Burger King - Wild West Hangout

Burger King - Wild West Range (Picture from BK Facebook page)

Recently Burger King invited me to what I can term as a social media brand discussion/hangout, with various bloggers & twitterati. Titled ‘Wild West’ the objective of the hangout was to discuss their brand & the Steakhouse Range that they recently introduced.

Even though almost everyone knows about Burger King, its only been 9 months since they launched making it a relatively new entrant into the Karachi fast food scene. With this kind of brand comes a lot of high expectations, and in the case of Karachiites, the excitement of being the first to try out the brand. I personally don’t believe in going to a restaurant in the first week but I clearly remember how excited everyone was at Burger King finally opening up in Karachi, and the long queues that I heard about, noticed via Facebook check-in’s and saw pictures of online. The brand team themselves were sharing their experiences of how crazy things were when they opened.

By now things have settled down - they have launched quite a few items from their international menu, started delivery service with some innovative technology that ensures burgers & fries are delivered fresh (definitely need to check this out); and they just launched a new addition to their main menu. Titled the ‘Wild West’ range, it was the theme of the event I am writing about; a new range of burgers available in both beef & chicken, with a regular version and a hot & spicy version.

The event was at the Burger King seaview branch on the 2nd floor and I am going to go off-topic (obviously) but woahhh, the view is amazing! There are quite a few tables set-up on all the corners, and if burgers were easy to eat, this would be like a great place to bring a book to relax & read or just hang out with friends.

And getting back on track ..

So yes, what greeted us when I reached the floor (other than the brand team) were lots of balloons, ice-cold bottles of water (desperately needed), burger king crowns and product pamphlets with pictures of the new range of burgers.
1. Chicken Steakhouse - Flame-grilled chicken patty served with BBQ sauce & Turkey strips.
2. Hot & Spicy Chicken Steakhouse - Flame-grilled chicken patty served with a spicy sauce & jalapenos.
3. Beef Steakhouse - Flame-grilled beef patty served with BBQ sauce & Turkey strips
4. Hot & Spicy Beef Steakhouse - Flame-grilled beef patty served with a spicy sauce & jalapenos.
Price: Rs. 550 for a regular meal (including regular fries + drink) and Rs. 580 for a large meal.

I ordered the Hot & Spicy Chicken Steakhouse with fries. I know the most important part of the burger is supposed to be the filling, but the bun is just as essential. If it’s not fresh & the right size, then be prepared to have your clothes ruined. I am glad to say that my clothes were not ruined. The burger itself was pretty good - I loved the flamed grilled chicken, the hot sauce & the jalapeno’s with just the right amount of kick. It did have some crispy onions in it which I wasn't crazy about. However, the size of the meal with respect to the price is really good! They give a proper amount of french fries (major pet peeve against fast food restaurants that give kid sized fries), thick cut not thinly sliced, so a large meal at Rs. 580 would be good enough for 1 very hungry guy & 2 dainty ladies. Tried the Apple Pie, but found it to be okay - a little too much cinnamon & I prefer the pastry to be more flaky.

Burger King - Thick Cut Fries 

Burger King - Hot & Spicy Chicken Steakhouse

Overall, it was a fun event with great food & interesting conversations. The ‘Wild West’ range looks to be an exciting addition to their current menu. Both variants offered are not the typical chicken/beef burger - they offer a different flavor profile with the BBQ sauce & turkey strips of the regular version & the jalapeno’s & crispy onions in the hot & spicy version. Thus they may not appeal to all the consumers, but they will definitely appeal to people looking for something different which is available conveniently and at a relatively affordable price.

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Pizza Hut Spring Fling - Blogger's Meet-up

A few weeks ago I received an invite for a Blogger's meetup at Pizza Hut. The meet-up was at their Clifton Branch (the one opposite Boat Basin) and the meeting agenda was to share the details of their Spring Fling campaign.

