McDonald’s Singapore launches locally-inspired ‘nasi lemak’ burger

For Singaporeans and Malaysians, nasi lemak (rice cooked with pandan leaves and served with sambal) is a breakfast staple. Realizing the Singaporeans’ non-stop craving for the fragrant rice, McDonald’s Singapore introduced nasi lemakburger on Thursday.

The unique dish, which consists of semolina buns, coconut-flavored chicken thigh patty, egg, caramelized onions, sliced cucumbers and sambal, was launched in conjunction with Singapore Food Festival 2017 and the upcoming Singapore National Day.

In addition to the nasi lemak burger, the fast food chain also launched locally-inspired beverages and desserts, namely the Chendol McFlurry (ice cream with worm-like green rice flour jelly), chendol ice cream cones, the Bandung McFizz (condensed milk beverage flavored with rose cordial syrup), Pandan Coco Frappe (pandan flavor drink served with coconut and grass jelly), coconut pie and kueh salat (a pandan sponge cake with a glutinous rice layer).

Sure enough, Singaporeans have flooded McDonald’s outlets to devour the high-carbs meal and sweet treats.

On Twitter, they posted mixed reviews about the fusion burger. Though not all were fond of the East-meets-West dishes, some gave positive feedback, saying the burger was beyond their expectation, tasting exactly like nasi lemak.

Seeing the positive response, maybe it is time for McDonald’s Indonesia to consider some locally-inspired menus for Independence Day — sate ayam (chicken skewers) or lontong sayur (rice cakes with vegetables) burgers, perhaps?