McDonald's: $1 Cheeseburger Deal, Randwick (11 Feb 2012)

Shop 20, Royal Randwick Shopping Centre

73 Belmore Road, Randwick NSW 2031

http://mcdonalds.com.au

Half the price or twice as much

I'm not sure why McDonald's has a discount pricing fetish for cheeseburgers of late but for fans they'll sure be taking advantage of the deals. It was only a month ago I tried the Double Cheeseburger for $2 and now you can get a normal Cheeseburger for $1 between 12-1 pm for a limited time. That means an extra bun, extra mustard, extra ketchup, extra onion and an extra pickle to throw up at the ceiling if you don't like them (which used to happen in the old days) — plus the extra calories of course. Some may think I shouldn't be eating these at all, including my mum who thinks my cholesterol is too high, but this blog is not only about the good but also the bad and the ugly. Also my willpower to resist things that a ridiculously cheap fails me sometimes when I should know better. I'll leave it up to you to decide which category the long-standing cheeseburger falls into in your world. In any case I think they used to taste better when I first worked at McDonald's at the age of 15 and up. Perhaps it was because I was young and naive and loved the taste but now they taste less juicy and more processed and lacking tasty flavour. Do I regret eating it — no. Should I eat a sustainable organic salad that supports local farmers instead — yes. Will I eat a $1 cheeseburger again — probably not, but if the bring out a cheap Triple Cheeseburger then that might be another story.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Very cheap, Plenty of locations, Available 10.30 til 11 pm

CONS: Not particularly healthy, Tastes rather processed, Deal available only for a limited time until end of Feb, It's hard to resist ordering fries as well, Limit 4 per transaction

MUST TRY: Avoiding to eat too much fast food

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$1 Cheeseburgers

Double staking the cheeseburgers

McDonald's advertisement from Facebook group

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McDonald's: Double Cheeseburger for $2, Randwick (10 Jan 2012)

Shop 20, Royal Randwick Shopping Centre

73 Belmore Road, Randwick NSW 2031

http://mcdonalds.com.au

Extra cheese to please

“We asked for 1,000 likes and you gave us over 9,000! What are we gonna do? Add an extra slice of cheese and bring back the $2 Double Cheeseburger! Available between 12pm – 1pm, from 28 December … http://www.facebook.com/McDonaldsAU/posts/295669047142702”

A late night tv ad brainwashes me to want to try the Double Cheeseburger for only $2 between 12 til 1 pm the next day. Unfortunately I generally don't like eating hamburgers without a side of fries as well bringing my total guilt factor to 68% of my daily fat intake combined with 71% of my daily sodium intake. My Double Cheeseburger ($2) arrives with a messy ketchup mishap but I guess that's to be expected if the order has been rushed. The bun wasn't as soft as expected so I'm thinking it might not have been as fresh as I've had before. McDonald's Fries ($2.90, large) are generally a pleaser and thankfully these were pretty good. The McDonald's in Randwick has food court seating available and is kept fairly clean and the staff seemed pretty on the ball in terms of fast service. My favourite McDonald's burger is probably the Big Mac with its addictive special sauce although I'm also a fan of the elusive McFeast which seems to have John Farnham come backs from time to time but I still think a slice of beetroot would make it even better.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Cheap, Predictable, Available everywhere

CONS: Not particularly healthy, It'll never look like the menu image

MUST TRY: Getting McDonald's to put Battered Fish & Chips on the menu for beach side stores like Coogee Beach

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Double Cheeseburger ($2, available between 12-1 pm promo)

Some misplaced messy ketchup

This is how the Double Cheeseburger is advertised. Apart from probably being impossible to actually look like this, have you noticed the extra pickle in the burger?

The notorious pickle — although I do like them

Double cheese and meat patties

Double Cheeseburger + Large Fries = 68% of my daily fat and 71% of my sodium = healthy salad tomorrow

I didn't realise there was a Triple Cheeseburger

Large Fries ($2.90) — Did you know it contains no sugar?


