Brian Nagele
McDonald’s is famous across the globe, particularly in China. Two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, initially opened McDonald’s in the 1940s in San Bernardino, California. In 1955, McDonald’s began opening franchise locations across the United States.
The fast-food restaurant primarily serves hamburgers and French fries but has expanded to include coffee options and other specialty dishes in the last decade. McDonald’s is one of the most popular and most visited restaurants in the world.
McDonald’s is relatively new to China, but as of 2020, more than 3,000 storefronts have opened across the country. The menu is different from the United States menu and incorporates local tastes and flavors.
What’s great about McDonald’s in other countries is that the restaurant chain attempts to incorporate local flavors and traditional dishes into customer favorites and McDonald’s classic burgers.
For instance, if you visit McDonald’s in China, you will be able to order chicken McNuggets, or you can try the regional spicy McWings!
Our comprehensive list of McDonald’s China menu items will provide information about what types of dishes are available in Hong Kong and the surrounding area.
Congee
Congee is a typical dish throughout China.
It is made by boiling rice until it becomes a porridge, then individuals can customize the meal by adding ingredients such as egg or tofu.
At McDonald’s, congee is a breakfast side item. Customers can choose between various add-ins like chicken, salted egg yolk, preserved egg, and pickled cabbage.
Additionally, congee is one of the most popular dishes for tourists to the country to try when they visit a typical restaurant but want to try a local dish.
German Sausage Double Beef Burger
German sausage and American beef sold on one sandwich in China?
Yes, and while it sounds like the setup for a funny joke, it is actually a large McDonald’s hamburger sold in nearly every McDonald’s location in China.
The sandwich is two buns, two beef patties, and two sausages topped with mustard. It is one of the largest hamburgers on the menu and has been popular with locals since 2013.
If your favorite type of hamburger is one with all meat and no vegetables, then this is the perfect option for you.
Red Bean Boba Tea
McDonald’s red bean boba tea is a perfect example of the restaurant bridging a cultural gap and incorporating a locally popular beverage into the menu.
The drink consists of milk, tea, tapioca boba, and red beans.
Many people enjoy boba tea because the tapioca pearls, or boba, add an enjoyable textural element to the everyday tea.
Red bean boba tea is slightly sweet and very filling. It is one of the most popular drinks offered by McDonald’s in China.
Taro Pie
A taro pie is a filled pastry packed with the root vegetable taro.
Taro is native to China and is similar to a potato, but taro has a sweeter flavor when cooked.
It also has purple seeds, which gives the McDonald’s taro pie a distinct purple color!
Taro root can be used for many different recipes, both savory and sweet, but because of its taste when you cook it lends itself well to various desserts.
McDonald’s in China has capitalized on this regional root vegetable to incorporate a familiar flavor and capitalize on a traditional dessert pie.
Crosscut Fries
Waffle fries at McDonald’s! Yes! In China, crosscut fries in the shape of a waffle are available in addition to the straight fries that are sold in the United States.
The crosscut fries are golden brown and crispy.
While it might seem false, the waffle shape of the potato just makes the fry taste better.
While in the United States waffle fries are associated with other chain fast food restaurants, in China, they are one of the most popular menu items at McDonald’s.
Lemon Red Tea
Lemon red tea is similar to sweet tea in the United States.
The brewed tea is served with a slice of lemon. In China, red tea is the name of what people from England and the United States know as black tea.
The color designation is from the brewed tea’s copper, or reddish, color.
To Americans in China, lemon red tea will be a familiar taste. The lemon red tea is served over ice in a larger plastic cup.
While the sweetness is present, the tea is well-balanced and it is perfect to pair with your meal or to enjoy independently.
Spicy McWings
Chicken is a commonly used ingredient in China, so it’s little surprise that the fried Buffalo-style spicy McWings have remained popular in McDonald’s locations across the country.
The restaurant attempted to serve the McWings in American restaurant locations, but the menu item was discontinued because it was not selling as well as the traditional McNugget.
Notably, the McDonald’s restaurants in China carry both the spicy McWings and the chicken McNuggets so regardless of your chicken preferences you can find exactly what you’d like to have for a snack at any of the locations in the country.
Pineapple Pie
Similar to the American McDonald’s apple pie, the pineapple pie in China is a fruit-filled pastry with a crispy exterior.
The pie can be enjoyed any time of the day for breakfast or dessert.
Using pineapple as a pie filling is very smart because the pineapple is naturally sweet and produces its own thickened juices as it cooks.
The pineapple pie in China at the McDonald’s locations is almost as popular as the Tara route pie.
One of the reasons is because many people assume that dessert is included with the meal and so pies are sold at a higher rate.
Black, White, and Silver Burgers
McDonald’s China has offered some unusually colored burger buns.
The toppings vary, but they have offered Black and White burgers in the past, with black or white buns. The latest is their Modern China burger, with a grey-ish silver bun that went viral for looking rather unappetizing.
Despite that feedback on the unique color, people say the buns still taste great!
The Modern China Burger is a silver/gray bun with two pieces of breaded pork, bacon, lettuce, and thousand island dressing. If you can get past the color, it doesn’t sound bad!
What began as a drive-in in California has turned into a beloved international fast-food restaurant with tasty McDonald’s classics and locally inspired menu items.
The McDonald’s menu in China is filled with unique items like red bean boba tea and taro pie, but the same level of comfort that you experience with a Big Mac in the United States is felt by the thousands of Chinese customers who visit McDonald’s.
McDonald’s signature golden arches are a welcome sight for locals and tourists throughout China. What’s great is that the locations throughout China offer various meal deals, so if you’re eating lunch or dinner with your family, there is an option to purchase a large combination meal with up to five cheeseburgers and dessert pies!
Comment below if we missed your favorite menu item from McDonald’s in China! Check out other unique McDonald’s menus, like the McDonald’s Hawaii menu items or items at Japanese McDonald’s restaurants!
