Aliza Gulab: When traveling, you're more than likely
to try delicious, authentic food
found in the country that you're in,
not fast-food chains.
I mean, who travels across the country to try...
McDonald's?
But McDonald's is the second-biggest fast-food chain
in the world, and it's all over.
Its menu items actually differ depending on where you are,
like the McFalafel in Sweden
or the McSpicy Paneer in India.
Let's take a look at what McDonald's menu items
look like around the world.
You can get a really good kick of heat
with Thailand's Kaprao Crispy Chicken Rice.
It's rice served with chicken curry.
Customer: It's actually really good.
It's, like, sweet and spicy,
but honestly you wouldn't think it came from McDonald's.
Aliza: And for dessert, try its Thai pie.
It's stuffed with black sticky rice and young coconut
that oozes when you bite into it.
Canada's poutine is a can't-miss.
It's fries topped with cheese curds and gravy.
It first appeared in Quebec in the 1950s,
and you can try it at some Canadian McDonald's.
While the Big Mac may be one of McDonald's
most popular beef burgers,
that's not the case in India.
About 95% of the world's Hindus live in India.
Cows are sacred in Hinduism,
so practicing Hindus don't eat them.
As a substitution, the Maharaja Mac
uses chicken and adds heat with jalapeños.
It's also estimated that anywhere between 20% to 30%
of India's population is vegetarian.
More than any other country.
And many people that do eat meat
don't eat it often.
The McSpicy Paneer and McAloo Tikki
are two vegetarian sandwich options in India.
The McSpicy Paneer is fried cheese with lettuce
and spicy sauce.
Paneer is the common cheese used throughout the
Indian subcontinent.
The McAloo Tikki is a fried potato and pea patty
with veg sauce, ketchup, tomato, and onion.
Like India, many Swedes enjoy the vegetarian lifestyle.
Sweden's McDonald's offers items such as McFalafel
with four or nine pieces of falafel bites.
It also sells the McVegan, a soy vegan burger.
One of our producers, Ju, tried it herself.
Here's what she thought.
Ju: It's mixed with tomato powder, onions, and peppers,
so, like, what you're expecting from here
is quite, like, a juicy soy-protein burger,
but with quite a strong, like,
vegetable taste to it as well.
It's not really, really flavorsome.
It just tastes like quite a good, standard
veggie burger, like, made of soy protein.
It certainly looks very, very impressive.
Like, I really like the color of it.
In Hong Kong, the company created
the first McDonald's Next,
a sophisticated and modern version of the restaurant
with an open kitchen,
hand-washing tables, and silverware.
At this McDonald's,
you can get gourmet burgers,
rich desserts, and matcha drinks,
like this soy milk matcha latte and Shake Shake fries,
which are also available in other Asian countries.
Taiwan has an extensive breakfast menu,
and a lot of its breakfast sandwiches are made with toast,
like this one, with pork, cheese, and cabbage.
You can also get items like corn soup,
and just like Shake Shake fries,
some countries in Asia have Shake Shake Chicken, too.
Switzerland's McDonald's offers a Quinoa Curry Burger.
It's a quinoa veggie patty topped with lettuce,
tomato, garlic, and curry sauce between a ciabatta bun.
If you're familiar with American McDonald's,
you know that there's only two flavors of McFlurries:
Oreo and M&M.
But Switzerland has Toblerone McFlurries.
The country is known for great chocolate,
and Toblerone was invented there,
so it's only fair that they made
their own version of a McFlurry.
Our producer Graham tasted it.
Graham: That's amazing. That's so rich and creamy
and sweet. That's delicious.
I mean, it tasted kind of like a chocolate milkshake.
Very good.
I love that. I love that.
Saimin is common cuisine in Hawaii.
The traditional noodle dish can be found at
Hawaii's McDonald's.
It serves the noodles in a broth
with char siu,
fish cake, nori, and egg.
Spam is also a huge part of Hawaiian culture,
and McDonald's offers a breakfast platter with Spam,
Portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice.
Pair it with a taro pie,
made with the tropical root vegetable taro.
South Africa's menu has a Boerie Burger.
You can get it with one or two patties,
and it's served with ketchup, mustard,
and grilled onions.
Boerie is special to South Africa.
It is short for boerewors, which translates to
"farmer's sausage" in Afrikaans.
Meat pies have been a staple in New Zealand
since early British settlement
and can be found anywhere, from bakeries to gas stations
and even in the country's McDonald's.
The Georgie Pie is a square-shaped pastry
filed with ground beef and cheese.
Japan has a pretty extensive menu of burgers,
and among them is the Teriyaki Burger,
a beef patty with lettuce and teriyaki sauce.
It also has an Ebi Filet-O,
a breaded shrimp patty.
And if you're thirsty,
try the Melon McFloat.
It's Fanta soda with vanilla soft serve.
A lot of McDonald's make you pay extra for condiments,
especially their dipping sauces,
but in Mexico, they do it a little differently.
Instead, it has a complimentary salsa bar.
Use it on the special breakfast platter.
It comes with sausage, scrambled eggs,
and McMolletes, bread that comes with
refried beans, white American cheese, and salsa.
In Mexico's McDonald's, you can also try a pay de queso.
It's a classic handheld pie crust
filled with a sweet cream cheese.
Rice is a staple food in Indonesia.
The country produces over 60 million tons per year.
Its McDonald's offers sticky-rice balls
served with fried chicken, spices,
and chili sauce.
Wash it down with black currant fruit tea,
which comes in this fun purple juice pouch.
McDonald's in the United Kingdom
might be the best place to stop
if you'd like to try food from around the world.
Yep, its limited-edition menu
offers items like the Indian Chicken
and the Canadian Stack.
Ju: Got some chicken in there,
lettuce, tomato, onions,
and, of course, the naan on the outside.
If you like garlic and you like chutney,
you will love this.
Ooh. OK, crispy onions and bacon and sauce
and lettuce and two burger patties. That's it.
Aliza: You can also just stick to classic UK flavors
and get a traditional bacon roll.
It's bacon served on a roll
with ketchup or brown sauce.
Ju: The bacon in there is actually quite good.
Aliza: So tell us,
would you consider eating at a McDonald's while traveling?
Is it an experience to add to your bucket list?
Let us know in the comments below.