US vs UK vs Japan vs India McDonald’s | Food Wars | Food Insider

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Joe: From portion sizes to exclusives,
we wanted to find out all the differences
between McDonald's in the US, UK, Japan, and India.
This is "Food Wars."
In the US, our McDonald's sodas come in three sizes.
Small.
Medium.
This is what a medium drink looks like.
Japan's large.
Regular, medium, and large.
Our chicken McNuggets come in four, six,
10, 20,
or 40-piece.
So, with our McNuggets in the UK,
the default adult sizes on the menu are a box of six.
Six pieces.
Harry: A box of nine. Nikhil: Nine pieces.
Harry: Or 20. Nikhil: And 20 pieces.
They gave it to us in two boxes of 10 each.
In Japan, our chicken McNuggets come in five
and 15 pieces.
In the US, you can get your fries in four sizes.
Kids, if you get a Happy Meal,
Joe and George: small, Harry: Small fries in the paper bag,
Joe and George: medium, Harry: medium fries,
Joe and George: and large. Harry: and large fries.
Fries in India come in three sizes,
regular, medium, and large.
The medium and large come in this really cool
new packaging where you can just
open it up like that,
and it's nice and easy to share.
It's a little plate.
Good job, McDonald's. Very innovative.
Harry: So, we couldn't find the exact weight measurement
for these fries online,
so what we're going to do is weigh them ourselves.
Joe: Wow.
Yeah, wow. That worked perfectly,
that thing I just did there. Great job, Joe.
Three exclusive burgers here in the US are variations
on the Quarter Pounder with cheese.
Yes, we've all seen "Pulp Fiction."
We know about the whole Quarter Pounder thing.
Does not exist outside of the US, I don't think. So.
The classic Quarter Pounder with cheese.
Look at this guy.
I mean, this was maybe my go-to one for a decade.
The Quarter Pounder with cheese deluxe.
I don't know.
I feel like this is pretty close to a Whopper.
I'm not a big Whopper guy.
The double Quarter Pounder with cheese.
Look at the size of this thing!
Yes, sir.
So, here we've got the veggie deluxe burger,
which is a veggie burger that's served
with some mayo and some lettuce.
Here we've got a Chicken Legend,
which is a chicken burger, again,
served with mayo and lettuce.
We have a range of wraps that you can get in the UK.
We have a wrap of the day.
Here we've got the fajita crisp,
which is some chicken along with some veg
and some spicy fajita sauce.
Japan's exclusive burgers.
Teriyaki McBurger, which is my most favorite one.
My body's made of McTeriyaki Burger.
[angels singing]
Bacon lettuce burger right here.
It looks sad.
Egg cheeseburger,
but we also call it eguchi.
Eguchi is an abbreviation for "egg cheeseburger."
Japanese people love abbreviation.
Next one, spicy beef burger.
Ooh, look at this.
Oh, it looks so spicy.
Yeah, spicy mayo or something like that.
So, here, we've got Samurai Mac.
Samurai!
And this blue one is called
roasted soy sauce double thick beef.
We've got roasted soy sauce bacon tomato thick beef.
And this one right here is called
teriyaki chicken Filet-O.
Wow. So much sauce.
So, next one, we've got ebi Filet-O.
Ebi means shrimp, so it's a shrimp Filet-O.
Oh, yeah. It's got aurora sauce.
Aurora sauce is like ketchup and mayonnaise.
So, it's got a lot of shrimp in there.
Mm.
So good. So good.
Here in India, we can't really
recreate the iconic McDonald's Big Mac
because it's made from a beef patty,
and to keep to the religious sentiments of Hindus
and even Muslims, we don't serve beef or pork
in a lot of fast-food restaurants.
We have something called the chicken Maharaja Mac.
As you can see, it's got three buns, two patties,
a lot of cheese, and mayonnaise.
Oh, my God!
That is truly a Maharaja Mac.
Now let's taste the veg Maharaja Mac.
Like, look at this! This is outrageous!
There's no way to eat this without being messy.
Mm! Oh, my God, that's really good.
All right, next up is the iconic McAloo tikki burger.
You take mashed potato, and you fry it in breadcrumbs,
and you get this really delicious cutlet.
Mm. It's just so classic.
They nailed this burger.
Next up, they have a McEgg burger.
McEgg. McEgg, McEgg.
I don't know why I did that.
Let's see what that looks like.
Ugh!
Sorry, I did not expect ... pesto?
Next up is a chicken kebab burger.
This is not what we're used to seeing
when we think of kebabs.
The McVeggie, which is the vegetarian counterpart
to our McChicken.
If I had to eat this versus the chicken one,
I would not be upset at all. Really good.
