Just One Food - McD's Nasi Lemak Burger

After McDonald's Nasi Lemak Burger was first introduced in Singapore in the middle of last year, it reportedly sold out in two weeks with close to 750,000 burgers sold making it one of the chain's most successful promotions in recent years.  Due to popular demand, they brought it back a month later for a second run.

Finally, McDonald's Malaysia has launched their version of the Nasi Lemak Burger.  Well, it's about time, don't you think?  After all, it's a dish that's close to Malaysian hearts.

First of all, the price for an a la carte burger is RM14.95 and RM16.95 in a set with a drink and fries.  Well, I'm not interested in a gassy and sugary drink like 100Plus, so I had my Nasi Lemak Burger with Teh Tarik Ais...kekeke! ;D

Let's look at the layers individually.  We start with the bun.  As usual, it's a soft bun but instead of a plain or sesame-crusted bun, we get a chilli-infused bun.  It looked something like Singapore's version with a semolina bun but with additional chilli specks on it.  It's nice to see that the halved bun has been toasted on both sides.

Lift up the bun and you have a layer of sliced cucumbers, caramelised onions (nope, they weren't caramelised, they were just sauteed till soft) and a completely cooked fried egg that no longer has a runny yolk.

Next, you have the cornflakes-coated, coconut-flavoured fried chicken thigh patty.  You can certainly taste the santan-infused marinade in the chicken to evoke that lemak vibe.  But I didn't get that satisfying crunch from the cornflakes coating.  I think this was down to two reasons, one was that the chicken thigh patty was smothered in sambal sauce which will render any crunchy coating soft.  The other would depend on your luck.  If you're at an outlet where the burgers are flying off the shelves, then your chances of getting a freshly fried patty will be higher.  McDonald's SOP would have burgers made ahead to replenish stocks on the shelves in order to cater to the crowd (and hasten service) and mine was one of two I saw taken from the shelves.

And finally, you'd find generous slathers of sambal on both sides of the bun.  I believe our sambal tastes different from Singapore's version since McDonald's Malaysia mentioned that they spent time to adjust the taste of the sambal for our Malaysian palates.  The taste of it was more on the sweet side, with a hint of tang, and not too spicy (which I can understand as they'd want to cater to the masses).  For me, the sambal which tied the whole burger together needed to be kick-ass...and it just wasn't.

It just didn't have the depth of flavour of a good sambal that have been "tumis" (stir-fried) for a long period of time that I've come to know and associate with a nasi lemak sambal.  The looks of it even resembled some Chinese-style sambal I've had before especially with the sour nuances.  Maybe, the best way to describe it would probably be...it's the type of sambal you get in a nasi lemak bungkus from say a mamak restaurant. It's like...it's not bad but it's not fantastic either, it's there if you want nasi lemak but you won't miss a thing if you don't have it.  You know what, I remember the sambal in KFC's Sambal Rice Bowl being better! :P

Some complained about the missing rice.  Others complained about the missing kacang and ikan bilis.  Now, how on earth do you expect them to incorporate that in?  Eating it will be even messier with all the kacang and ikan bilis falling everywhere.  Come on, people, it's a burger...not nasi lemak! :P

Taking a bite of the burger, with a bit of everything, I think it did evoke the flavours of a nasi lemak...but in a weird way.  Overall, it just didn't quite come together as well as I had hoped.  I guess I'm a traditionalist...I'll stick to a 'real' nasi lemak if I want one....one with lemak rice and and a good sambal, not a burger version.  Some things, I believe, you just don't mess around with....like a well-loved iconic dish such as nasi lemak....haha! :D

The price tag of RM15 for a burger is certainly considered affordable...but the question remains....is it cheap enough for the masses?  It seems that the burger is being introduced now with the upcoming Ramadan in May in mind, so you still have a good 1 1/2 months to try it as it'll probably be around until at least then. Reading/watching all the blogs/videos of those who have tried the burger so far, everyone seems to be liking it but I'm going to be the first to buck the trend.  For me, there's nothing to tempt me to have it again...once was quite enough!  So, have you tried it yet? ;)