Cycle 3 – Item 173
26 (Tue) June 2012
Taste of Europe: Pomodoro Chicken Burger
2.5
at McDonald’s
(E-Mart)
-Seongsu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
solo
In connection with the upcoming 2012 London Summer Olympics, McDonald’s Korea has cooked up a new promotion featuring items based on or inspired by or having absolutely nothing to do with 5 continents.
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- Taste of Africa: Piri-Piri Sauce (3.170 Taste of Africa: Piri-Piri Sauce)
- Taste of Europe: Pomodoro Chicken Burger (3.173 Taste of Europe: Pomodoro Chicken Burger)
- Taste of Australia: Barbecue Burger (3.188 Taste of Australia: BBQ Burger)
- Taste of Asia: Shake Shake Chili Fries (3.188 Taste of Asia: Shake Shake Fries)
- Taste of United States: Deluxe Brunch and Bacon Tomato McMuffin
United States gets 2 items because it’s a continent, the most important one.
South America and Antarctica don’t get items because they not continents.
Pomodoro Chicken Burger is proclaimed to represent the “Taste of Europe.” It’s a patty of ground chicken, breaded and deep-fried, topped with a slice of white processed cheese, presumably intended to be or at least look like mozzarella, a slice of tomato (pomodoro), shredded lettuce, and sweet tomato sauce, all delivered on a bun covered in flakes of dried herbs (likely parsley). Essentially, it tasted like a fast food version of a chicken parmesan sandwich, more specific to Italian, or maybe Italian-American. Is this the best that the most powerful food corporation in the world – albeit the Korean branch, probably working on its own for this promotion, though certainly with some degree of corporate oversight – could come up with from vast and varied culinary traditions throughout Europe? Come to think of it, since the games are being hosted in England, they could’ve done something English, like fish & chips, perhaps a variation on the Filet-o-Fish – as cliché as that would’ve been, at least it makes sense. In any case, it wasn’t all that bad, for a fast food version of a chicken parmesan sandwich. 5,500 won for the full set.
While I was at it, I conducted a side-by-side comparison between the Pomodoro Chicken Burger and the classic the McChicken Sandwich. I found that the Pomodoro patty tasted more like real chicken, while the McChicken was oddly sweet with a slightly artificial aftertaste, which I actually preferred for that fake yet comforting flavor of McDonald’s standard items. As for toppings, the Pomodoro would seem to have a clear advantage with its fresh tomato, tomato sauce, and cheese, compared to just shredded lettuce and globs of mayo for the McChicken, but I like the junk in junk food. Either way, the two offerings are just barely above average.
(See also FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)