We have two "American" burgers.
The American Cheese Supreme veg
and the American Cheese Supreme chicken.
All right, so this is what the McDonald's website
says is in this burger.
"Whole-wheat buns sourced from Maharashtra,
tangy jalapeños from Karnataka,
shredded onions grown in local Indian farms,
and cheese from Amravati,
also in India."
Quite close to home, this burger.
Currently, this would probably be my favorite order,
a McSpicy chicken.
And there's the vegetarian option,
which is a McSpicy paneer, which is just leaking lettuce.
For those of you who don't know what paneer is,
it's basically cottage cheese.
We love our paneer.
We put it in curries, we eat it plain, we put it in kebabs.
It is so delicious.
Fair warning, while this may have a light kick
of spice for us, it might be a hard kick for you,
so take everything with a pinch of chili powder.
Every fast-food chain in America right now
is having what we're calling
the fried-chicken-sandwich wars.
Popeyes, Burger King, of course McDonald's,
all of them are at this arms race
to have the best chicken sandwich,
I think 'cause Chick-fil-A has edged everyone out.
These are the three that are currently available.
I don't know for how long.
We have the crispy chicken sandwich.
I think this is a brioche bun,
pickles,
and no sauce, which I think is strange.
Like, the whole flavor is just the chicken.
Spicy chicken sandwich,
same deal but, of course,
spicy sauce!
And the spicy chicken deluxe,
which has more vegetables on it.
You know, to be healthier.
Actually, we were supposed to have bai burger options,
but unfortunately, you can only get them from 5:30 p.m.
But let me explain what bai burger is.
Bai simply means double in Japanese.
So if you order a normal Big Mac,
it has two beef patties, right?
But if you order bai Big Mac, it has four beef patties.
But not only Big Mac, but all burgers
adopt the bai burger options.
That would not stand in this country at all.
People would lose their minds.
Four patties at once on a Big Mac?
What we lack in beef burgers we make up for
in gourmet burgers.
That's right. Here in McDonald's India,
we have our own collection of
chef's special gourmet burgers.
Delicious.
And I think this is a rolling menu.
I think they introduce new things from time to time.
The buns themselves look a lot more gourmet.
You know, there's a nice rift down the middle.
Kind of looks like a butt, but that's OK.
We're not gonna concentrate on that.
First up, we have triple cheese American veg burger
and triple cheese American chicken burger.
Cheese Lava American veg burger
and Cheese Lava American chicken burger.
Again with American,
and again with the strange relation
of food to volcanoes and lava.
This burger is very spicy.
This qualifies as a volcano product, for sure.
Congratulations, McDonald's.
The lava in the title of this burger works.
The McSpicy chicken premium, though,
has an egg patty inside of it.
Mm-mm.
Mm! That's pretty good.
I just feel so existential right now.
Imagine sitting here at this table
and just tasting every single burger on a McDonald's menu.
Amazing!
But also, s---.
We also have some exclusive wrap options.
We have Big Spicy paneer and Big Spicy chicken.
I think this is the same McSpicy chicken patty,
and it's wrapped around a tortilla,
which is actually way closer to an Indian chapati
than most other fast-food restaurants.
It doesn't feel as synthetic.
OK, so when it comes to side menus,
we've got Shaka Shaka Chicken,
and we have
two fla -- oh!
Two flavors.
Can you hear that?
Thunder, thunder, thunder.
'Cause it's rainy season in Japan.
It's the sunny season here in southern California.
And here is red pepper,
and this one is cheddar cheese.
[thundering]
Thunder, stop!
So, all we have to do is just put the powder
into the bag
and
shake it.
And the powder should be covering the whole
Shaka chicken. [thunder erupts]
Ooh, big one.
Like this.
We've got side salad,
and it comes with this roasted sesame dressing.
Let's go!
Ooh!
That was cool.
Now put it all in the garbage.
We've got edamame and corn.
Yogurt,
and there is cow.
Cow.
Here we've got some veggie dippers.
These were actually introduced as part of Veganuary
in 2020 in the UK,
but they've stuck on the menu.
So these are Vegan Society-approved,
and they're sort of like a fried-bean-patty sort of thing.
And then, finally, we've got some mozzarella dippers,
which are just kind of mozzarella sticks, really.
Here in India, we have these add-ons.
No. 1, the veg pizza McPuff.
It's basically a pizza Hot Pocket.
Masala wedges.
These are potato wedges with
classic Indian masala flavor to them.
Masalas are basically what we use
to spice and flavor dishes,
and they consist primarily of ground-up spices
like cardamom, cloves, red chilies, Kashmiri chilies.
