Mcdonald's Takes on the Chinese Burger for Spring Festiva

Original S. Schwankert theBeijinger

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#Fast Food Watch 14

#Roujiamo 1

#Food 111

#McDonald 1

#Burger 11

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The chefs in McDonald's in China are certainly willing to give new things a try. Their results are mixed, as we saw the unholy, one-day-only Oreo-Spam burger. But after that, they dusted themselves off and decided, let's take on a Chinese street food classic for Spring Festival: the 肉夹馍 ròu jiā mó roujiamo.

It makes sense that the world's biggest burger slinger would try to make a dish that some call the Chinese hamburger. It's more like the Chinese Sloppy Joe: While burgers are often topped by lettuce, onions, pickles, and/or tomato, no self-respecting roujiamo has any green on it whatsoever, except a bit of 香菜 xiāngcài cilantro. It's meat, stuffed into bread. Straight out of Shaanxi Province, beef is the traditional meat, although it can be found with lamb in Muslim areas, and pork in other parts of China. For its version, McDonald's has chosen beef, which only makes sense: It would be strange to create a Spring Festival sandwich for the Year of the Ox and use pork.

Bursting with meaty goodness?! We'll see about that

The meat is coarsely minced or pulled and stewed in soup, the ingredients of which vary by region. Although generally savory, some sauces turn out slightly sweet. The bun – made from leavened wheat flour and baked in an oven or heated on a pan or griddle – is called a 白吉馍 bái jí mó and it can be sliced all the way through like a hamburger roll or split partially so that it is filled with meat and easier to eat on the street or at a night market. Roujiamo is a snack; one is not enough for a meal. Street price in Beijing is between RMB 8-12.

In their infinite wisdom, McDonald's has decided that roujiamo is a breakfast food and thus is only available on their morning menu, although it's traditionally eaten throughout the day. Officially known as the 金招牌肉夹馍 jīn zhāopái ròu jiā mó Chinese Burger, McDonald's version is RMB 12 (it has also appeared for RMB 9) a la carte, RMB 19.90 with a hash brown and hot soy milk, or RMB 20.50 with a hash brown and coffee. I ordered the soy milk combo using the McDonald's mini-program on WeChat, which I find fails a lot less often than the McDonald's app.

If it looks like McDonald's and it smells like McDonald's, chances are...

14 minutes and 52 seconds later, the order arrived. Like other McDonald's breakfast sandwiches, it comes wrapped only in wax paper – no unnecessary cardboard box, thumbs up for that. Unlike other limited-run menu items, which often just use wrappings for existing products, it comes in a specially-labeled Chinese Burger 金招牌肉夹馍 wrapper.

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Removing the paper, it looks like..a roujiamo. However, the one I received was not quite as bursting with meat as the photo on the McDonald's app portrayed (see photo above). Opening the sandwich revealed that it was little more than meat, sauce, and bread, which I actually took as a good sign. Other consumers who have tried it also commented online, "where's the beef?"

... those fresh griddle marks are a nice surprise ...

It tastes like...a roujiamo. The baijimo is thicker than the usual bun, and the paucity of meat accentuates that. However, what I had feared would be meat in a sweet, barbecue-style sauce wasn't like that at all. It's a bland but generally authentic roujiamo. Grandma from Xi'an will tell you hers is better, and it is, but the sandwich is what it claims to be. I sprinkled a little salt on mine, which was a needed improvement.

One McDonald's roujiamo is not enough, it's definitely a 吃不饱 chī bù bǎo not being full situation. Even after the hash brown and soy milk, it wasn't quite enough. Overall, thumbs pointing upward at a 45-degree angle.

... Alas, it's definitely still McDonald's

So why would anyone buy the McDonald's roujiamo? Breakfast remains the company's standout offering and regular consumers may enjoy a break from their usual McMuffins. McDonald's learned, especially last year, that speedy delivery is one of their single greatest weapons. Sure, I could seek out the city's finest Chinese hamburger. Or, without even getting dressed, push a few buttons, activate my personal foodstuffs logistics infrastructure, scroll through overnight Instagram posts without getting out of bed, and then 14 minutes and 52 seconds later, calmly stroll to my front door to receive a hot breakfast. That's why.

McDonald's roujiamo is available daily until 10am as part of its breakfast menu for a limited time, probably until the end of Spring Festival, or until the company decides it's not selling enough to keep it.