#FastFoodFriday: McDonald’s Fish & Fries + Fish Burger Review: Good Enough to Replace Filet-O-Fish

When it comes to fish & chips, we’d think of Pizza Hut, KFC, Popeyes, Jollibee, Subway, Texas Chicken or even Crystal Jade; but never in our life would we associate the UK staple food with McDonald’s.

Until last year, that is, when McDonald’s introduced the Fish & Chips (known as Fish & Fries in Singapore as we use the word “fries” instead of “chips”) in selected McDonald’s outlets in Malaysia, and then rolled it out in Singapore.

Back then, it didn’t create the hype Nasi Lemak Burger did, but people still relished in it; I mean, we finally have a new menu from the Golden Arches that’s not a burger!

While we’ve tried it once last year, we’ve not created our #FastFoodFriday segment then, and so, we’ve stolen our boss’ credit card to do a new review again.

Because why not?

Introduction

Lest you were not born in 2018 yet, here’s some context about this new menu: it comprises two items, the Fish & Fries that comes with a small bowl of creamy tartar sauce and the Sweet Chilli Fish Burger.

Launched last year around this period as well, it, as mentioned multiple times, made a comeback yesterday (28 March 2019) after its inaugural appearance.

You’d have noticed a trend now: McDonald’s seems to be bringing back seasonal items instead of new items in recent months, and it appears to be based on people’s feedback and sales: you’ve not seen the salted egg yolk burger back, and I bet all my boss’ assets that you’ll never see the salted egg yolk loaded fries back.

So, are the fishes worth the calories?

Let’s find out.

Looks

With influencers buying food just for Instagram, looks have now become a priority in many new dishes, and this latest one didn’t fail.

Just look at this.

And this.

Dip it in the creamy tartar sauce and it can earn a place in Damn Worth It Facebook Page.

I’ve got to admit: I was seduced by the presentation.

But how does it taste?

Taste Test

With two items on the menu, let’s start with the Fish & Fries.

I remember having them last year and was insanely impressed with them, and so I’ve had high expectations.

I expect the Fish & Fries to be extremely crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I expect no fishy smell. I expect a perfect fusion of fried fish that’s sweet and savoury. I expect nothing less, and once again, the Golden Arches didn’t do a Salted Egg Yolk Loaded Fries on me.

Because it met all my expectations.

The crispiness of the skin blends in perfectly with the fish, and a bite is all it takes for the savoury to sink in.

Dip the fish into the tartar sauce, which I believe is the same one used for Filet-O-Fish, and you’ve a winning combo that somehow doesn’t taste jaded even after I down the entire piece.

The fish isn’t the one used in Filet-O-Fish; it’s softer and smoother, and here’s why I’m going to write something that’ll lead to haters throwing rotten eggs at me: use it as a patty and it’d be better than Filet-O-Fish.

Which…they did.

With the Sweet Chilli Fish Burger.

Simply put, the Sweet Chilli Fish Burger is a burger with a piece of the Fish & Fries. If the fish in Fish & Fries has won me over, all I can say for this burger is this:

Filet-O-Fish, hold my beer.

Yeah, it’s that good.

So, are they worth the calories? Just check out the rating below.

Rating: 4.5/5

The only reason why it’s not a perfect score is the size: if they’re bigger, I would gladly give them a 5/5.