McDonald’s McMini

What?! Another McDonald’s post? (previous ones include s’mores pie, breakfast sandwich and Crème Brûlée McFlurry). OK, I am not the biggest McDonald’s fan and, despite all the bashing given to them (at times, me included), unfortunately, it has its place in society. Hell, in Vancouver’s food blogger scene, courtesy of Sherman, we even have a phrase referencing to McDonald’s! (Whenever a restaurant, specially fine dining, serves a meal that leaves you still hungry, it is called a “Filet-o-Fish Meal”, as you would most likely drop by for that sandwich afterwards). Now, whether you like it or not, it does not matter, somebody will (I actually their soft serve are quite interesting). So, why this post? Well, blame Mijune! The other day, she wrote this tweet:

I just drove by a McDonald’s and they have McMini’s!! What are those!? They look like half a burger not a mini burger though!

Not that different from that time where I went to pick up some s’mores pie, I decided to go this time for some McMini!

I don’t recall seeing ads of them in TV (see side note at the end of this post), so I ended up going to the next best source – YouTube and found this one:

Update! The ad for the McMini in BC is now up in YouTube. Check it here!

I after seeing the sandwich in the ad, I was curious about two things: size of the sandwich and the bread. You have to admit it is quite an interesting change from the usual buns used in their burgers. So, one night, I dropped by and got two (despite there are four possible combinations). Unfortunately (?) by mistake, they gave me a crispy and a grilled version but both with the spicy Thai sauce (I asked the grilled version with pesto).

I was actually surprised at the bread: it looks closer to what is in the ad than other sandwiches (ahem, Big Mac, anybody????). On that note, it actually had some chewiness into it, rather than that soft, over-fluffy buns used in other of their sandwiches (probably with the exception of their now discontinued deli sandwiches). Alas, it was white bread – I would have preferred a more sourish bread (sourdough) or whole wheat.

Another surprise, it was a whole piece of chicken breast rather than some mashed, reconstructed version. While it has some char marks, that was about it, marks – it had none of the flavour associated to such charring.

The crispy version is, as you would expect, a strip of fried chicken – if you had McDonald’s chicken (not nuggets) before, then you have a good idea of its texture. It was crispy, alright, and despite the transit time between me buying it and getting home, it retained partially that crispiness. As for the spicy Thai sauces in both cases, I am not sure what makes them “Thai”, nor what makes it spicy. In fact, it might have even been plum sauce (similar to the one used for Peking duck)…. So, in a way, the spicy Thai version is not for me…

Because of the mix up of the order, I went another day and ordered their pesto version, here the grilled one. Fortunately, the piece of chicken was more even (unlike the one above) but, alas, it also ran into the same issue as the spicy Thai version, while it had some charring taste, those chars didn’t really add much.

And, this time, the crispy, pesto version. I was actually surprised at the pesto version: it actually had some of that herby basil, slightly nutty taste! Of course, not the fresh version, more on the lines of the ones you can find in the supermarket (in the cold pasta version, not necessarily the jarred one). Now, I don’t think they were using actual nuts (like pine nuts) but, regardless, it actually tasted good!

The sandwich was far from perfect. Lengthwise, it is about the size of an iPhone – probably a bit longer. I was able to finish one in about three bites. So, if you are going to order it as a meal, don’t. Chances are you will be hungry. On that note, I was surprised they didn’t ask if I wanted to make it a meal. When I asked, they told me that wasn’t an option. Interesting… One thing that I think was completely out of place was the mayo at the bottom of the sandwich. While it provided some creaminess, I don’t think that complemented the nuttiness of the pesto or sweetness of the spicy Thai (though, again, I didn’t quite like this one). One thing that also bothered me was its price point. At $2 each, I thought it was too expensive, specially considering you can get a 6″ veggie or ham sandwich is Subway at about the same price. But, then again, we might be comparing apples to oranges as this is an actual piece of chicken breast. Now, had McDonald’s added some veggies…

Overall, if I would order one, that would be the grilled pesto version. Not the best around but I do think they did make an effort to produce a good sandwich. Now, if they bring back their deli sandwiches…

Sidenote: Just before I went to McDonald’s for my first visit, I received an email from the PR rep from McDonald’s inviting me to a tasting of the McMini (which hasn’t taken place on the day this blog post goes live). In my reply, I told that I already had plans to try them and blog it. Furthermore, I mentioned that, due to prior personal reasons and commitments, I won’t have gone anyway. Instead, I referred them to Mijune. And here is her post!

Tagged under: Chain Restaurant • Chicken • Fast Food • Sandwich