To be honest, its been a while since I have had Pizza Hut. With so many new pizza delivery outlets opening up it's easy to forget about the chain that started off the pizza trend in Pakistan. More importantly, Pizza Hut is a brand that I have always associated with dining out  - delivery is convenient but no matter how quickly the order comes, it just can't beat a pizza fresh out of the oven. The fact that there is no need to clean up afterwards is well icing on the cake! So while there might be new chains opening left, right & centre, when you need to go out for a traditional & comforting thick crust pizza, Pizza Hut is almost always the place of choice. Let's also not forget Pizza Hut for office farewells! .. 

Moving on from where I sidetracked the conversation to the actual meetup. 

Out of all the blogger's invited, my habit of being punctual resulted in me being the first person there (obviously). Blogger Meet-up Lesson for next time - come at least 30 minutes after the stated time. The host (the ABM) was there and we had a good chat regarding well Pizza Hut, the campaign & what exactly was the point of the meetup (it was my first one so well duh). After a few minutes, more people started coming in one by one & introductions were made. Once the entire group was there, we had a detailed & very lively discussion on Pizza Hut and their on-going campaign - the positives & the negatives; to what they are doing well, to where they can improve with ideas & suggestions for improvement. Details of the deal and my comments follow: 

Spring Fling Deal: 
Currently Pizza Hut has an ongoing campaign titled 'Spring Fling' which you might have seen on billboards here and there. Aptly titled Spring Fling to signal the end of Winter in Karachi, it offers limited edition/seasonal meal deals by Pizza Hut. The outdoor & store campaigns (billboard & promo material inside the outlets) features the deals itself, using a flower themed background to indicate the spring element. However, on the social media front, the Spring Fling campaign utilizes two brand mascots titled Sherry & Veeni to generate a buzz and interact with fans on both Twitter & Facebook. 

The Spring Fling deal itself is simply a deal for 4 people with an appetizer (garlic bread), pizzas (of course) and dessert (one serving of their chocolate brownie). 

For people who like to share Pizza's there's Fling 1 - 2 regular pizzas, 4 garlic bread & 1 serving of chocolicious brownie for Rs. 999 (excluding tax)

For people who like to have an individual pizza of their own there's Fling 2 - 4 personal pan pizzas, 4 garlic bread & 1 serving of chocolicious brownie for Rs. 999 (excluding tax)

Toppings available include: Chicken Tikka, Chicken Fajita, Fajita Sicilian, Hot & Spicy and Euro

Pizza Hut Spring Fling Details (Image taken from Pizza Hut's Facebook page) 

So basically if you order this deal, and you eat like a normal person (not like 4 large & hungry guys) it will cost you Rs. 292/head (inc tax) and if you add a pitcher to it, then it's around Rs. 350/head which is pretty good value for money! If you do eat like 4 hungry guys, then you need to pay extra and order more. 

They did serve the deal to us with all four flavors with a pitcher on the side. I am not going to review the food in detail because this was an invited event where I did not pay for the food. Secondly, its Pizza Hut and I am sure that almost everyone has had Pizzas & Garlic Bread from them at some time. If someone hasn't, then they need to! Everyone has to have Pizza Hut at least once in their lives, especially our Desified Chicken Tikka. However, in short, the garlic bread was hot & crispy, the Pizza was hot, loaded with cheese and had that traditional thick crust which is a Pizza Hut trademark. I will give some additional comments on the brownie since I was wondering if it was going to be enough and it was. It is NOT one brownie, its actually one serving of chocolicious brownie (picture attached below) so two large pieces of chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce which is enough for 3-4 people. 



Overall, I really enjoyed the meet-up - the food, the company as well as the experience. There are people who say that these meetups are only a promotional gimmick and of course they are. However, it is also a good way for a company to get constructive feedback from relevant people on their campaign. I had started following Pizza Hut both on Facebook & Twitter once I got this invite, I noticed that there was a positive shift in the way that they were conducting their social media campaign. I can't be 100% sure whether it was a result of the discussion, but if it is then kudos to the team for listening to both the positive & the negative and improving on it. 

P.s. When ordering the deal, DO NOT leave the end crust! 
Being a Muslim, it is obligatory on us to finish whatever is on our plates. Additionally, think about all those less fortunate than you who don't have anything to eat. 
Anas said: “The Prophet ordered us not to leave anything in the plate and he said: “You do not know in which portion of your food Allāh has put the Barakah.”(Muslim)