November 13, 2007

McDonald's McPork (Japan Only)

mcpork.jpgLast weekend I happened by a McDonald's in Tokyo's hip (read "bizzare and tacky") Shibuya city and saw a large sign for a new pork-based sandwich offering. Immediately overcome by nostalgia for the delightful McRib, I rushed in to give it a try. BIG. MISTAKE. The sandwich is made from 100% US Pork (yum) and is part of the chain's 100 yen menu (about 88 cents at the time of writing) - which sounds good and cheap - but that's where the positives end. The sandwich is composed of a totally plain (unspiced) pork patty, a sort of pepper-ginger-soy-vinaigrette, disturbingly hot lettuce, and McD-standard onion bits, all ensconced within the standard hamburger bun. The taste is like a cheap pork chop covered in bad Asian-themed salad dressing. The lettuce is the only thing keeping the sandwich from being completely mushy, though its bitter edge did nothing to improve the sandwich taste. The worst part of the whole ordeal is a endlessly-lingering metallic aftertaste that stayed with me through several subsequent meals. Even at the low price, I'd say you need to avoid this one like the plague and pray that McDonald's US knows better than to bring it here.

Phoood rating: Don't Waste Your Money

Posted by Roc on November 13, 2007
Comments:

That doesn't sound particularly good to me, maybe something I could enjoyably eat one to three times a year.

Posted by: Philosopher at November 20, 2007 12:30 AM

The picture alone grosses me out. It's amazing how different cultures like different things.

Posted by: Phill Pusilo at December 24, 2007 12:20 PM

i was in japan recently for the holiday season, and sure enough we had to check out the Macdonald's. And the poster was up for the new Mcpork, and even the picture didn't make it appealing. we stood in line for about 10 minutes and listened to the woman at the register ask to the many customers, "would you like to try our new mcpork?" (both in Japanese and English of course) and not one said yes. Even being a vegetarian it proved to fail. Another strike for Macdonald's.

Posted by: Arati at January 16, 2008 7:33 PM

Alright... this looks nasty. I wouldnt give it to my dog

Posted by: Jill at January 20, 2008 5:56 PM

how much did it cost???

Posted by: lolo at May 5, 2008 12:38 PM

living on a budget in tokyo i frequent the mc-d quite often and i love these! to me the sauce/cabbage/onion combo is supreme! the pork tastes just like what is in the breakfast sandwiches.... it is a bit on the rich and heavy side though so those of you with weak systems that can easily repeat beware...

Posted by: tokyo walker at June 2, 2008 7:18 PM

That looks repulsive. Honestly.

Posted by: Lorraine at November 15, 2008 9:12 PM

Oh, the McPork...brings back a lot of memories!

I don't usually eat beef, and rarely went to McDonald's when I lived in Chiba from Feb. '07-08. But when I did have the odd craving for Western fast food, it was nice to pop into the Golden Arches for a McPork or two.

And yes, I agree. It tasted exactly as you described. It was a little too salty for my taste, but it was as close to a burger as I could get without eating beef.

Posted by: Abram at May 6, 2009 5:27 PM

After spending a month visiting relatives in Tokyo, we found the McPork patty filled the bun and our stomachs. Mixing McPork with hamburgers completely satisfied our lunch requirements. For the price and consistency of products, McD gets another high five. The sauce could be reduced so as limit dripping.

Posted by: Chris & Joan at May 15, 2009 4:39 AM

Yuck! Even the sauce looks disgusting.

Posted by: Joey at May 20, 2009 7:28 AM

I recently visited Japan for a couple of weeks. The food was fabulous but one of the most memorable things that I ate besides the Kobe beef, tako-yaki, okonomiyaki, and all the other superb foods I encountered was this McPork sandwich. I was killing some time in the airport waiting to come home and I saw a sign for this sandwich. I tried one and was so impressed that that I ate two more! I bought one for my brother and his son and we all agreed that these things were awesome! Don't let the picture fool you, these things were flat out delicious. I'm a chef and I've been experimenting trying to recreate one of these marvels. If only they sold them in America....sigh.

Posted by: Kiyoshi at January 23, 2011 12:04 PM

These are actually really nice!

Posted by: YOU ARE WRONG at February 27, 2011 8:30 PM
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