Maybe not just McDonalds - I find that food in Japan in general is of pretty decent quality, even at very ordinary places like Denny's.

In the Philippines, those fries were called "shake shake" fries and were a promotional item tied in with the release of Kung Fu Panda. They also had shake shake McNuggets.

My favorite McDs are also those in Japan. I loved the Mega Mac with egg. 3 beef patties and one fried egg done up Big Mac style :eek:

Italian McDs have started using Parmigiano-Reggiano and SudTirol Speck in some dishes. Other European McDs have started sourcing to high quality local ingredients as well.

Still have never eaten there, but it's an interesting phenomena

I just ate at Mac Donald's this evening. Took a Big Mac menu and a portion of mac nuggets. I actually think the US Big Mac is better. The only thing I hate about mac donalds abroad is that they don't have the same mayonnaise as they have here ( As some of you might know, we in Holland eat mayonnaise with our chips). I do like the Dutch Mac Nuggets better than the ones I can get abroad, I believe there more crispy here.

Actually, I found a picture--it was a pork burger. The meat tasted like bland greasy sausage: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=118693 (scroll down)

The McD's in St. Petersburg was like a bizarro hyperefficient McDonalds--almost like the entire staff was being constantly timed with stopwatches. The food was about the same though.

For Germany I think the taste is pretty much identical to the US. At least that's my impression. BUT, we always get McRibs, which I love.

In France and Switzerland the beef quality seems to be better.

Otherwise I notice big differences even within the same shop. When you get a Big Mac that's freshly made and hot it is "delicious", if not, well, not so much...

Till

Using a Big Mac w/o cheese as a benchmark, I've had them in Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Amsterdam, Japan, Brazil, Iceland, England, and Philippines. I noticed little if any difference except less special sauce in Asia. On the other hand, the Burger King in Leidseplein Amsterdam is far far better than any in the US.

Although I don't eat McDonald's while I'm here in the (mainland) States, I enjoy stopping at Non-US McDonalds to see the menu variation--and occasionally eat the fries. The UK curry burger--or something along those lines, is one of the most interesting I've seen. There are clear differences in recipes and some european stores charge for just entering. I've paid a euro just to get in the store in Athens and Paris. It also seems to me that McDonalds is clearly a "cool" place to hang out for young people in Europe, where in the states we tend to simply race through in order to get something very quick to eat.

The global economy is what is hurting Starbucks.

I'm backing the idea on the global McDonald's. They have actual variety unlike their US counterparts.

I try to minimize my MickyD's visits in the US, rare, breakfast only, waiting for wife in motel to get her self together, reading "USA Today" at a clean table with good lighting, both usually available.

Abroad, I note their presence, but I'm abroad for the experience (at which even a MickyD's "Curry Burger" ain't).

Each to their own, and I guess squillions of people must like McDonalds (how they can call themselves restaurants I'll never know), but in my very limited (and not likely to ever expand) experience, it's revolting!

One and a half Big Macs (I threw half away) many (30!) years ago turned me off Mcds. The only other thing I'd had from them until recently was their chips (fries) which are palatable and ok for emergencies when travelling. But even those I have very rarely.

I was conned by friends into having b/fast at a McDs a couple of years ago...an egg and bacon mcmuffin (worst thing I'd ever eaten) followed by a "hash brown" - it was even worse than the mcmuffin.

Simply disgusting! :)

Just tried the chicken shaka shaka here in Japan. It was pretty darn good - but I really like pepper. Also had a "Mega Mac", a Big Mac with 4 beef patties instead of 2. It was ok, but a little out of balance. The regular one is better. Now, back to Japanese food for awhile.

You obviously haven't been to the McD in Moscow, where there are two doors: front for the tourists, back for the locals. Depending on which door you go in through, two very different kinds of meat are used for the burgers: reasonably good for the tourists, cr*p for the locals.

I only eat at McDonald's about four times a year in the US. Abroad, I have only eaten McDonald's in Mexico and Canada. They only difference I saw was that they offered chiles in Mexico. I try to limit my fast food intake to when I am at an airport and I am very hungry.

Had a great Maccy D's in Eilat years ago. I think they must have over grilled it as it had a "Flame grilled" flavour more in keeping with a certain competitor. I was always curious where they did get the beef from in Israel though?

I don't notice an "extreme" difference in terms of taste quality between the ones in NA vs. ones in Asia. But in general I tend to eat at McDonald's more often when I'm in HK than I do when I'm in Canada.

I'll never forget that people espressly choose to dine at McDonalds while in Hawaii's isles - specifically for the SPAM dishes!

At risk of being slightly spammy... here's my own blog link - Aussie McDs are having a particularly great-value promotion. FTers doing a MR trip (or 6! You confessed :D) may wish to do a $2 taste test.
USD$1.50 for a double cheeseburger or even a mini meal. :)
http://www.bargainconfidential.com/b...altwobucks.jpg

Though when in Oz you'll find that McD's major competitor has a whopper... 'the burgers are better at Hungry Jacks'! :D

So you need not starve for cheap, no-nutrition American fast food fare when you're here.

For goodness sake, just make sure you try a good Aussie espresso coffee. :D

So far I've tried Italian McDonalds that was just horrible and Czech Republic McDonalds that was actually an OK burger. Czech was better than USA McD and near USA Carl's Jr. quality.