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Taste testing Darren Simpson's Signature Burger at KFC vs McDonald's Chicken Scorcher Burger, Narellan (3 Dec 2011)

3 George Hunter Drive, Narellan NSW 2567

http://mcdonalds.com.au
http://www.kfc.com.au

Something different to compare

After checking out the new Masters Home Improvement centre far out west in Gregory Hills, which was pretty impressive, I passed by Narellan on the way back for a quick and easy snack with the family. Stopping at McDonald's I was hoping to have a McFeast but soon learnt they've discontinued it again — you shall be missed. I tried the McDonald's Chicken Scorcher Burger ($4.95) for the first time which strangely came in a McFeast burger box. The sauce was a little spicy or possibly it was from the coating of the chicken. Not too messy to eat but it was just a simple burger of chicken, lettuce and sauce. Realising McDonald's was not the home of Darren Simpson's new burger I ventured literally next door to KFC to try the Signature Range Chilli Relish & Cheddar Chicken Burger ($6.95). Looking nothing like the creation on the advertising posters it was served perhaps a little poorly presented and much smaller than I was expecting. The layering of the ingredients compared to the promotional images was very different as well.

The bun was soft and the chilli relish had a pretty decent kick to it. I'm not sure why a 'top restaurant chef of UK and Australia' would be needed to design a burger that simply had cheese, lettuce, roasted capsicum, chilli relish and chicken strips in it but perhaps the endorsement of the burger will win sales — it certainly worked on me and I haven't been in a KFC store for probably over 10-15 years. Would I have it again? Possibly not but if I was out on the road and hungry and came across a KFC I might possibly consider it because it tasted healthier than just having fried chicken and the flavours were nice enough. I found it a bit messy to eat as I picked it up and had ingredients fall out easily. A common factor I found with the Narellan McDonald's and KFC stores when I visited was the dining room bins were visibly overflowing and should have been emptied and most of the tables in KFC weren't particularly clean and it wasn't busy. If I was doing a QSCV (Quality, Service, Cleanliness & Value) rating they would have been lowly marked in this area.

McDonald's Chicken Scorcher Burger ($4.95)

Outside McDonald's Narellan

KFC Signature Range Chilli Relish & Cheddar Chicken Burger ($6.95)

Two chicken strips coated with chilli relish

Layering of the ingredients was a little all over the place. The capsicum was falling out from the sides a bit too easily due to being quite small pieces.

I found it a bit messy to eat

Outside KFC Narellan

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McDonald's: Chicken McBites, Randwick (5 Dec 2010)

Royal Randwick Shopping Centre

73 Belmore Road, Randwick NSW 2031
http://mcdonalds.com.au

McNibbles rather than McBites

The word 'free' is one of my favourite words in the English dictionary and when combined with 'food' it's a joy to my ears. While listening to 96.9 FM on the car radio at 11 am I heard a McDonald's ad promoting the new Chicken McBites and that free samples were now available between 11 am til 12 noon that day. I've been curious to try them so headed to the nearest McDonald's in Randwick to see if the deal was true. Thankfully upon arriving there were balloons advertising the free samples so I lined up and ordered one. The sample pack of 5 McBites was very small and I wondered how they fit 5 samples inside thinking they were the size of the original McNuggets. Upon opening the pack it all became very clear and they were very tiny — around the size of a $1 coin. I had a little chuckle to myself but they were free so it didn't really matter. Apart from the tiny size they were actually quite tasty with their semi-crunchy outer seasoned coating and moist chicken inside. Pretty handy as a quick snack although I'm not really sure how filling they'd be and you'd probably have to eat quite a few to feel full. A handy snack to eat when driving perhaps.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Tasty, Easy to eat, Bite size pieces, Available at every McDonald's, Quick snack

CONS: Tiny in size, Could be considered expensive considering the size, Won't fill you up that easily, Doesn't come with dipping sauce

MUST TRY: At least once I guess

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Sample pack of 5 Chicken McBites

Size comparison to $1 coin

Cut to the meat inside, tasty coating outside


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