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The relentless drive towards a healthier McDonald’s menu slipped into a higher gear last weekend as the famous fast food franchise launched its ‘Create Your Taste’ initiative, which allows customers to build their own burger or select from a host of new signature offerings.
The brand hosted a special evening at its oldest restaurant in the kingdom, located on Exhibitions Avenue in Hoora, and yours truly had the opportunity to try his hand at building his own McBurger.
The first major surprise (other than the fantastic valet parking offering which assuaged my fears of having to park somewhere in Amwaj Islands due to how congested this area gets on a Friday night) was the group of digital kiosks at the entrance.
With a friendly lady on hand to help me navigate the system, these tablet-esque touch screen menus are the new way to order. You can select from the usual favourites that everyone knows and loves too, although this was a night for customers to (quite literally) don their chef hats and create their own! The first step in my culinary journey was to pick the bun, so I plumped for the artisan roll. It took me so long to choose this over the bakery-style roll that there were definitely some disgruntled rumblings behind me when the screen showed me that I had only completed one out of six steps!
There is even a lettuce wrap-style for those who want the healthiest available choice.
Secondly, I made the terribly difficult choice of the halal Angus beef patty (it was the only one available … although I am told more will be on the way very shortly), and topped it off with natural pepper jack cheese.
Toppings were next, so the carnivore in me went for the beef bacon, supplemented with guacamole, tortilla strips and a host of salads. My deepest apologies to the grilled pineapple, onions and mushrooms, they’ll have to wait until next time!
The final step was the sauce … and I could not resist the chipotle BBQ which was exquisite, with just the right amount of bite but not spicy enough to make eating the burger uncomfortable. For those who love McDonald’s signature burgers, there is the Big Mac Special Sauce and Big Tasty Sauce alongside the usual staples.
Once my order was finalised, it was cooked to order at specially-customised kitchen stations (with preparation times promised at five-to-eight minutes). The burger was then hand-delivered to my table on a special wooden tray, with chips served in a mini wire basket on the side.
And what’s really flashy is that tables are outfitted with GPS devices so that food is delivered directly to you wherever you are seated and there’s no hanging around waiting for your tray.
When my burger did arrive, I beamed with pride at my creation. On reflection, I probably should have christened it with a name, but with the speed I devoured it I would have felt bad demolishing my baby in such a way.
The burger definitely felt much fresher than usual, and the wider variety of toppings created an explosive mixture of flavours, but it still retained that signature McDonald’s taste.
My only regret is that I couldn’t try all of the other options I wanted. But then again, that’s the trick! With the restaurant being so close to the GulfWeekly office (although ‘Create Your Taste’ will be introduced at other locations around the kingdom in the coming months) I can see myself going back very soon and finally getting my hands on that bakery roll ...