You go to every Indian home, the mums,
the grandmums will have their own random
masala mix that's guarded
and treasured in their family forever.
Next up, we have cheesy masala wedges.
They're also serving a classic cup of boiled corn,
which is so unique, and they give you a side of Amul butter.
Amul butter is part of our culture.
Makhan.
Makhan!
This is probably going to be the most
delicious bite of the day.
I love corn.
Next up, chicken strips.
They come in packs of two,
three, or five.
Cheesy nugget veg bites.
This is just a vegetarian version of the chicken nuggets.
Next, we have the double cheese McMuffin.
And lastly, we have Mexican cheesy fries.
On the McDonald's India website,
one British customer said that these Mexican cheesy fries
are "the real deal."
I have no idea how a British person can say
that Mexican cheesy fries are the real deal,
but anytime a British person says
that another culture's food is "the real deal,"
it puts a little fear in our small Indian hearts.
George: So, let's go with soft drinks right here.
Fanta grape.
And here is Fanta melon.
And this one is Japanese vegetable juice.
And there is, I guess,
more than 20 or 30 vegetables in it,
and it's good for health, for sure.
Itadakimasu.
Ah.
Mm.
We've got Qoo white grape.
Sokenbicha.
Sokenbicha is like a Japanese blended tea.
It's healthy. And Japanese people drink this
on a daily basis.
So, next one, we've got
Earl Grey iced tea.
Let me show you.
Wait, there is something.
S---.
There's a mosquito.
I have to make a complaint.
Japan McDonald's.
Next one, we've got oolong tea.
So, this is not actually Japanese tea.
It's a Chinese tea that's good for health as well.
For health, we do have a mango pineapple smoothie
and a banana strawberry smoothie.
Smoothies have fruit in it, right?
Oh, yeah.
I can just feel the nutrients coursing through my veins!
We have something called B Natural's mixed fruit juice.
We have something that they call raw mango fruit splash.
Oh!
It's a bit too sweet.
Berry lemonade splash.
All of these come in these very unique
reusable bottles, apparently.
Next up, strawberry chiller,
green apple chiller,
and lemon chiller.
It's just flavored water.
That's exactly what it is.
It's flavored water, and I kind of like it.
This is a mixed berry smoothie.
It's still quite sweet, but quite good.
Next up, American mud pie shake.
Mm.
That's pretty yum.
Exclusive hot drinks.
First off, we have strawberry green tea.
Next up, English breakfast tea
and Moroccan tea.
A flat white coffee.
India, a land where we run on chai,
and McDonald's does not have a chai option.
Waffle cones right here.
So, we got plain.
So, plain means it's, like, rich milk taste.
And next one is
strawberry.
Strawberry, personally, I like this.
And next one is
chocolate and almond,
right there.
Mm.
It's not melting.
Good job, buddy.
So, here we've got McFloats.
So, McFloats means there is soda,
and on top of that, there's ice cream.
That's it. That's it.
And this is McFloat melon.
Itadakimasu.
Whoo!
It's too sweet.
This is grape.
Coffee McFloat.
Mm.
And the last one, we've got Coke McFloat.
Mm.
Oh!
We have two exclusive slushies.
One is a pink lemonade.
Strawberry watermelon.
Yeah, dude.
That looks real good.
Hot caramel sundae
and the classic fudge sundae.
We have a Black Forest McFlurry,
a vanilla chocolate muffin,
and a chocolate chip muffin.
It's kind of like McFlurry soup right now.
This would be really good when it was actually a McFlurry.
Exclusive sauces.
It's Sauce Talk time.
Sauce Talk.
We have sweet 'n sour sauce.
They gave me hot mustard.
It was supposed to be honey mustard.
Of course, ranch.
Ooh!
Spicy Buffalo.
Now, these might be promotions 'cause of that
singing group, BTS,
but we have, right now, a Cajun sauce
and a sweet chili sauce.
This sauce is fantastic.
This is the sauce.
This has to stay on the menu.
So, these two are new ones.
This one right here is soy-sauce-based sauce.
Man, this is fantastic.
Good job!
Very good taste.
So, this one right here is called Louisiana hot sauce.
Ooh, it does look like a very spicy one.
This is not spicy at all.
And then we've got a couple of sauces
that are kind of unique to the UK as well.
We've got a sweet curry dipping sauce,
and then we've also got a salsa dip as well,
which I didn't know existed until today.
We have one exclusive spice mix
as well as one exclusive sauce here in India.
We have chili sauce, which is pretty straightforward.
It's chili sauce.
But let me tell you about
peri-peri spice mix.
First, you get this shake bag,
then you grab your fries,
and then you just pour that in there.
