- I recently visited McDonald's while traveling in Seoul, South Korea.
- McDonald's menu in Korea includes things you cannot find in the US, including corn chowder, bulgogi burgers, and a McChicken topped with mozzarella sticks.
- The McChicken Mozzarella was a sauce-laden disaster, but I would recommend the bulgogi burger to any fast-food lover visiting South Korea.
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I visited McDonald's my first full day in Seoul, South Korea.
My excuse for the fast-food stop is that I'm a reporter who covers the restaurant industry. A big part of the reason that I am currently traveling is to see how massive, international chains attempt to win over customers in different countries.
But, even if I wasn't on a work trip, there is something to be said for visiting McDonald's restaurants around the world. A McDonald's location can tell you a lot about different countries' preferences, highlighting long-standing demands and the latest regional trends.
In Korea, that means serving up a chicken sandwich covered in mozzarella sticks and a burger unlike any I'd tried in the US.
Here is what it is like to visit McDonald's in Korea.
I visited a McDonald's in the busy Myeongdong neighborhood, dodging busy shoppers as I ducked into the store.
With my Korean language abilities tapping out after two weeks of Duolingo, I decided to order via kiosk.
There was even an option to order in English!
While I'd been able to communicate with most waiters and cashiers in Seoul so far, largely thanks to their superior English abilities, I was happy to pick my native language and opt to order in.
The location also offered table service — really allowing me to live my lazy American McDonald's dreams.
When my order arrived, I realized I might have gotten a bit out of control in my attempts to get a full sampling of McDonald's menu in Korea.
I ordered the egg bulgogi burger, corn chowder, curly fries, the McChicken Mozzarella, a Coke Zero, and a Green Grape Chiller.
The McChicken topped with mozzarella sticks is a new, limited-time menu item. According to McDonald's, it is made of chicken, lettuce, and two mozzarella cheese sticks, topped with mayo and Arrabbiata sauce.
Frankly, it is a beast of a chicken sandwich. I struggled to take a selfie while holding this massive McChicken, ultimately smearing spicy Arrabbiata sauce all over my jeans.
I'm not sure the mozzarella-topped monster was worth the mess. The sauce was overwhelming, making it nearly impossible to taste anything but a vaguely sweet, spicy, tomato-y flavor.
Originally, I thought the mozzarella sticks were a stroke of genius. However, they quickly devolved from stretchy bands of goodness into sad, soggy, tasteless blocks covered in moist breading.
The bulgogi burger was a different story. It was easy to hold the burger — with a flat patty about the size of a Big Mac — in one hand, even with the egg on top.
The bulgogi burger is an iconic Korean McDonald's menu mainstay. Made with pork and flavored with a sweet sauce, the burger was created to win over Korean customers. This version added an egg, which looked like it could have been plucked straight from a McMuffin.
The egg didn't add much — if only it were runny! — but I quite liked the bulgogi burger. The thin, softy patty has a richer taste than McDonald's sometimes mulch-like beef burgers. It's definitely a sweet burger, but one I would order again.
As a curly fry fanatic, I was extremely excited to see these on the menu.
I'd put these guys up with Arby's curly fries, which I consider the best in fast food. These fries didn't have much of a flavor punch and, like traditional McDonald's fries, they quickly decline in quality as they cool. But, I would love to see them on the US menu.
This is not coffee. It's actually a cup of corn chowder.
As someone who is not used to sipping on creamy corn in a cup, I thought it was actually very good! It was sweet, but kind of comforting.
Finally, I had the Green Grape Chiller. Both this frozen drink and the Coke Zero were served in reusable plastic cups, a classy and eco-friendly alternative to the cups in the US.
The Green Grape Chiller was very, very sweet, but I could not stop drinking it. It's a classic frozen drink — and one that made me wonder why green grape is such an underutilized flavor in the US.
My sampling of the McDonald's menu had hits and misses. I would definitely order the bulgogi burger and curly fries again — but the Mozzarella McChicken works far better in my fried cheese dreams than in reality.
Is it the best food you're going to find in Seoul? Obviously not. But, getting the bulgogi burger in Korea was a great way to get a taste of the local fast-food flavor.
