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| McDonald's Thailand - Fish & Fries 2017 |
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| They still can't get rid of that soup can they... |
Consumed on 11 February 2017
Location - Bangkok, Thailand
Price - 69THB = $1.95USD
Calories - Unknown
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| McDonald's Thailand Receipt 2017 + Wifi code at the bottom |
A couple weeks back, before I headed to Japan to review the Chicken Taruta, I needed some fries in order to review a handful of shakers I had piling up. It just so happens that McDonald's Thailand introduced their first new "meal" product to the menu in over a year, the Fish 'n Fries. Along with a few sides like soup and shakers, they've brought back a couple recurring promos over the last year, but all items I've reviewed at some point in the past such as the Chicken Ham Pie, Spinach Pie, Hokkaido Salmon Burger & Rice and even the Taro Gingko Pie, so this was the first new dish for me to try in a very long time.
I've had a similar dish under the same name in Indonesia in 2016, but this was a significantly better attempt at fish & chips than that was, in pretty much every aspect. Naturally, the most important ingredient would be the fish itself, and although the single fillet of fish on the plate didn't look like much, the quality of the fish inside was actually very impressive. Unlike the filet o' fish patties where the fish ends up often looking like a mince, this was clearly a single whole piece of breaded fish. My photos don't really show off how large and flaky the fish was, but you'll have to take my word on it. I couldn't find any English translation on the menu about what actual fish it was, but I suspect it was pollack just like the fillet o fish. Sure, is it the same quality you'd get at a proper restaurant, no, but it was like a respectable piece of boxed frozen fish.
As tasty as the fish inside was, the breading surrounding the fish was equally impressive. It had a thicker batter than most fried items at McDonald's so that meant it needed to be fried just a little longer than most. The thick breading gave the outer layer a more well done texture from the longer cooking time, but still eft the fish inside moist. If you've ever had a Japanese tempura batter, that would similar, if a bit firmer. My order took a few minutes to prepare, so it was probably cooked to order, which means there wasn't any resting time for it to get cold or soggy.
One noticeable difference, and something that doesn't usually occur at McDonald's was that the fish served actually didn't look anything like the fish on the promotional photos (which made it look more like it's lightly battered Indonesian cousin). This is one of those rare occasions, that the food served looked nothing like the photo, but that was actually a positive this time!
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| McDonald's Thailand Fish & Fries Batter |
My biggest issue with this dish wasn't the fish at all, but rather the copious amount of fried batter pieces served next to the fish (go back and take a look at the lead photo on the review to really see how much was served). It wasn't just a token sprinkle of flakes to make it look like the piece of fish had just been dropped out of the fryer onto the plate (yes, it was a real plate - McDonald's Thailand uses those), but easily 10 full spoonfuls of the stuff. It tasted exactly like fried batter would, and I couldn't really see any use for it, you wouldn't top your already battered fish with them, nor would you eat them with french fries so in essence they were just a garnish for the plate and a complete waste of food. Even the promotional photos show the giant pile of batter bits, and I really don't understand why they were served. That's really the only point holding this back from a prefect score.
Rating - 4/5