Never really meant for the two McDonald’s posts to be posted so near to each other — guess I just sat on the McCrispy post for too long that they had the time to release yet another item that actually pique my interest.
Glad that there is always a McDonald’s that is extremely near for me so it is always quite convenient for me to wind up in one whenever they release specials like these — the Crispy Hainanese Chicken Burger being a collaboration between the Golden Arches and local celebrity Ben Yeo that is launched for National Day; what’s more apt than a locally-inspired burger anyway?
To set the records right — this isn’t a burger intended to replicate the local classic hawker dish entirely; the namesake being pretty obvious. Coming with mixed greens (including purple cabbage and carrot) and a fried chicken patty, the obvious differences will be the lack of cucumber and the usual steam or roasted chicken — that being said, the Crispy Hainanese Chicken Burger fared pretty well being a locally-inspired McDonald’s burger (which is essentially what it is); a familiar chicken patty with a distinct flavour of ginger coming off from somewhere within that replicates that of the fragrant rice that comes with the hawker dish. The special Dark Sweet Sauce carries a deep, earthy note; all that without being too sweet — it is actually pretty good on its own, though the garlic chili tends to wipe out much of its flavour somewhat. Be warned though; it’s a fairly messy burger to have with all the sauces added — your hands are likely going to get down and dirty with this one given the gloopy sauces if one chooses to go all the way out with them.
Still a fan of the original fries from McDonald’s (the oldie is a goldie), but I would pick their Crisscut Fries over their Twister Fries anytime — the Crisscut Fries being sliced more completely and also thus carried much more oomph against the short curls that the Twister Fries have become over the years; flavour-wise they were pretty similar though.
Ordering the Crispy Hainanese Chicken Feast also adds the Banana Pie to the spread — not a new item; think their standard Apple Pie featuring caramalised bananas which I prefer over the rather artificial blueberry jam used in the Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie. A colleague mentioned it was pretty reminiscent of Goreng Pisang — never saw it in that way but there is some truth in that, though somewhat sweeter (though still manageable) in a McDonald’s sort of fashion. A little bummed that I didn’t get to try the Kopi Frappe since it isn’t available at the outlet I went to — so there’s the standard McCafe Iced Latte for me.
There has been some talk and comparisons of the Crispy Hainanese Chicken Burger against the Nasi Lemak Burger some years back — both being locally-inspired flavours that McDonald’s have introduced in recent years. There is no doubt that the Nasi Lemak Burger is a better, integral package that was an eye-opener; in comparison the Crispy Hainanese Chicken Burger was something that worked, but still distinctively McDonald’s at it. Still, I must say that the Crispy Hainanese Chicken Burger is one of the better specials that they have released in recent times — something that I would say that works well enough to give a try at least once to find if it works to your tastebuds.
