McDonalds of the World: Royal Bacon in France

Bonsoir everybody! The day is about to close on this side of the world and I thought to start writing about this little fastfood chain that I visited recently. McDonald's! Here on BaconTunaMelt, we have the series called McDonald's of the World and I'm already living in France, of course I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to feature their nomz.

McDonald's of the World: France

Quite honestly, it was one of the first few places I looked for (seeing a McDonald's in a strange place oddly comforts me). It wasn't until I first had to venture my way around the city to open a bank account until I finally found one, specifically in Bellecour.  

Bellecour is one of the more popular destinations in Lyon, France. In the heart of the city, this square is one of the busiest. Right in the middle of it is the statue of King Louis XIV (a tourist destination) and near the area are landmarks such as the Hotel de Ville and is considered a mecca for shopping with a long stretch of filled with stores of all kind (including Louis Vuitton and Cartier).

McDonald's at Place Bellecour

Right above one of the exits of the Metro (Bellecour station) is a McDonald's. I actually kind of got lost getting there, heading in the opposite direction towards the Poste Principale (the main post office) instead of the commercial area and had to backtrack (here, walking shoes is a must, if you like your feet) to find it. It was such a relief when I found it, because I was feeling kind of down (you would too if you had to eat my cooking) and McDonald's nomz, wherever it is, is comfort food.

Inside, it was almost like your typical McDonald's restaurant. The place smells like fries, the familiar yellow M logo, and the crew in fastfood uniform (caps too!). Everything, of course, was in French, including the menu. Also noticeably different, is that in every counter, there's a self-service machine to pay via debit card. Cool!

Maxi Best Of Royal Bacon (€6.90 or about Php423)

It took me a while to order because I couldn't understand much of what was on the menu, but when I saw the words "royal" and "bacon" all in one line, I knew I had to get it. The lady behind the counter couldn't understand much English but I kind of figured out how to order the meal and upgrade the fries and drink while at it (the ugrade cost €0.50) and order a dessert, all for take out.

Look at that patty!

Sadly, the dessert, supposedly chocolate mousse, got lost in translation. Or something. I ordered and paid for it but it wasn't in the bag (I forgot to check until I was home). No matter, I had with me a burger that seriously smelled like home (I dunno, it might be the grease). The Royal Bacon is a one layer burger with a wide beef patty and some bacon strips sandwiched between very thin burger buns.

To the very hungry me (I walked several kilometers only on breakfast nomz), it tasted really, really good. The beef was not as greasy as I was expecting it to be (surprisingly), and thick enough for me to actually taste the flavor of meat and the hint of bacon (the thin buns helped too). The fries were cold by the time I got home but their special sauce (something like an herbed mayonnaise) made up for it. Except for the fact that ordering can be a bit of a challenge if you can't speak the language, I give McDonald's in France two thumbs up. 

(Click here to read the other posts on the McDonald's of the World series)

McDonald's of the World

1st post: McArabia in Abu Dhabi

2nd post: Twisty Pasta in Hongkong
3rd post: Samurai Burger in Bangkok

4th post: Shrimp EuroKnallers in the Netherlands

McDonalds of the World: Shrimp EuroKnallers in the Netherlands

Hi guys, this will be a quick post. We shall again be disrupting the Delightful Davao series for an update on yet another series. It's been awhile since the last post on the McDonald's of the World series and it's high time for a new one. Mostly because we recently got photos of the nomz from McDonald's Netherlands from an anonymous donor.

McDonald's of the World: Netherlands

Because I haven't been there myself, the pictures will have to do the talking (writing, in this case). So, here they are-

Looks like the Dutch also like chicken (like me!). But hey, they have Chicken Sate (Met satesaus), which is something I would expect more from McDonald's in Indonesia or Malaysia rather than the Netherlands. And, and, and, and... is that a Kit Kat McFlurry I spy? *drools*

I can't understand much of what's written on the menu but I can see the prices. That's 5.90 euros for the salad, 3.75 euros for the Happy Meals, 1-2 euros for the Euroknallers. That's a 356 peso salad, 226 peso Happy Meal, 60-120 peso side dishes. It's not as expensive as I thought it would be (I was told a Value Meal is priced at EUR15 or Php905. Yikes!).