When ever my grandchildren force me to have a McDonald burger of any type, my gout acts up. I finally figured it out. No more Macs!:mad:

Indian Mcdonalds is nowhere near as good as the british stuff.. More veg options i suppose but nothing beats a proper bic mac vs the lamb maharaja Mac

I eat McD ALL the time when I am in Europe. Have had it in Suisse, France, Italia, and Germany and the quality is great - esp. at 2am. :)

Wirelessly posted (Palm TX: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-D050; Blazer/4.3) 16;320x320)

McD offers decent burgers here in EZE.

The quality of food is marginally better at non-u.s. locations, but I've generally found the real difference to be in the quality of the staff. Maybe McDonalds puts more of an effort into ensuring the non u.s. locations have better trained personnel, and that they display customer service skills that used to be prevalent in "old" america.

As there are many McD all over Moscow, which one in particular are you talking about? Having lived in Moscow I don't ever recall this being the case!!

Why can't I buy a quarter pounder with cheese in Europe? Why do they charge for ketchup but slather on the mayo?

I don't mind the McD's in Europe. While I avoid them if I can to sample the local flare, they are a known quantity when I'm in a bind. I like them for breakfast when I'm runny-egged and croissanted out as well.

BLEAAaAAAAGGGGHHH! GAG GAG GAG HACK! *calvin running around fighting his oatmeal*

The veggie burger is a "him"? Thought they'd be gender neutral... :D

YES! HKG McD's has the 24 hour Sausage McMuffin with Egg! It's an awesome thing. And the sausage patty inside said SMcMwEgg is pork! Yum yum. The best thing after a night of drinking and boozing.

Singapore & Malaysia have the McSpicy, a batter fried spicy chicken sandwich with dark meat. Tasty! And you can get chili sauce. However, since McD's is halal over there, forget about McD's brekkie. The "sausage" is not pork and it's light colored. What is it made out of, chicken?

You can. It is just called Hamburger Royal. Fancy, isn't it. In Germany you get on portion of ketchup for free with your super size meal!

Sorry, translation error. In German a Hamburger is male. A Veggie burger should always be "undefined".

On an amusing note I heard that the american version of a McDonalds burger, if sold in McDopads here, would qualify to get slapped with an additional tax that applies to confectionery products - yes indeed, there is that much sugar in the so-called "100 Real Beef"! :D:D:D

Actually the thing that surprises me most about McDonalds at home vs Europe, is the quality of the interior decoration. In the US, they really go for ultra plastic "ghetto max" decor, whereas in Europe they seem to really make an effort to be a bit nicer place to sit and eat your foot. Maybe because more of their business in the US stores is via the drive-through windows?

i miss mcds in india... totally different menu and they deliver!!!

I have almost always found the quality of the food as well as the overall experience at McDonald’s restaurants outside the United States to be far superior to those within the United States.

This includes restaurants in such countries as Japan and Malta.The food at McDonald’s restaurants in Europe are really that bad that one must eat one’s own foot, or do you mean to say that the employees of McDonald’s restaurants in Europe eat your foot?

They really know how to toe the line there, eh?

Now that is what I call sole food, especially the Filet-O-Fish.

I apologize if I was too callous in my response here, but I thought I nailed down what I wanted to post.

I worked at a Golden Arches in Leeds when I was a student in the mid-1990s. The manager, an Iraqi sociopath, made the mistake of putting me on the drive-thru on Boxing Day (the busiest day of the year). Up until then I'd only worked in the kitchen. Apparently within 1hr of my shift starting there was a 2-mile long tailback on the road outside the restaurant, because I was so inept at using the headset. Needless to say I didn't get a Christmas bonus.

I have McDonalds food not to my liking, the presentation of the hamburgers are to say the least sloppy. Worst McDonald's I ate in was in Macau, food was not prepared well, I was in a hurry, ordered a chicken something or other and I through it away rather than eat it. The only thing that I can eat at McDonalds is their pancakes for breakfastg. they are uniform regardless of what country they are served in, that's because they are shipped in frozen from a central plant and then microwaved. The saussage Mcbiscuit is not bad but without the egg. I would never eat anything else from McDonalds. A&W or In and Out Burger are far superior.

In the UK, I found it odd that biscuits weren't on the breakfast menu. I wonder if the brits would enjoy a good bacon, egg & cheese biscuit?

Funny how different parts of the country have specialized McD items...lobster rolls in the NE and country ham in the south. Not all do this, but it's fun to find special items.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing McDonald's is consistency. Even in Chicago, there are good McDonalds and bad ones. A lot of it comes down to staff experieince, training and attitude. Some just slap together the food, some take pride.

Some regional differences also exist, mainly the differences between the region's food quality (eg Paris versus London).

:eek:

A McD in Marbella, Spain is one of my favorites - you can eat outdoors overlooking beautiful mountains, have a Gazpacho to start off with, a fresh salad with anchovies and sardines, and have a lovely cold beer to go with it - all for about EUR 6

Do they still have fish porridge on the breakfast menu in Singapore?

My favorite global Mickey D's choice is the "Shrimps" served in Switzerland. They're as good as on what might expect in an average seafood restaurant.

mcdonalds in india has a menu with allot of indian flare on it... its cheap, great and they deliver...