McDonald's: Chicken Big Mac, Randwick (16 Dec 2021)

75 Belmore Road, Randwick NSW 2031 

https://mcdonalds.com.au/

Chickenizing a classic

Not sure if you can really change a classic Big Mac and make it work but I'm always up for trying new variations. For me I still prefer the all time classic Big Mac which is my go to burger at Maccas. I can see what they were trying to do but I'm not convinced the pickles and special sauce works in this. It's a more filling burger due to the battered fried chicken patties but I think they also dominate over the other ingredients and flavours so it doesn't quite have the right balance as a Big Mac does for me. But for those who aren't keen on beef patties it might suit as a chicken burger alternative. Chicken Big Mac ($12.20 small meal).

McDonald's, Randwick (29 Apr 2019)

Royal Randwick Shopping Centre
73 Belmore Road, Randwick NSW 2031
https://mcdonalds.com.au

Maccas returns to Randwick

After what seems like years McDonald's has returned to Royal Randwick Shopping Centre in a new location. Taking advantage of the corner spot it's well located near the bus stop and high pedestrian traffic. Seating is more suited for single and couple dining rather than families and ordering is via the displays rather than my preference of over the counter. Sausage Egg McMuffin ($4.45) and my guilty pleasure Hash Brown ($2.25) are good and served promptly via the table service available.

New Wagyu Beef Burger at McDonald's (21 March 2018)

Loftus St & Alfred St, Sydney NSW 2000
https://mcdonalds.com.au/

Aussie Wagyu Beef Burger

Tried the new Wagyu Beef Burger - 100% Australian-bred Wagyu beef patty, gourmet bun (apparently made to a new recipe), specially created sauce, crispy bacon strips, caramelised onion, tomato, lettuce, slice of Coon Cheese ($10.75) and added Small Fries ($2.15). Being a new burger creation I didn't have high expectations before ordering, and didn't give in to any media hype or PR glowing statements. From the description it didn't sound all that special anyway except for the mystery sauce. So in the end I didn't mind this version of the burger. The special sauce was my favourite part — still not quite sure what it was but found it tasty with a mild spicy note.

You obviously won't get a medium cooked patty in McDonald's but they did manage to retain some level of moisture in this patty when squeezed. The ingredients combo worked in the softish bun although the unmelted cheese would benefit from being more melted which you also won't get in a McDonald's — although decades ago the cheese used to be partially heated on a patty when it was still cooking on the grill before being taken off. Caramelised onions were nice. Structural integrity was OK but failed a little with the saucing and slippery tomatoes but generally a cleanish eat.

The big question is would I have again. Maybe. But my first choice has always been the Big Mac from Maccas and still is. It's not really a fail from McDonald's, but it's not different and interesting enough to warrant any hype factor about it. It's just another burger option on the menu. The only real negative about trying this burger was when a pigeon was looking for floor scraps inside the restaurant and around my feet. Circular Quay is notorious for the seagulls waiting outside ready to fly down on unsuspecting diners to grab their food too. I haven't been to this store since the renovation which is looking much better than before and it still seems to be a very popular Maccas as well with a constant stream of lunch time customers.

McDonald's, Kingsford (24 Sept 2016)

10 Barker St, Kingsford NSW 2032
https://mcdonalds.com.au

Big Mac guilty pleasure run

Truth be known one of my guilty pleasures is hitting up McDonald's for a quick lunch eat. Usually happens when I've been running around with the kids in the morning, shopping has been done, we need to get home with the groceries, we don't have lunch plans, and we just need something quick and easy to keep the kids happy and to kill the hangry in the adults. My go to is usually a Big Mac with fries. I don't mind the drive thru but usually prefer to park and walk in if the kids aren't too feral at the time. Looks like lots of renovations happening to the Kingsford store.

$2 Choc Top at McDonald's, Coogee (14 Aug 2016)

186 Arden Street, Coogee NSW 2034
https://mcdonalds.com.au

Choc Top Craving

I've always loved choc tops. Whenever I go to the movies I'll always get one. So when I saw Maccas advertise choc tops on TV I was keen to try one as I'm already a fan of their 50 cent soft serve cones, although Coogee is selling them for $0.75. I always thought it would be a standard pricing? Anyway the Choc Top ($2) looked promising once it finally was served. Was quite a delay before getting it though. They seemed to be heating up the chocolate and getting it to the right temperate of what looked like 26 degrees before it was ready for dipping. Presented quite well but from my first bite it collapsed quickly and started dripping. The chocolate was hard as required but the soft serve was way too soft for it to hold its shape. The waffle cone was good. Thin and crisp enough making it enjoyable once I sorted out all the messy soft serve drippings down the side. So technically it's a bit of a fail for me. The chocolate coating would need to be ultra thin for it to work with the soft serve.

McDonald's Limited Edition Big Mac Special Sauce #macitbetter (2 Feb 2015)

https://mcdonalds.com.au

Maccas gets saucy

Mark Lollback, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald's Australia, said "Big Mac sauce is one of the most iconic McDonald's ingredients and people often ask us wehre they can buy it, so we're excited to be the first country in the world to offer tubs of Big Mac sauce to our customers"

I'm no stranger to the occasional Big Mac but when presented with a 500ml bottle of the Special Sauce I'm kind of stuck to know what to use it for. Thanks to This Is Mango for the product sample which celebrates 40 years of the Big Mac Special Sauce and for the month of February will be available to purchase in 25ml tubs for all those hardcore lovers. Apparently I've been told you could always order it as an extra although I've never thought of doing that myself. I'm more a tomato sauce kind of guy with my fries. For charitable lovers of a good cause the #1 of 200 bottles produced is up for auction on eBay with proceeds going to Ronald McDonalds House Charities. As I write this post I can't believe it's already up to $23,100 and the auction runs until 9 pm Wed 11 February. There's some seriously cashed up Special Sauce lovers out there.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Special Sauce lovers can purchase tubs in February, Make everything tastes like a Big Mac if that turns you on

CONS: Limited time only, Best not look at the ingredients of the special sauce

MUST TRY: Thinking of ways to use the sauce

VERDICT: Special Sauce fans will go crazy while I'm more than happy just to have it in my next Big Mac

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What's in the Big Mac Special Sauce? Here's the ingredients.