Chicken Sate (Met satesaus)
(EUR 3.75 or Php 226 for burger; EUR 6.05 or Php 365 for a meal)

Garnalen met chilisaus (EUR 2 or Php120)

SHRIMPS! Mcdonald's in the Netherlands sell shrimps! WANT! To the awesome person who shall remain nameless and anonymous by request, thank you for the photos. :)

(Click here to read the other posts on the McDonald's of the World series)

McDonald's of the World

1st post: McArabia in Abu Dhabi

2nd post: Twisty Pasta in Hongkong
3rd post: Samurai Burger in Bangkok

McDonalds of the World: Samurai Burger in Bangkok

Today, we'll add another entry (the third, yay!) to BaconTunaMelt's McDonald's of the World series. Thanks to my tita, who's regularly in Thailand for business, our latest entry will be about the Bangkok version of the much loved, sometimes hated, but nevertheless very popular fast food chain.

McDonald's of the World: Bangkok

When visiting Thailand, communication can be a bit of a problem. While the Thai people don't look much different from our countrymen, unlike most Filipinos, few will be able to converse with you in English. Even in Bangkok, the country's capital, not many can understand, and much less speak the language. You'll have to get used to hand gestures and basic words to transact in most parts of the city.

Clowns are still creepy, imo

One of the most basic hand gestures that you should learn when you get to any part of Thailand is the wai. The wai is a traditional Thai greeting that can be used for many different situations. Bowing with your palms together in a praying position is the Thai way to politely say say "hello", "thank you", and even "i'm sorry". Adopting Thai culture, the Ronald McDonald statue that welcomes you as you enter the store is in the traditional "wai" pose.

The menu is in Thai

The standee has chinky eyes ~_~

The logos and the theme is the same as it is in all McDonald's branches around the world, but the menu in Bangkok is in Thai and their standee has the Thai chinky eyes. Maybe our posters should be in Filipino (plis no jejemh0wnz).

Samurai Burger Meal (116 baht/169 pesos) + Corn Pie (15 baht/22 pesos)

Tita Ging ordered the Samurai Burger Meal (specially for BaconTunaMelt <3) which comes with a Samurai Pork Burger, fries and a drink- like your typical McDonald's meal. The meal costs one hundred sixteen baht, or about one hundred sixty nine pesos, a tad more expensive than our meals here. The Corn Pie costs 15 baht, or twenty two pesos. (I used Google's current exchange rate: 1THB= 1.46 PHP)

The pattie is somewhere in there

With a name like Samurai Burger, you wouldn't think it's from Thailand. The patty is made with pork instead of beef and is slathered with teriyaki sauce (hence the name) and is topped with heaps and heaps of lettuce.

My tita says that the Corn Pie is not unlike our very own local dessert- the Filipino maha blanca. Corn kernels are mixed in a sweet and creamy mixture and wrapped in the same crunchy crust of the McDonald's Apple Pie.

Thanks for the pictures Tita Ging! Check out my titas' fabulous clothes, click here to visit the Pikachu's Closet Facebook page (they're cute, I promise!). Happy start of the weekend, gaiz!

McDonald's of the World Series

1st post: McArabia in Abu Dhabi

2nd post: Twisty Pasta in Hongkong

McDonalds of the World: Twisty Pasta in Hong Kong

Haven't gone outside the country for the longest time nor am I scheduled for a trip anytime soon (which is a bummer because I really want to feature in flight meals) but luckily, I have friends who travel abroad regularly. So as a follow up to the first post in this McDonald's of the World series, I asked my friend Alvin, who was recently on a trip to Hongkong (to be a kid again), to take pictures of whatever unusual thing he can find on the McDonald's menu there.

McDonald's of the World: Hong Kong

He did me one better by trying some of the food and taking as many pictures as he can! Awesome! Thanks to Alvin, Kid Repetitive, we have a second serving of McDonald's of the World, Hong Kong edition. Here are some of the pictures that he took of the menu-

McDonalds of the World: McArabia in Abu Dhabi

Besides social culture, there is also a diversity of culinary cultures around the world. We Pinoys love rice, the Americans go for mashed potato, the Italians prefer bread. Unsurprisingly, this also applies to fastfood stores. McDonald's, possibly the world's largest fastfood chain, is one good example. Although they have a preset list of menu items like the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, and Filet-o-Fish which can be ordered from any branch, each country with a McDonald's franchise has added their own personal touch.

McDonald's of the World: Abu Dhabi

Here in McDonald's Philippines, we have fried chicken, the McSpaghetti and rice meals. We don't think anything of it and it's nothing unsual for us; besides, local fastfood chains sell it too, we're used to it, it's nothing special for us. But bring a foreigner to a McDonald's here and he'll be surprised to find them on the menu (they'd also be surprised at the smaller sized drink cups and french fries, but that's another story). In other countries, they have different specialties as well, and you'd be surprised at how unusual some are.