First of all, I’m a big fan of McDonald’s! Although lots of people said it’s harmful to eat too many trash foods like McDonald’s nowadays, I still can’t ignore the truth that McDonald’s has been part of my daily diet for a very long time.
I’ll, at least, visit McDonald’s twice a week, sometimes even three to four times a week, so yes, I eat McDonald’s a lot. But also, I would like to say I observe a lot, observing how is McDonald’s going in China and how is the relationship between Chinese customers and McDonald’s.
Today, based on my observation and experience in China, I would like to present to you the 16 foods on McDonald’s menu that Chinese love!
McDonald’s bowl
It must feel strange to see a bowl of rice in McDonald’s. However, McDonald’s does introduce a rice dish called McDonald’s bowl in China for catering to Chinese customers. In my opinion, the McDonald’s bowl is quite sketchy. It’s just a bowl of rice covered with a hamburger, the same as the Big Mac one, and some lettuce with sauces.
Except for the beef flavor, there is another chicken flavor that is made with grilled chicken. Although the McDonald’s bowl is not a very good dish and it’s not cheap in my point of view, you still can see many people order it in China solely because it is made with rice. Now you can tell the importance of rice to Chinese people.
McDonald’s Congee
One of the most common Chinese breakfast dishes is congee and Chinese customers sometimes love to have a bowl of warm congee, instead of Western foods, at McDonald’s. McDonald’s congee actually is quite healthy and tastes not bad, which includes eggs, corn, oats, beef, etc.
Grilled chicken burger
I remember it was not a regular dish on McDonald’s menu in China many years ago. But because it was so popular and many Chinese customers were requesting McDonald’s to bring it back, the grilled chicken burger finally became one of the regular dishes.
The way to cook the grilled chicken burger is a bit surprising to the Chinese because most foods on McDonald’s menu are fried. When there is a grilled one, it can be a very attractive option for the customers.
German sausage double beef burger
It’s supposed to be a special order on McDonald’s menu in China but in recent years, the German sausage double beef burger is increasingly being presented because of its popularity in China. This is a kind of burger that includes no green vegetables and meat is what it’s all about.
Most Chinese are still possessing the idea that foods made with meat are costing more than green foods, so if you’re selling a meat dish at a low price, you’re going to make a lot of sales in China. The German sausage double beef burger is this kind of meat dish that includes two beef pies and two German sausages with mustard sauce and it’s quite cheap.
Double cheeseburger
In Chinese McDonald’s, the regular hamburger is too small while Big Mac is too big for some customers, especially to those female customers. In this situation, the size of the double cheeseburger is a perfect choice. Because of the extra cheese and beef pie, the double cheeseburger often makes people feel very satisfied as well.
Big Mac
I can’t find more ways to express how classic the Big Mac is on McDonald’s menu in China. Chinese customers love it because it’s big, it’s tasteful, it doesn’t cost you a lot, and it’s Big Mac. If the Chinese don’t know what to eat, they just go with the Big Mac. Just like that.
Sausage McMuffin with egg
Chinese people think having an egg in the morning every day will benefit your body a lot, which is a very important ingredient for your healthy diet. The sausage McMuffin with egg is quite a fit choice for the Chinese. Whenever Chinese customers go to McDonald’s for breakfast, they will opt for this food very often, because it’s tasteful, simple, and cost-effective.
Beef/Chicken roll
Rolled food is also an important element in traditional Chinese cuisine. There are various typical and delicious rolled foods in China, such as the famous Beijing duck roll, egg roll with potato slices, cabbage roll with grilled meat, etc.
McDonald’s in China also presents rolled foods. To be honest, I think rolled food is much more acceptable to Chinese customers than hamburgers so introducing the rolled foods is quite a smart move to McDonald’s. I can see that McDonald’s roll foods are welcome by Chinese customers. But unfortunately, the rolled foods are seasonal dishes.
Pineapple pie
With a flaky crust and gooey fruit filling, McDonald’s pineapple pie is offering you a so tasteful flavor. I can’t say the Chinese love eating pineapple, but they definitely are more than willing to accept those fried foods made with pineapple, which is why you can see that pineapple pizza is also welcome in China.
Taro pie
Deep-fried, flaky crust with a taro chunk filling, it’s a perfect combination to Chinese. Taro is a starchy vegetable with a nice sweet taste. Some people might think taro is a bit heavy in a dessert considering its starchy root vegetable, but the Chinese love to use taro as the main ingredient for many different desserts, which is why McDonald’s taro pie is so popular in China.
Red bean bubble tea
Bubble tea has been extremely popular in China for years. This is a kind of milk tea originating from Taiwan I think, McDonald’s wants to meet Chinese customers’ needs so they also start offering milk tea products. The truth is McDonald’s is right. Chinese customers are now preferring to order red bean bubble tea than soda drinks like Coke.
Lemon red tea
To cater to Chinese customers, McDonald’s also presents their own iced lemon red tea to the market. McDonald’s lemon red tea actually is not bad. Although it’s a bit sweeter, the overall taste is quite balanced. Since Chinese customers still care about the volume aspect of what they’re paying for, McDonald’s is using a very tall kind of cup for the lemon red tea, which will make people think its volume is large.
Crosscut fries
Compared to the regular potato fries which taste plain, McDonald’s crosscut fries taste a bit salty with some pepper flavor so you don’t need to catch up. To Chinese customers, I think crosscut fries are not a common food in China, unlike potato fries.
Even though you can find it, it normally will be priced much more expensive than the regular potato fries. So every time McDonald’s is offering crosscut fries, Chinese customers will love to order one.
Spicy Mcwings
A very, very traditional and signature food on McDonald’s menu in China, even older than the Big Mac. Also, it’s one of the most popular McDonald’s foods in China. The reasons are quite clear. First, Chinese people love eating chicken. Second, nobody doesn’t like fried food, especially in a country that doesn’t have a strong healthy diet awareness yet. Third, spicy foods are quite popular in China.
Well, Spicy Mcwings is matching to all the above aspects.
Spicy chicken leg
McDonald’s might think the spicy Mcwings can no longer satisfy Chinese customers’ appetites, so they are bringing a big one, a full fried chicken leg with a spicy flavor. It tastes as good as the Mcwings and the price is friendly, I would like to call it the upgraded version of Spicy Mcwings. Chinese customers love it.
McNuggets
McNuggets are a so iconic menu item, not only in Chinese McDonald’s but also at McDonald’s all over the world. It is one of the most original dishes when the very first McDonald’s restaurant was opened in Shenzhen city of China.
Mcdonald’s in China number
In 2019, McDonald’s served more than 1 billion customers in China. As of February 2020, there are more than 3500 McDonald’s restaurants in mainland China with more than 180000 employees.
McDonald’s is a world-famous restaurant brand, with more than 37000 restaurants in more than 100 countries and regions. McDonald’s entered the mainland market in 1990. At present, China is McDonald’s second-largest market in the world, the largest franchise market outside the United States, and the fastest-growing market in the world.
In July 2017, McDonald’s entered into strategic cooperation with CITIC, CITIC Capital, and Carlyle to jointly operate and manage McDonald’s business in mainland China and Hong Kong.