Ah!
Boom!
Oh, boy.
Can we cut to a before of the fries?
You saw how they were.
Now look at these.
You can see the little flecks of spice
just adorning each fry.
If that isn't like crack ...
OK, breakfast time.
This is a breakfast burrito.
Ugh.
Neon-yellow egg.
Mexican-style salsa, not to be confused with,
what, Canadian salsa?
Let's go on to these breakfast sandwiches here.
I don't know how to describe a biscuit
other than it's dry, it's baked.
Maybe they're made with cornmeal?
According to the internet, this is not a scone,
so there you go.
Sausage, egg, and cheese.
Our egg is, like, this fluffy,
folded scrambled-egg egg.
This is how we do it in the US.
Bacon, egg, and cheese.
Is there a better breakfast combination in the world?
I don't think there is.
Then they just have a sausage, no egg, no cheese,
just sausage and biscuit.
We have regular-sized hotcakes,
and we have a hotcake-and-sausage combo.
Of course,
comes with syrup
and butter.
Very natural pose, very natural feeling right now.
Always up for a pour.
Yes!
Breakfast is served.
Oatmeal.
On the side, to be mixed in, cranberries and raisins
and
diced -- oh!
Diced apples.
And here we've got Mega Muffin.
Pork patties.
That's a huge one.
Mini pancakes.
Oh, cute.
It comes with apple cream sauce.
Ooh.
Ooh.
This is perfect for breakfast.
I would get it.
Bacon egg McSandwich.
So it's got bacon
and round egg
and cheddar cheese.
That's it.
And you might be surprised we've got Filet-O-Fish.
Ta-da.
So, Filet-O-Fish is on the breakfast menu.
I guess Japanese people tend to eat fish for breakfast.
We have a veg McMuffin and a sausage McMuffin.
Mm.
The sausage here in India is not made
out of pork like it is in the US.
Instead, it's made out of simple chicken.
So, while McDonald's fries might look and taste
pretty similar in the UK and the US,
in the UK we only have three ingredients,
which is oil, salt, and potatoes.
The McDonald's french fries in America
have way more ingredients.
These fries are made from potatoes, obviously,
a vegetable oil, which is canola oil,
corn oil, soybean oil,
hydrogeni,
hydrogenitated.
Genitated?
Conner: Hydrogenated.
Ha! Thank you.
Hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor, dextrose,
sodium aspid phosphitate?
Phosphifi.
Phos. Phiupp.
Pyrophosphate. Pyrophosphate.
Sodium acid pyrophosphate,
which is used to maintain the color.
Are they that much of a different color
than the ones in the UK?
Is it worth it?
Could we get a side-by-side comparison?
Are they that much more bright yellow
that we need to put sodium acid pyrophosphate
or whatever it's called in it?
Salt.
And I should mention that the natural beef flavor
contains hydrolyzed wheat
and hydrolyzed milk as a starting ingredient,
and, of course, I have no idea what that means.
McDonald's India does not share a full list
of their ingredients,
but there are some things we do know about their food.
Like, did you know that McDonald's India
actually changed Indian farming practices
just so they could grow the kind of potato that they wanted?
When they first launched in India in 1996,
McDonald's promised the government
that they would use products grown
and sourced right here in India,
but people who had eaten McDonald's abroad
realized that the fries didn't taste quite the same.
The reason for this is that Indian potatoes
were too small, round, had way too much moisture
and sugar content,
and so the fries made out of them were not long enough,
they didn't get crispy enough,
and they didn't have that distinctive McDonald's
oomph to them.
So McDonald's partnered with McCain Foods,
and they spent nine years trying to perfect their potato.
They imported saplings which had the perfect shape
and starch content that they needed.
They also chose Gujarat as their farming location
for its climate,
and they switched from a flood irrigation
to a sprinkler system to reduce moisture content
and save water.
The result, bigger and more starchy potatoes
that can be used to make the McDonald's fries
that you know and love.
So, McDonald's Japan doesn't disclose
their ingredients in the Big Mac.
However, they do tell us where the ingredients come from.
If you order a Big Mac in Japan,
you'll eat beef from Australia or New Zealand;
buns made from wheat imported
from the USA, Canada, and Australia;
and pickles made from cucumbers grown in Turkey,
Sri Lanka, or India;
onions grown in the USA or India;
sliced cheddar cheese made in New Zealand, Australia,
the USA, or Japan;
and lettuce grown in Japan,
Taiwan, the USA, or Malaysia.
The only ingredients that come from Japan
are the cheese and the lettuce,
and even then, McDonald's still imports some lettuce
and cheese from other countries.
So this is a very international burger.
Thank you, world.