Trying McD's "New Year Flavor" Offerings
Chinese New Year is almost upon us and McDonald’s is getting in on the fun with a few fusion sandwiches. They're so proud of these creations, they've even dropped some fancy Chinese-inspired illustrations for the occasion.
A burgerific New Year awaits
Going the extra mile, the American fast food giant has put everything in special packaging – golden boxes with Chinese ink painting-inspired designs and the names of each sandwich on the side.
But when it comes down to it, one is a hit and the other a miss in this "New Year Flavor" combo.
Fancy gold packaging for some not-so-fancy sandwiches
The first of these is the 腊味菜菜堡 làwèi cài cài bǎo, which is essentially their chicken sandwich topped with a hefty helping of cured pork and what looks to be pickled Chinese mustard greens. The result isn't all too bad – basically a sandwich that happens to have pickled greens with pork bits on top, lending the whole package a tangy bite.
No, that isn't mold on the bread
The second, the 神鲜虾虾堡 shén xiān xiā xiā bǎo, is where things start to get iffy.
First of all, the trend of slapping two meats together isn't inherently bad – but it's all about texture, something crayfish and a fried patty do not have in common. And yet, for some reason, marrying these two and calling it a sandwich is something fast food chains in China seem rather keen on.
KFC has been one to mix crayfish and chicken quite a lot – their recent chicken and crayfish taco comes to mind – and now McDonald's has jumped on the bandwagon with this… thing.
The stuff xiaolongxia dreams are made of right here
While it's thankfully crayfish in a spicy sauce topping a fried shrimp cake patty, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Why make me go through the trouble of eating crayfish if it's covered in so much stuff that I can barely taste it next to the fried shrimp patty thing?
So as far as these "New Year Flavor" deals go – definitely try the lawei cai cai bao, but if you're looking for a good fish sandwich, just opt for a classic McFilet over the shen xian xia xia bao.
Or, better yet, get the sandwich and take off the crayfish for a shrimp patty with spicy sauce – a superior option if there ever was one.
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Images: Vincent R. Vinci, McDonald's
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