Copyright rsvplive
McDonald’s launched their latest limited edition menu items last week and people have been lining up their drive-throughs to get their hands on the new treats. For the first time, Ireland has gotten some tasty, and somewhat questionable, food items from across the world - from the UAE and Australia to Japan and Poland. I managed to get my hands on the hot ticket dishes, but unfortunately, only one is a major must-have for me. Here’s everything you should know before trying it out: Maple BBQ & Bacon Double Quarter Pounder Starting with an invention from Canada, I found their Maple BBQ & Bacon Double Quarter Pounder to be the far better new burger on McDonald’s menu. It is made with two beef patties, a creamy Maple BBQ sauce, Irish bacon, cheese, crispy onions and pickles in a toasted sesame seed. Initially, I was worried the sauce would be too sweet, however, it was a really nice balance with the smokiness of the crispy onions and the bacon. Overall, it was quite pleasant - and the beef was excellent quality - however, I wouldn’t write home about it. Pineapple McSpicy The second new burger on their menu is the Pineapple McSpicy from Australia. It features a hot and spicy chicken breast in a crispy coating, classic sandwich sauce, a pineapple ring, Irish bacon, cheese and lettuce in a toasted sesame seed bun. This burger made me a bit nervous because I’m not even a fan of pineapple on pizza, but I do like spice. I initially wasn’t sure how to feel about the burger as my first reaction was that it shouldn’t exist. Texturally it was nearly inedible - it made me gag to chew. The heat from the burger left the pineapple ring slightly mushy and dry in parts. While the quality of the chicken was nice, the burger was difficult to eat and very messy. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this burger to anyone, unless I know for sure it’s for them. Mac & Cheese Triangles All the way from the United Arab Emirates are McDonald’s Mac & Cheese Triangles. They are made with macaroni pasta in a cheddar cheese sauce, covered with crispy breadcrumbs and served with a tomato ketchup dip. I was looking forward to these because they look delicious in the pictures, and while the cheddar thankfully wasn’t hard their mozzarella dippers, it also didn’t taste like cheddar. The breadcrumb coating was really nice and perfectly crispy, but I was left with a weird aftertaste. Garlic & Black Pepper McNuggets Several items were stolen from Japan, with their Garlic & Black Pepper McNuggets sharing a new take on the fan favourite food. The McNuggets have a garlic and black pepper flavouring to them and are served with a Garlic Soy Mayo dip. I thought these were okay, but not really memorable. The flavour definitely leans more heavy on the pepper than garlic, but it’s not too overwhelming. However, the Garlic Soy Mayo dip was a huge let-down as I couldn’t really taste the garlic or the soy - it was more like a lightly flavoured mayo. Sour Cream & Black Pepper McShaker Hailing from Poland, McDonald’s regular fries come with a sachet of flavoured seasoning and a shaker bag. All you have to do is add the fries to the bag, pour in the seasoning and shake so that it’s evenly distributed. Fair warning to everyone, be careful when you’re using the seasoning as it tends to go everywhere - even in the air. I started choking on it when I first poured it into the shaker bag. I’m really split on the fries as the flavour reminded me very much of Pringles’ Sour Cream and Onion - they taste the exact same. But there was something very interesting about them. An upside to these McShaker fries is that you can order them, but only add in a small few fries to the bag. That way you can decide if you like them or not before covering all of them with the seasoning. Sakura X Sprite McDonald’s only new drink is the Sakura X Sprite - which is Sprite with a sugar-free Sakura flavoured syrup. It comes from Japan. I was unsure if I would like it or not as I’m not a big fan of floral flavours like rose or lavender. However, this drink wasn’t that overpowering and was actually quite light and very subtle. It almost had a super faint floral cherry flavour to it. If you get it with ice, make sure you drink it before it melts because it completely waters down the cherry blossom. I feel like it’s something you try once and that’s it. Pretzel McFlurry Coming from Mayalsa, McDonalds launched their Pretzel McFlurry - with either chocolate or caramel sauce. I got the chocolate version and it had salted pretzel pieces - however, I couldn’t taste the salt. I got it at the same time as the other menu items and that’s where I went wrong as the pretzels were almost soggy when I started eating the dessert. If you want to try it, eat the McFlurry straight away, because the texture isn’t very pleasant if you leave it until after your other food. Honestly, I wouldn’t get it again. Choco Caramel Pie The final item from their stolen menu is the Choco Caramel Pie from Indonesia. It’s made with a crispy pastry that is filled with caramel sauce and chocolate ganache - and it was amazing. It was delicious and was made even better when I added some ice cream to it. I really think they should introduce it to their permanent menu. The pastry was perfectly crispy, with a lovely flavour balance between the caramel and the chocolate, so neither overpowered the other. I’d 100% recommend people try it, if they’re looking for a sweet treat.
