Mine would be Subway, used to eat a Footlong at least once a week back in the day, now its barely a once every 6 month affair.
I started getting put off by the high price of the Subs, the perceived use of too many preservatives and the lack of a decent loyalty scheme.
good man. Eating that greasy-as KFC makes me sick.
Korean Fried Chicken ftw
My kids call it Kids Fattening Centre!
We rarely have fast food other than getting MuckDonalds once a month for the kids.
it must be a popular saying/meme as my kids (primary) call it the same. I never heard it called that but haven't eaten there for about 15 years
Hungry Jack
Make you Fat
Agreed, though a Bacon and Cheese Zinger Burger is still edible (I even enjoy them sometimes).
Korean Fried Chicken is also greasy-as lol.
Not disputing it's deliciousness though. yum.
I’m a woman.
, hear me roar
.
Thanks for the update.
m'lady
Quiet!
Ok you got our permit to stage your age in Roman or other ancient numbers. And your gravity in krypto.
Good work but KFC is too good! We have once a week as a family. I believe I keep it a lot healthier by not ordering chips and getting 4 leaf salad + avo instead. Life's too short to have steamed chicken & broccoli all the time, gotta have a balance. I stay away from Maccas as they sell the fake stuff like 25% real chicken nuggets & 40% real beef patties.
what was the reason or trigger?
The fortnightly food poisoning was mostly the cause.
This is Aus, not the USA. Fast food doesn't give you the shits here like in the US. And even if you do get a bit sick it's more likely because you got a zinger box with a large chips and extra side of popcorn chicken than actual food poisoning - trust me, you'd know if it was food poisoning.
@coffeeinmyveins: Nah man I think both the US and Australia have the same chance of food poisoning in food franchises. It's just that the US has a greater population (and therefore number of stores/locations/staff). I got the shits for a week after eating a Meatball footlong from subway. Worst food experience of my life.
Eating fast food as a child is a win, eating it as an adult is a defeat.
Actually so true!
great story
Wow how did you stop eating them? Please share the trade secret.
I didn’t want to throw up every 2 weeks from food poisoning. It was a great motivator.
Carrots
Hare in your food?
Do you eat it or do you do something else with it? The latter would explain a lot… 😋
So roadrunners eat carrots? [3 negs from humourless people!]
This is funny, i don't know why all the debby downers are downvoting you?
Times are changing now the poor get fat
At uni there weren't many options, especially for late night study sessions before ubereats became widely available…
Subway and McDonald's were nearby so those were the common fast food go-tos. Nowadays, I can't stand the taste of their food besides the breakfast menu muffins. It's like the overall burger/roll or whatnot gets punched or squeezed too hard before it gets wrapped up.
Cost ratio with taste, value and appeal are terrible.
I'd also say Grill'd and Schnitz as their burgers have become much smaller and the cost of the chips+ dip increasing too much
+1 for only being able to stomach breakfast menu muffins
the regular burger buns have become inedible :(
Grill’d.. couldn’t justify the extra expense over other places (unless it’s buy one meat burger get one free)
and sausage and egg McMuffins
I stopped Grill'd after the dodgy "Traineeships" fiasco.
I stopped after the repeated news articles on their health and safety standards being shocking.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/a-festering…
OMG I missed that…. eww
That is an article you don't want your business name on.
I am hoping it was isolated, not all stores
Their Beyond range at 2-for-1 prices on Mondays if they're still doing that is pretty worth it. The Beyond Garden Goodness tastes great imo!
I think last week was the final week of that promo.
Aw shucks. Hope they bring it back post-lockdown. Was great value, especially with the free student beer!
I find that the taste isn't there for what you pay and independent fancy burger shops are better anyway.
I don't understand Grilld burgers. A good burger can only be purchased from a fish-n-chip shop! The lot with pineapple and beetroot!
Subway, and Maccas/KFC.
I stopped for a variety of reasons:
- Every now and again I'd have a really shitty meal - just tasted terrible or had things like a stale bun/bread etc.
- General desire to eat healthier
- Learnt to cook with time and found it tasted better and was cheaper to make.
