Being someone who patronizes KFC, maybe even someone who might be considered an aficionado, I have a KFC meal occasionally when in different cities just to compare. I expect that the chicken would be prepared/served in a fashion which may be adjusted for local tastes. I do not expect that the 11 herbs and spices would be changed (made more spicy for the eastern diners perhaps?) or played with, but I always thought that the fry might be different after having tried the product in a few different countries. Now I have visual evidence for comparison of differences if any :

 

May 2022
 

 July 2022
 

July 2022

 

The Kuching version looks very different from that of Sydney, Edinburgh, Shenzhen and Xiamen. 

• The batter of the Kuching KFC is dry compared to the other four which are visibly oilier.

• The degrees of frying might also be different giving rise to variations in coloration (photo exposure results excepted).

• Indeed, the oiler look signifies chicken cuts which were more moist whereas the Kuching pieces were much drier.

• Taste-wise, there was little difference which means that the herbs and spices blend used remained the same.

• What I think this means is that KFC allows its country franchisees some leeway in producing a fried product which suits the local taste. In the case of Malaysia, it must mean that  that the KFC consumer prefers a drier and crispier batter. Indeed the parallel product in Malaysia, the "spicy" version is even drier than the "original" version (and in my mind inedible as it is too dry).

• Overall, give me the moist fried chicken version any day even though it might be oily scary. In that respect, the Sydney, Edinburgh and Shenzhen KFC fried chicken are preferable, with the Xiamen probably the best of the lot (tasty and moist but a bit saltier than the others).

Notes:

It is said that KFC changed its name in the mid-90s from "Kentucky Fried Chicken" in part because it wanted to avoid the term "fried" which in an increasingly health-conscious market is not good for maintaining market share. However, how would it disguise the frying in their Sydney, Edinburgh and Shenzhen products when they look so oily?