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| McDonald's Singapore Spicy Chicken with Apple Slaw |
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| McDonald's Singapore The Signature Collection - July 2016 |
Consumed on 31 July 2016
Location - McDonald's Marine Cove, East Coast Park, Singapore
Combo Price - $9.55SGD = $7.09USD
Calories - Unknown
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| McDonald's Maine Cove Receipt |
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| McDonald's Singapore - The Signature Collection 2016 |
In late June 2016 I received a cryptic email from McDonald's Singapore inviting me to a "special sneak preview of one of our new restaurants" I wasn't in Singapore for the event, and I only found out afterwards that it was the launch of the revamp of the Marine Cove branch stuck in the centre of East Coast Park which has been under renovation for the last year or two. In conjunction with this re-launch, McDonald's Singapore also released a number of new items only available at this specific branch. I happened to go back to Singapore a few weeks after it's official launch in July 2016, which gave me the opportunity to make the trek out and try one of the their new offerings. I went with the Spicy Chicken with Apple Slaw, as that sounded like the most interesting of the 3 unique burgers available only at this branch. But the 3 burgers were only the tip of the iceberg for unique items at this branch, and I'll have a whole list at the bottom of the review.
The Spicy Chicken part of this burger was simply a standard McSpicy patty, but that's where the regular ingredients finished, as the rest of the burger used completely special toppings and ingredients. The bun was the powdery semolina bun I've had a few times before at McDonald's Singapore, but they also used a nice slice of white cheddar cheese, which happened to be one of the sharper cheeses I've had in South East Asia. The greenery shown in the photos below was a hefty pile of "wild" rocket, more than I even had on the Create Your Taste burger over a year ago now. The bottom bun used a black pepper mayo, and the top bun held the real star of the show, a Red Apple "Slaw".
I didn't really know what to expect when I ordered this burger as I didn't take a close look at the promotional images beforehand, nor did I read up about what "Apple Slaw" was supposed to be. When I opened the box, I was rather taken aback by how much apple was actually sitting on top my burger, and by how thick the apple slices were! Even the promo images of this burger show far smaller apple slices, and my single burger probably had a entire small apples worth atop the patty. The photos don't really do it justice, but there were even a few large chunks that fell out before I even took my first bite. The sheer volume of apple meant that every bite had a noticeable apple crunch with it, but unfortunately the flavour of the apple was a bit drown out by the creamy mayo based sauce that surrounded it. They also peeled the skin off the apples which was another disappointment. That pile of Rocket I mentioned, had to have been un-standard as it was stacked 1cm high, and I might have a few too many stalks. I actually found one or two very hard stems in there and I had to take them out of my mouth as they weren't that comfortable to chew. That said, the sharp zestiness of the rocket was a nice balance to the heavy cream sauces that surrounded it. The Black Pepper Mayo was a bit of an afterthought and there was already so many creamy flavours above it that it really didn't need to be there and I didn't taste it whatsoever. When I'll talk about the other promo burgers from this branch they were all very heavy on the sauces.
All said and done, this was still one of the better promo burgers I've had from Singapore in a long time and despite a few issues I had with it, I still rather enjoyed the burger from the first bite, and since I've been trying to limit the sheer amount of McDonald's I've been eating lately, has been one of the first burgers in a long time that I've finished the entire thing without any help from The Wife (she didn't want to make the 4km walk to the branch)
Rating - 4.5/5
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| McDonald's Singapore Twisty Fries June 2016 |
Before I arrived in Singapore, McDonald's was selling a Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Burger, which I was looking forward to trying. As is my luck, they must have ran out of stock early as it seemed to end shorter than a typical promo since it only ran for about 2 weeks instead of the standard 4. The Twisty Fries (and a Yet to be reviewed McShaker) launched with the Egg Yolk Burger, so I was still able to get these added onto my meal. I never though the idea of pre-seasoned curly fries and seasoning shakers was a great idea, so I ate the fries on their own and saved the shakers for later. Nothing stood out about these, but they were pretty good, (but one of the fries had to be the longest fry I've ever seen!)
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| McDonald's Singapore Spicy Tortilla with Angus Beef |
One of the other burgers sold only at this branch was the "Spicy Tortilla with Angus Beef". This was a beep patty topped with Nachos, Salsa, Guacamole and a 'Spicy Sauce'. I've had burgers with both Nachos and Salsa on them before, so I opted for the Apple Slaw instead. Someone next to me ordered this, and it did look pretty good, and would be worth a try. It was also $2 more expensive than the Chicken, which was already expensive at nearly $10 for the meal, I didn't want to spend almost $12 for a late lunch.
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| McDonald's Singapore Classic Cheese with Angus Beef |
The least interesting of the special burgers was the "Classic Cheese with Angus Beef". This just looked to repurpose items from the Create Your Taste menu as it had a Garlic Aeoli, Caramelised Onions and Tomato Jalapeno Relish. All of which I've had before. I didn't see anyone at all order this.
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| McDonald's Marine Cove Charging Station |
All seats had wireless chargers, but of course with my typical wonderful luck, the one at my seat did not work. (My $89 Xiaomi smartphone does not support wireless charging but the hidden microUSB cable did not work)
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| The branch had a modern, but very wide open design. They are trying to funnel people to use kiosks to order, and the regular counter was very small and tight. |
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| McDonald's Singapore Marine Cove DIY Salad Bar |
This is the first McDonald's in Singapore to have a Create Your Taste Salad Bar. This first appeared in Hong Kong late last year but it was in the middle of nowhere, so I never made a trip over to it. To be completely honest, the choices offered and the prices they charged were not that appetising. I dug up a list of all items from the official press release:
Dressing: Roasted Sesame • Caesar • Soy Sesame
Classic Toppings: Corn • Garlic Croutons • Cherry Tomatoes • Chicken Bacon Bits • Apple Slices • Spiral Pasta • Shaved Parmesan
Premium Toppings: Potato Medley • Chicken Fajita Strips • Sliced Avocado
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| McDonald's Singapore Marine Cove Dessert Bar |
This branch also had a DIY Dessert Bar. Again the selection didn't look that great, nor were the prices. The person next to me ordered a sundae with a few toppings which ended up nearly $8!
Classic Toppings: Brownie Bites • Caramelised Biscuits • Chocolate Dip • Corn Flavoured Cereal • Crushed Cone • Diced Layer Cake Bites • Fruit Flavoured Cereal • Hot Fudge Topping • Oreo Cookie Bits • Rainbow Butter Bites • Strawberry Topping • Vanilla Cookie Crumble
Premium Toppings: Chunky Purple Potato Sauce • Coconut Flakes • Mixed Berries • Reese’s Sticks
There were also a plethora of McCafe sandwiches and wraps only available at this branch which I won't list out here, but there were two hidden dessert options on the regular menu - "Summer Delight" - A sundae in a large waffle bowl, and "Adventure in a Cone" - Coconut mixed with Strawberry in a special chocolate cone. I nearly thought about giving one a try, but never did.