Milo Dinosaur without Milo.

Chicken burger without meat.

Thanks to the rising trend of veganism and vegetarianism, the latter option has become much more conceivable, if not yet palatable.

Confusingly, however, KFC's latest launch of its meat-free chicken burger is neither vegan nor vegetarian.

The burger consists of:

• Mycoprotein (protein derived from fungi) meat-free patty
• Lettuce
• Sliced cheese
• BBQ sauce
• Mayonnaise

You can get the limited time burger for S$6.55 a la carte, or S$8.65 in a set meal.

It's complicated

When asked about the burger's existential crisis, KFC told Mothership that the patty itself is vegan, but fried in the same oil as chicken products.

The mayonnaise is also not suitable for vegans.

Instead, the burger is "an option for people who wish to explore different food and lifestyle choices," the spokesperson said.

Juliana Lim, Senior Director, Marketing & Food Innovation for KFC calls it "flexitarianism," which has been defined as a "semi-vegetarian" or "casual vegetarian" diet.

Such a diet encourages more plant-based foods, but do not require subscribers to cut out meat entirely.

But enough of the -isms — we'll get on with the taste.

Trying the burger

Its taste is, objectively, not bad.

Our junk-eating colleague gave her nod of approval, and observed that the meat-free patty is similar to a chicken nugget in terms of texture, rather than something you'd find in a burger.

For someone who prefers actual meat, I found the patty okay, but that was about the extent of my feelings.

If you're still unsure, the BBQ sauce also helps to disguise any misgivings you may have about the patty.

While we would say the meat-free burger passes in terms of taste, we remain doubtful about the reason for its existence in the first place.

Barring the flimsy defence of flexitarianism, what is the point?

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Top image by Mandy How