10 Of The McNuttiest Menu Items From McDonald’s ‘Round The Globe

Macca’s is my happy place.

From 5th birthday parties to late night drunken conversations, McDonald’s plays host to some of life’s most moving moments.

And no matter where you are in the world, there will most likely be a Ronald McDonald establishment in your immediate vicinity to experience.

The best bit? Every restaurant on the globe will serve you up a Big Mac. But they’ll also boast some unusual menu items we can’t get at home.

Here’s a list of the 10 craziest menu items ’round the globe. Because, no matter where we are, we’re lovin’ it.

If you look at the word ‘Ovomaltine’ and immediately think of the classic Australian lunch order snack Ovaltinies, you’re on the right track. This McFlurry is chocablock full of the famous milk flavouring product made with malt extract sugar. Some of the continent’s other chains boast this bad boy, too, so if you’re midway through a Euro summer, keep your eyes peeled.

At first glance, Taro Pie looks a lot like deep fried zombie brains.

In reality, it’s just like the chain’s classic Apple Pie, ‘cept it’s filled with the bright purple taro root. Taro root is a potato-sorta thing, most similar to a sweet potato.

Porridge, I can deal with. I probably wouldn’t go to the Golden Arches for it, but I get the appeal. Chicken porridge though? Absolutely no.

This Malaysian-style porridge topped with spring onions, ginger, fried shallots and chillies, if you really like confusing your tastebuds.

When we first caught wind of chocolate fries in Japan, we went proper nuts.

It’s genius. Golden, crunchy fries drizzled in milk and white chocolate. As anyone who has ever dipped their fries into a McFlurry knows, it’s a sweet and salty match made in heaven.

Meat slathered in sauce is hard to get wrong, and the McCurrywurst in Germany gets it all kinds of right.

The chain’s take on the traditional street food is a mix of pork bratwurst sausage chunks in a spicy tomato sauce accompanied by shaker packs of either mild or sharp curry powder. German citizens are notoriously hard to please when it comes to fast food, and the saussies were brought in to boost sales. They did just that.

First introduced way back in 2005, the chicken and beef rice burgers were a way to make the traditional Macca’s burgers a little more palatable in rice-loving countries. Surprisingly, they don’t fall apart when you take a bite, as the rice is tightly compressed.

The Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese pies first came to be in 1996, when McDonald’s bought the famous NZ pie company. They only stuck around for a year or so.

Funnily enough, NZ Broadcasting School students Drig Chappells and Gareth Thorne were such big fans that they started a FB group calling for the return of Georgie Pie. In 2008, as part of a documentary “Bring Back the George”, they temporarily converted a Christchurch bakery and sold pies made with the same recipe as the originals. All of their pies were sold in less than an hour, with people coming from as far as Auckland to get one. Merch, including Georgie Pie t-shirts, was even offered.

McDonalds caught wind of this and slapped ’em with an intellectual property infringement, before bringing back the pies in 2013 (to rapturous applause).

Japan cops a mention in the article twice because, well, Japan.

A shrimp patty, topped with lettuce and mayo in a sesame-seed bun is a big hit in Japan.

You wouldn’t typically think of Macca’s as the first place to go when you want a cold tomato soup, but it’s a big hit in Spain.

The McDo consists of a fried chicken drumstick, cup of sauce, some spaghetti with meat sauce, and a drink.

This is a meal that would make Spaghett himself proud, purely because of how little sense it makes. I’d still eat it, to be fair.