Yet another moment where the Golden Arches have released a limited time-only item in their menu — the current seasonal offering being a line-up of Mala-inspired items that will be progressively rolled out on in their stores starting with the Mala Chicken McCrispy, Potato Pops and Corn Pie from 30 October 2024 onwards, and then with the Smoky BBQ Shaka Shaka Chicken McBites and Mala Crispy Chicken Burger being subsequently introduced on 7 November 2024 and 14 November 2024.

Wasn’t that much interested with the Corn Pie considering our preferences, so we found ourselves opting for both the Mala Chicken McCrispy and the Potato Pops during our visit to the McDonald’s outlet at The Woodgrove to give the line-up available from 30 October 2024 a try. The outlet doesn’t seem to be the best spot to give the seasonal offerings a go especially considering how they don’t seem to fry things well enough here — the Mala Chicken McCrispy that we had gotten felt a little soggy and not as crisp as we would have expected things to have been. That being said, it does seem that the folks at the Golden Arches has managed the flavour well — there is definitely that hint of fragrance that one would associate with Sichuan peppers that is pretty prominent, while it also does come with a spicy kick which should be well-manageable for those whom have moderate tolerance to spiciness. We didn’t quite catch the numbing sensation that the Sichuan peppers were supposed to provide however.

We also wished that the Potato Pops were better fried considering how they were a little limp with some pieces actually being stuck together — these are essentially Tater Tots that comes with spicy chili flakes that do provide a slight kick of spiciness; again, something that would be manageable for those whom are tolerable to moderate amounts of spiciness. Whilst we aren’t too enthusiastic about the Potato Pops, the Mala Chicken McCrispy does seem to get us a little excited on how the Mala Crispy Chicken Burger would be like — perhaps something which we would consider giving a go once it gets released on 14 November 2024!