14 Surprising McDonald’s Foods from Around the World You’ve Probably Never Tried

Travelers know that McDonald’s restaurants can be compared to a calm island in a sea of unusual cuisine because in every McDonald’s, from Japan to the USA, many dishes are the same.

Yet it turns out that in every country McDonald’s offers something special, endowed with local charm. We at Bright Side arranged a small around-the-world McDonald’s tour. Enjoy!

Spain — Gazpacho soup

Spanish McDonald’s serve a traditional gazpacho soup in plastic cups or even small bottles. Neighboring Portugal offers at least five types of soups in cups.

The inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula are among the most avid soup lovers.

France — Croque McDo

In French McDonald’s, there’s a popular sandwich in the form of two thin buns with cheese and ham between them. This is nothing but a variation of the traditional French croque-monsieur (a hot sandwich with ham and cheese).

It pales into insignificance against the background of multi-storey burgers, but the French really like it.

Germany — Nürnburger

Germany is one of the few countries where you can order McBeer. In the German McDonald’s you’ll also find McRib — a spicy sandwich with pork ribs.

A couple of years ago, Germany had the popular Nürnburger — an unusual burger with sausages instead of patties.

USA, Canada — McLobster

In New England and Canada, from time to time you can taste a sandwich with Atlantic lobster meat. However, the high price doesn’t allow the introduction of the McLobster to the permanent menu.

By the way, as for McDonald’s in the USA in general, burritos and burgers with guacamole are popular here because of the American love of Mexican cuisine.

Mexico — McMollet

It’s clear that in Mexico, where their special fast food culture is developed, McDonald’s has many dishes inspired by national cuisine.

For example, McMollets — a variation of a traditional Mexican breakfast. This is a patty with fried beans, cheese, and salsa on buns.

Russia — Beef à la Rus

The Russian McDonald’s has its own burger — Beef à la Rus — which uses traditional brown bread instead of a bun. This burger isn’t always on the menu, but it’s introduced from time to time.

Philippines — McSpaghetti

Who would have thought that a dish like McSpaghetti would become popular not in Italy (though it was also on the menu for a while) but in the Philippines? For some reason, in this country pasta caught on at McDonald’s.

In the Philippines, you can also add rice to any dish. A lot of rice.

Countries of the Middle East — McArabia

In Arab countries, along with the usual burgers, you can find the McArabia — a pita with vegetables, sour cream sauce, seasonings, and a chicken patty.

In Israel, a similar dish is served — McShawarma. By the way, since McDonald’s in Israel is kosher, meat and cheese are never served in one burger here.

India — MсSpicy Paneer

Although there’s no complete ban on beef in India, McDonald’s has completely abandoned it and switched to chicken. Yet for a variety of vegetarian dishes, India is ahead of the whole planet. For example, here you can find burgers with a vegetable patty or a roll with paneer — deep-fried homemade cheese.

By the way, here appeared the world’s first fully vegetarian McDonald’s.

Malaysia — Bubur Ayam

Bubur Ayam is a traditional spicy porridge with chicken pieces seasoned with green onions and chili peppers. In Indonesia, McDonald’s also has this dish, but the recipe is slightly different: there’s also a boiled egg.

China — Unusual pies

Pies in various countries can be really different, but China, perhaps, has become a champion of strange pies. One of them is made with black dough, and inside there’s a filling made of black raspberry. Another has a purple filling made of a root crop called "taro."

Singapore, South Korea — Rice burger

From time to time, the McDonald’s in one or another Asian country offer burgers made from rice, and rice serves here as a bun. How they glue it together is incomprehensible, but it would be extremely interesting to try one.

Japan — French fries with chocolate

Does the combination of salted French fries and chocolate sauce seem strange to you? Most likely you’ve never tried them together! Yet the Japanese did, and they liked it. We don’t know how the Japanese McDonald’s came up with this, but they really offer chocolate sauce with French fries.

Australia — Bizarre ice cream

In Australia, there are unusual frozen milkshakes with soda flavors, for example, Coca-Cola. Here you can also see blue, bubblegum, and M&M’s ice cream.

As you can see, going to McDonald’s in an unfamiliar country is a good idea for those who want to experience the local flavor.

SOURCE: BRIGHTSIDE