KFC Australia has just replaced its old tenders with the new tenders, but first I want to talk about the Crispy Strips the old tenders replaced, because a lot of us are still a bit bitter about it.
The photos and menu in this article came from a 90s nostalgia Facebook group, where someone posted the early 2000s KFC menu and asked who misses the old Twister. I’ve tried to credit where I can, but I’m unsure who owns the copyright on a lot of these images and many have been reposted across platforms with no original source. If one of them is yours, message me on Facebook and I’ll happily credit you or take it down.
What Were KFC Crispy Strips?
Crispy Strips were what you ordered when you wanted KFC without bones getting involved. As I remember them, they were properly crunchy, with a thick layer of batter and a real strip of chicken inside, which I believe was breast but could have been thigh. I’m not sure which.
Then they were gone, and the old tenders showed up. Smaller, less crispy, and to my eye highly processed, like a long chicken nugget.
When Did KFC Replace Crispy Strips With Tenders?
It happened in 2015, and by September that year KFC Australia was already telling disappointed customers in a reply on X that there would be no more Crispy Strips and that they should try the Original Recipe Tenders instead.
Not everyone took it well. By 2020, someone had started a Change.org petition to bring them back, and the wording is basically a love letter to Crispy Strips and an insult to the old tenders. I understood the feeling.
The Old KFC Twister
The Twister was the best way to eat Crispy Strips. Crispy Strips, lettuce, tomato and a nice mayo or sweet chilli sauce in a wrap, and back then you could ask the store to toast it for you.
When KFC first replaced Crispy Strips with the old tenders, they seemingly had to add corn chips to the Twister to give an otherwise soggy meal some crunch.
According to the Facebook post, the new Twister replaced the old one in 2021. These days it apparently comes with cabbage, no sweet chilli sauce option, and corn chips as an extra. The cabbage probably isn’t a coincidence, because KFC did switch to a lettuce and cabbage blend in 2022 after floods wiped out lettuce crops. KFC said that was until further notice, and customers could remove it, so it’s a bit odd if the cabbage has stuck around. I’d have been fine with the lettuce.
I’m pretty sure the Twisters now use cut up Original Recipe or Zinger fillets, rather than strips. KFC’s 2021 Crunch range launch listed the Zinger Crunch Twister with a Zinger fillet. It listed the Original Crunch Twister with Original Recipe Tenders though. I believe the roughly circular fillets are cut in half so they can line up to make the longer shape of the wrap.
I’ll have to buy a Twister soon and deconstruct it for science. Perhaps having less battered surface area, because the slicing leaves plain chicken meat exposed, is why they had to add the corn chips. I also think the Crispy Strips were generally just crispier than the Original Recipe and Zinger fillets to begin with.
The Early 2000s KFC Menu
Some of this menu is familiar, with Original, Zinger and Ultimate Burger Meal burgers and combos. But there is also a full Crispy Strips range, Kentucky Nuggets, Popcorn Chicken in regular and maxi cups, and Wicked Wings by the 10 or 15.
The group and family section has Variety Baskets and Buckets, a Party Pack/Mega Meal, a Family Feast and a Dinner for Two. There’s also a kids meal, individual Sara Lee desserts, and dinner rolls with gravy as a side.
KFC’s New Tenders in 2026
KFC Australia launched nationwide on 29 September 2026 with the new tenders, pitched as bigger, juicier and crispier than the old tenders. They’re backed by a boyband campaign called More Tender Than Ever, and a range of 11 dipping sauces. The old tenders that replaced Crispy Strips in 2015 have since been removed from the menu.
KFC has also brought out a $33.95 Dip’d Feast with 10 of the new tenders, share pack chips and five sauces. One report says the new tenders are the result of an 18-month overhaul in the test kitchen after customers complained the old tenders were too small and dry. It also claims they’re 30 per cent bigger and cost about 15 per cent more. I’m not sure how accurate those figures are, but the complaints sound very familiar.
My Verdict on the New KFC Tenders
I’ve now tried them, and the release of a wider sauce range, including chimichurri ranch, Liquid Gold and Korean BBQ, was a good excuse to give them a shot. The sauces come in 25 mL tubs, and you can buy additional ones for $1 each or three for $2. I’m glad I checked my order, because KFC had forgotten to give me my three extras.
As for the tenders themselves, they’re still smaller than the original Crispy Strips. Very skinny and perhaps marginally longer than the previous tenders. They do seem a bit crispier and crunchier than the old tenders, so it’s an overall improvement. They’re still good, but they’re not what I was hoping for, which was basically just the Crispy Strips with a new name.
Should KFC Bring Back Crispy Strips?
The original Crispy Strips were like a long version of an Original Recipe burger patty. The new tenders are still smaller than that. Maybe KFC will keep going and close the gap, and maybe I’ll just spend another decade complaining.
How did the new tenders go for you, and does anyone else still miss the old Twister? Tell me on Facebook and let me know which early 2000s KFC item you’d bring back first.
If you like this kind of content, follow this nostalgia page on Facebook. It’s a great page, and the owners have been very helpful with my research.