Still enjoy a good Maccas/KFC meal after a really big trip or similar - but with lockdowns has been a good year or so since I've had it.
very satifying eating something tasty that you've made yourself.
nah i'd still rather it be cooked by someone else
I find if you just call up they will replace it and then you get a free extra dinner
Subway… No matter where in the world, that horrid "subway" smell is strong.
I thought I was the only one that noticed this off putting smell!
I used to work there…. that dampy weird water smell got to me, couldnt go into Subway for years after I left
It can be even sensed from outside.
Any insights , if Subway food is unhealthy ?
Thanks
Maccas/KFC/HJ's got diagnosed with coeliac and haven't had it since… there really isn't enough GF unhealthy food around; it always gets labelled as 'health food' :(
really isn't enough GF unhealthy food around
It's doing you a favour really.
If you want an occasional hit of Maccas fries, they’re usually GF - check with your local re whether they’re cooked in their own fryer. Also lots of fish & chips and pizza options, depending on where you are. (Assuming you don’t already know this - sorry if you do! I wasn’t sure how recently you were diagnosed … it’s a pretty steep learning curve at first).
Oh I didn't know that, thanks! :) I'll have to check with the local store but I do seem to be super sensitive to gluten because I can't even have it in the house anymore, when my partner eats gluten I get symptoms. So not sure I'd be able to eat maccas chips even if they are in their own fryer without problems, i'd be too afraid that they stick them next to hash browns or something before serving them to me.
My area doesn't seem to have any gf fish & chips/pizza places, i'm always looking for new options but haven't seen any (northern adelaide).
dont risk it if you are that sensitive :(
My sister reckons that the best chain pizza GF base is Pizzahut.
Maccas is known to be pretty good with allergies etc - eg. a friend whose kid was anaphylactic to a couple of things could take her to eat there, with precautions, but pretty much nowhere else. Definitely worth talking to your local - maybe a manager? But of course there are no guarantees. It’s a minefield, I know. My kid is sensitive and vomits for a couple of hours if cross contaminated, but FWIW has never had an issue with Maccas chips.
That sucks about local options. We’re in Melbourne, which seems to have a steadily increasing number of options - hopefully Adelaide follows suit sooner rather than later. It looks like there’s a handful of places at glutenfreeeatingdirectory.com.au (and just three at the Coeliac Society website) but not sure if any are near you.
Anything on the Hungry Jacks paper coupon voucher paper. I use to always get 2 Whoppers or the $5 2 Jr. Whoppers deal. But no more. Now I shake and win rarely once a month if I feel like a $4 Whopper or a $2 BBQ Cheeseburger on its own with the free small fries and drink receipt freebie (cannot stack with shake and win offers).
Get 10 more numbers to burn :)
i can't even get the app to work on my phone.
https://www.frugalfeeds.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Hu…
Vouchers are still around, I just show the PDF at the counter. This one is valid until 13/9, will be another released soon I believe.
Subway, after visiting and observing several Subways as part of an assignment I completed I'll never eat it again.
The words food safety, personal hygiene, food handling, and storage appeared foreign to most of them.
I worked at one when I was 17 and it was very clean, with strict rules and frequent checks by the area manager. Back then I would eat there 3-4 times a week for about 2 years.
I agree with Powlie. I worked at one in high school and food hygiene was very very good - I continued to eat there well after I had stopped working there
I spent some time in Scotland with the Subway Store Inspector (basically hired by corporate to keep the franchisee's in line for health and safety stuff) and they were pretty impressed with most stores. They did come from working in KFC though so its a pretty easy improvement.
@Intoxicoligist: Yep. They used to come in every few months with no warning or notice and checked things thoroughly.
Subway. Processed meats, e.g chicken. They could be so much better.
you could say that about all the main fast 'food' joints
But even KFC uses whole pieces for their fillets, pieces and tenders.
I liked the pieces at the all you can eat KFC in South Dakota when I lived there…. put on about 15 kgs :'(
My local Banh Mi place makes an awesome pork roll for $5, no way Subway can compete.
