McDonald's Just Unveiled a Spicy New McNugget Flavor—But You'll Have to Travel for It
MIf you have ever traveled to another country, you know that your favorite fast-food joint offers many unique menu options globally. From teriyaki-glazed burgers in Japan to spicy paneer patties in India, there are many delicious tastes to be enjoyed. And this week, McDonald's in Singapore is seriously spicing up the menu with two new additions.
McDonald's Singapore is introducing the first-ever Curry Chicken McNuggets, a spicier and tastier twist on the good old American classic. The OG nuggets are coated in a crispy batter infused with "fragrant, aromatic curry spices," according to one Singaporean publication. Like the other nuggets, they come in 6, 9, or 20-piece servings.
That's not all. The Nasi Lemak Burger is also returning. "Tucked between two lightly toasted buns is a crispy chicken patty infused with coconut flavours, topped with refreshing cucumber slices, a perfectly fried egg, caramelised onions, and a generous slather of sedap sambal sauce infused with ikan bilis flavour. It's a true celebration of Singaporean flavours, wrapped up in one satisfying bite," they write.
Both items will be back on the menu starting Feb. 24, available after breakfast hours at all McDonald's restaurants, Drive-Thrus, and through McDelivery, GrabFood, foodpanda, and Deliveroo.
Why does McDonald's offer more exciting menu options outside the United States? While demand has something to do with it, so does supply.
"If you look at every other country, including Canada, Mexico, and every other place where there's a McDonald's, usually they have more creative menus. A big reason for that is they don't have the supply chain issues that McDonald's U.S. does in the case of volume," Mike Haracz, a former McDonald's corporate chef and TikToker (@chefmikeharacz) who frequently shares insider info and ordering tips, posted in a TikTok video.
Also, because the majority of business is from the American market, they have to choose ingredients carefully. For example, at one point they considered a menu item that involved blueberries, but offering it could have impacted the market value or completely deplete global supplies of an ingredient. It would have "used up the world's resources of blueberries," he said, noting that it's easier for other countries to secure enough ingredient supplies to launch a new item because they represent a smaller part of McDonald's business.
"If you go to Canada where there's a lot less volume for a national launch item, you could appropriately use that ingredient without having to worry about ruining the resources of that ingredient," he said. "So really the biggest reason why specifically the U.S. doesn't do anything super awesome and cool is because of the ingredient resources."
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