United States fast-food giant KFC became the first Western restaurant chain to open a branch in Tibet on Tuesday, more than a decade after the chain's first attempt to establish a foothold ended in controversy. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, had previously declared that the cruel treatment endured by chickens raised and killed for KFC "violates Tibetan values". The over-500 sq m restaurant in a shopping mall in the regional capital Lhasa attracted more than 1,000 patrons on its first day of business.