I love Vietnamese rolls! That tangy vinegary sauce with coriander and onions.. Mmm
Ayyy
Food
So you could tell the missus you had subway but it was basically a pizza on bread lol
Ahhh, I see you too are familiar with the Italian BMT and Subway Melt ;)
And the cheesy garlic toastie
Subway is just foul. The bread isn't even bread, it's just tonnes of sugar and salt. The meat is so overprocessed. gross.
Maccas as a kid. Was a multiple times per week thing. Now the only time I have it is if I'm doing a trip and there's little choice. Been an easy 3 years since the last time I had Maccas. That said, I eat very little fast food at all these days. Haven't been to any of the big chains in probably 2 years. Last fast food meal was a local BBQ chicken place ~6 months ago.
Any fast food really. Maccas/KFC/HJs is strictly reserved for drunk food or road trips. Previously* I’d grab whatever was on the app rewards for lunch to save a bit of money but now I’d rather pay a bit more to have a decent meal and not feel crap after.
*Prior to COVID…
BIG Mac
now its a mini mac :(
grand mac equals a big mac of the past
good old days where a large big mac meal was 5 bucks lol
Fillet-o-Fish is now a fish finger :(
The fish giving you the finger as you bite into it
Used to live 200m from a very good fish & chip shop. Steak sandwich & minimum chips was my goto (or just chips if only had a dollar)
.
Subway used to be my goto pretty much weekly. However when i found out about the rubber matt chemicals in the bread fiasco i stopped.
Well it's "rubber matt chemical" in the sense that azacarbodimimide decomposes to form gases to fluff up synthetic rubber. It is not actually part of the "rubber" itself.
When used as an oxidising agent in flour it produces bis-urea which is rapidly excreted by urination. The molecule is chemically similar to urea which is the primary end product of normal protein metabolism.
In any case, this is not how chemicals work. Sodium metal is explosive in water, Chlorine gas is highly toxic. NaCl is neither and both Na and Cl are necessary for normal human metabolism.
thanks for the explanation as my daughter loves the veggie delight - I know the bread is not that healthy but the veggies would be healthier than most other fast food outlets
Nandos for sure. Maybe i was young but it used to be so good. Last time i had it. the chicken was tiny and dry. The burger was inedable. The price is a joke now also.
Nandos is woefully inconsistent between franchise owners. The one in Sydney CBD is awful in every way with tiny dry chicken whereas Alexandria branch is better than any one I've had in the UK. Huge chicken pieces & side portions, well cooked and drenched in sauce the way it should be. https://i.imgur.com/aBXbM57.jpeg
The pricing certainly isn't competitive though which is probably why they keep adding lots of offers in the app.
I agree the problem with Nandos is consistency. Some stores have amazingly tender, juicy chicken with perfect peri chips. Some are just horrible.
Definitely agree. I only ever have their chicken and the variance is real. Although to be honest most of the Brisbane ones have been pretty good.
The day my local good Nandos shut down was sad indeed. Now I have to drive past 2 other Nandos to get to the next good one.
Actually I think 2 two good Nanos have shut down too. It's a dying breed.
Nandos raw butterflied chicken all comes from same source. They get ovenbaked instore then basted & chargrilled when you order.
However the big difference between stores is who bakes their whole day’s chicken in the morning when they open… vs stores who cook several smaller batches throughout the trading day.
Fast food is comparatively expensive in Oz. Of course the reason is that prices are a function of real estate prices and rents which are astronomical here.
Dominos……..shrinking size in tandem with poorer ingredients
Seems a common theme in all these joints…
smaller portions, more $
Welcome to Capitalism. Greed and cost minimisation are the driving forces.
Inflation is a killer, but its how the economy is designed to work.
Domino's pissed me off when they raised prices on Sundays to compensate for them having to pay their staff penalty rates. Say they have 8 staff on for sunday, and each got an extra $1 per hour as compared to before, its costing them less than $50-100 each sunday in extra staffing charges. I call bullshit profit gouging.
McDonalds or KFC like weekly. Haven't had either in about 20 years now.