After my shockingly great Korean McDonald’s experience — and considering how good all of the food in Japan is — I had high hopes for a similar experience here.
Yeah, no. This was a pretty standard McDonald’s experience, sadly. Not the best, and not the worst.
First up is the Mature Gracoro Beef Stew Burger, which is a crispy fried croquette with cheese and chili on top. Oh, and the croquette is filled with macaroni and shrimp.
There’s a lot going on here — between the chili, the cheese, the mayonnaisey sauce, the shrimp, the soft macaroni, the crispy exterior of the croquette, and the creamy interior, it’s a very random hodge-podge of tastes and textures. It’s not bad, but it never quite coheres.
I also tried the Teriyaki McBurger, which was very similar to the Bulgogi Burger that I tried in South Korea. In fact, I think the pork patty is identical — but when I had it in Korea, it was fresh and tasty. This one had clearly been sitting out for a while, and had a much dryer texture and a vaguely leftovery flavour. The teriyaki sauce was about what you’d expect, and it wasn’t quite strong enough to wipe out that patty’s iffy flavour.
Finally, there’s the Sankaku pie — a triangular chocolate pie with a puff pastry exterior. This wasn’t bad. The chocolate filling was nice and gooey, but the pastry shell was a bit tough and chewy.