'We Try It' is a regular series where we try the latest off-beat food and beverage offerings.
Not sure if you heard, but the Michelin Guide arrived in Chinese mainland this year, by way of Shanghai, sending the city’s restaurateurs into a spin (read: effing freefall). The guide, although criticized by chefs and critics alike for its narrow understanding of the local food scene - and complete snub of a number of lauded international eatery institutions - became the the talk of the town.
Given that the mere mention of a Michelin star now makes many laugh, more cry and even more still wet themselves with excitement, the ever innovative McDonald’s (remember the 'Create Your Taste' burger machines?) has decided to introduce two limited time Michelin-star-chef-backed burgers to their nationwide menu. Gosh, that hurt just to write.
Notice that the chef, Spain’s Ramón Freixa, did not create the burgers himself. He just endorsed them. My how his stars (all two of them!) have fallen.
As acoustic covers of 'Call Me Maybe,' 'Payphone' and 'We Are Young' played in the background, we opened the burger boxes to the distinct cardboard-y smell of McDonald’s cuisine.
The first of the special Michelin (Michelin! Did you know this is Michelin-star backed? We’ll say it again: MICHELIN!!!) menu items is the Signature Sauce Bacon Burger (RMB25). Although the more aesthetically pleasing of the two, this burger turned out to be the loser.
The highlight of the dish was the sauce, which tasted like liquefied Lay’s Italian Red Meat Flavor chips. But even if those chips are your thing, this burger may not be, as the sauce was drizzled on economically, leaving the burger a touch dry.
The second is the BBQ Pineapple Beef Burger (RMB28). This one tasted like Christmas in July, and the pineapple added a tropical, playful element to the patty. The barbecue sauce also brought notes of warmth and toastiness.
In conjunction with the new menu items, McDonald’s has also launched a Black Forest Flavor Pie (RMB7) - not a Black Forest Pie, a Black Forest Flavor Pie - a Sangria Flavor Soda Drink (RMB11) - not a Sangria Soda Drink... you get the point - and a Gingerbread Latte.
The Sangria Flavor Soda Drink, served hot or cold, tasted more like watered down Starburst tea. The flavor was tolerable at first, but by the end of it we were left wishing we'd brought a flask of vodka to add. Hell, even baijiu might have made it more drinkable — anything to cut the sweetness.
We have a hunch you’ll try these fancy AF burgers one morning when you’re hungover and nothing but McDonald’s and Pocari Sweat can revive your fake-alcohol-beaten stomach. And if, in your sunken state, you forget that either burger is Michelin-star-chef-approved and treat it like any old fast food item, you might even be impressed.
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