There’s no doubt that TikTok is full of foodie hacks, tricks, and tips that take your humble snacking from bog-standard to tongue tantalising new heights, and the latest Maccas ice cream trick is no exception. But instead of just telling you about the combo that brings together the creaminess of a sundae with the heat of Chinese chilli oil that’s gone viral on TikTok, I thought I’d put my guts on the line.
After seeing a few TikToks around where people were drizzling chilli oil on top of Macca’s ice cream – which was actually a menu item at McDonald’s China for a hot second – I knew I had to give it a red hot go.
@justcallmecuc McDonald’s in China hat Chili oil Sundae 🌶🍦 rausgebracht 🤔🤔 ( ganzes Video gibts auf YT – link in bio ☺️)
@ryanpaturzo Chilli oil maccas hack, inspired by the maccas chilli oil sundae from China #mcdonalds #hack #chillioil #foodie #australia #maccas
Ah, it’s been one week in lockdown and I’m back to trying out food hacks to see if they stack up or if they just ruin my guts entirely.
I nipped down to my local KFL Supermarket and picked up a jar of Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil, which I honestly love to put on everything anyway. Dumplings, soups, noodles, whatever needs a bit of a kick.
Then for the other half of the TikTok combo – I nipped over the ol’ drive thru and grabbed a couple of plain sundaes from Macca’s (probably the only time in my life I’ve ever bought a plain sundae).
I scooped a bit of the oil and crispy bits (a mix of chilli and fried onion) on top, and went for it. Sure, it might look like a lot – and hey, maybe it is – but I wasn’t about to half-ass this flavour combo.
I won’t lie, I was a bit mesmerised by the colour of the oil swirling in with the creamy whiteness of the ice cream. It was almost hypnotic as the oil slid around the slightly melted milky lactose, kinda like a lava lamp.
(Full disclosure, I loaded up a second one for my boyfriend because I didn’t want to travel this tongue-numbing path alone – I wasn’t bulking myself up with two sundaes, I promise.)
The first bite (slurp?) was like a strange flavour explosion in my mouth, the sweetness of the ice cream mixed with the savoury of the onion and the chilli oil created this confusing but pretty delicious situation. The creaminess cut through the heat of the chilli on my tongue so I didn’t get the immediate bite, instead replaced with a warming heat in my throat as the chilli lit up the tastebuds further back.
My only criticism is the fried onion flavour is pretty punchy (because it is onion), and tends to overpower the flavour of the ice cream.
Texturally, the combination was something else, too. Sure, a McFlurry might be a mixture of softness with pockets of bits, depending on your choice of topping, but the silky sensation of the ice cream combined with the unmistakable crunch that fried onion delivers felt like cronchy, unchartered waters in my gob.
My boyfriend, however, had one mouthful and declared it was not for him because it tasted like “eating burnt onion and then chasing it with soft serve”. He scooped off the chilli top and then drizzled it in maple syrup instead.
So would I go this again? Probably. Though next time I’d try it with straight chilli oil without the crispy fried onion, just to see if the creamy Macca’s sundae shines through a bit more.
My guts didn’t enjoy eating globs of ice cream soaked in chilli, I can tell you that for free.
