined both a Soft and hard taco shells, alongside tomato and salad and Zinger sauce and Zinger Strips. As you can imagine, they tasted amazing.

Pepsi Blue

I never tried Pepsi Blue, but for some odd reason Blue Pepsi is appealing to me, and in the 2000’s KFC and Pizza Hut were the only places to get it.

Streets Vienetta

You can still get them from supermarkets today, but everytime I see one today, I think of KFC, and the good times having a family meal together. We did not get a Vienetta very often, however the most common time we got it in our house in the 90s, was in the cheap Family Meals that KFC did, and it was common throughout the years to have in the family meals.

Hot And Spicy

The Hot and Spicy ads always caught my attention growing up, I do wonder why it has never been permanently added the menu over the years. It was never super spicy, but it made your regular KFC chicken just a bit more enjoyable with that small kick.

Zinger Pies (2010s)

Seriously, one of the best pies every made. What can go wrong with the combo of Spicy Chicken, KFC and putting it into a pie.

Sunkist

KFC Australia has always had close links to its parent company Pepsi, but oddly in 2024, Sunkist was removed from the menu. In the 90s KFC also sold Mirinda Orange.

Double Down (2010s)

If you really feel like being a fat fuck, you could get a Double Down in 2011 , no buns, pure protein, double chicken patties as the bun with bacon and cheese on the inside. It comes back every now and then, last year they added a waffle.

KFC Breakfast

Yes KFC have trialed Breakfast multiple times in Australia over the years, and in the 90’s they did egg chicken breakast burgers, pancakes and even sausages.

Hot Rods

Hot Rods seem to come back every 12 months, and have many fans in Australia who love them. I personally think they are overrated, and would rather an actual piece of Zinger Chicken, but some people love them! They appeared as early as 2006.

Wedges

When KFC Australia rolled out delivery in the mid 90s, to combat the soggy chips they gave the option of Wedges instead of chips.

Five Stars Box

This box had a bit of everything, from a wrap, to Pop Corn Chicken, Chips, Wicked Wing, a piece of Chicken and a Potato Mash and Gravy.

Thanks for reading!

KFC Kid Meals Ads

Various Ads over the years

Here is some more KFC Nostalgic goodness.