Cycle 13 – Item 220
13 (Sat) August 2022
Changnyeong Garlic Burger
1.0
at McDonald’s
-Jangji, Songpa, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
with W and IZ
Changnyeong Garlic Burger is a new McDonald’s item. Burger, comprising two beef patties + cheese + lettuce + tomato + Changnyeong aioli + Changnyeong garlic sauce + sesame seed bun. Changnyeong is a region in Korea where garlic is farmed (see MCDONALDS GARLIC BURGER 2021). The item is exclusive to the Korea market – supposedly, “the taste of Korea” – available for a limited time.
It’s kinda gross, both in appearance and taste. As a father of 2, I can say from experience that the sauce looks like baby diarrhea. It’s way too heavy in garlic flavor, bitter and raw, totally overwhelming the entire burger. Competes with the McChicken Mozzarella as the worst McDonald’s item in recent history (see for comparison 12.061 McChicken Mozzarella). I took a single bite and pushed it aside – not worth breaking my no-meat diet.
Lemon McFizz is a new McDonald’s item. Coke (or Coke Zero) + lemon syrup.
The problem is that the syrup is so dense that it sinks to the bottom of the cup and doesn’t mix readily with the Coke. This was not apparent until I was seated at the table and tried to incorporate the syrup with a gentle swirl of the cup – at McDonald’s restaurants in Korea, drinks are served in reusable cups – but the cup was nearly full, preventing sufficient movement of the liquid. So, I had to go back to the counter for a straw. However, even the straw didn’t generate enough force. About a third of way down – to that point, the beverage was pretty much plain Coke – the empty space in the cup allowed for careful shaking plus stirring, which sorta did the trick. Of course, by then, the syrup-to-Coke ratio was imbalanced so that the drink became too tart. In takeout situations, where the cup comes with a straw, which reaches to the bottom of the cup, I would imagine that newbie customers unaware of the need to mix would get a mouthful of syrup at first sip.
(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)
(See also FAST FOOD)