MCD’s New Pepper Burger Review: A Rather ‘UnMcDonald’sly’ Burger

There are a few things that shouldn’t be mixed together. Case in point: you shouldn’t dip sliced apples into kopi-O kosong. Nor should you drink beer mixed with salt.

Though sometimes, the most unconventional combination might bring a surprising good result.

Like McDonald’s fries with ice-cream…

And McDonald’s scrambled eggs with buns.

 

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McDonald’s has just released the Scrambled Egg Burgers, and all we can say is that it could well be the best-est burgers to come out from McDonald’s so far. The star of the burger isn’t the scrambled eggs, but the combination of the scrambled eggs and cheese that surprisingly isn’t jaded despite its gigantic size. Worth many tries! Read the full review in our app. Link in bio. Hippest models (failed influencers) who didn’t eat the burgers but just posed with style with them: @notzhihao @dsocky #sgfood #sgfoodies #foodsg #sgig #sg #singapore #mcdsg #mcd #scrambleegg #sgigfood #sgfoodporn

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But this latest combination of peppers with McDonald’s crispy chicken patty?

It’s not one of them.

At least not to me.

McDonald’s Red Hot Spicy Peppers Burger

Lest you’re not aware, that is the full name of the burger, and for brevity’s sake, we’re going to just call it the Pepper Burger.

The presentation video looks promising, almost dream-like. Here, take a look.

Stunning, isn’t it? It even calls itself a Singapore attraction, a phrase that’s reserved for places that no Singaporean ever goes. And I’m pretty sure the “hottest” refers to the spiciness of the burger, given that it doesn’t resemble any female Japan movie stars I’ve known.

Heck, it’s even a BFF with McSpicy, the all-time Singaporeans’ favourite, especially if you’ve got constipation.

It’d be a sin for us to miss this burger.

And so, we got it and the first thing that screams for our attention?

This.

Last I know, if you choose this kind of level in a mala hotpot, your tongue would burn. And so, my expectation for this burger is simple: it can taste like rotted raw chicken but as long as it’s spicy AF, it’d have won me over.

First Look: MEEEEEH

A spicy dish would look spicy, just like how a bitch would look bitchy.

But no: this burger looks innocently like rabbit. It doesn’t excite me, nor does it smell spicy. In fact, it looks like any burger you’d have seen in a fast-food restaurant.

However, a wise man once said, “Never judge a burger by its look. If the box says it’s spicy, it’s spicy.”

Which kind of makes sense, since the Nasi Lemak burger looks stunning but tastes stunningly unrealistic. So, I take a bite…

…and I decided to judge a burger by its look from now on.

Spiciness Level: What Talking You?

We all know McSpicy: it’s the burger that soldiers would order after their outfield exercise, when they’ve not shit for days and decided to let everything out at one go.

It’s called the laosai burger for that reason: the spiciness is so strong (I won’t go on to say that it’s spicy, but read on), it’ll stay in your stomach and threaten to soil your pants that night every few hours. Some of us love it for this phenomenon, while others like its mild spiciness that stays in you.

(Just so you know, any spicy food can create that “laosai” effect)

So, the Pepper Burger: having 3.5 spiciness level, you’d expect it taste like fire.

But no. It doesn’t.

Instead, the spiciness is so weak that I’ll have to specifically bite on the capsicums to feel a bit of spice.

For comparison’s sake, I find the McSpicy spicier and stronger, so you can imagine how weak the Pepper Burger is.

Though I’ve got to admit that as a mainstream fast-food restaurant, going all out on its spiciness would be a bad business decision, but anyways.

Taste Test

How does it fare as a burger?

McDonald’s has a few hits and misses, but they all tasted almost…”McDonald’sly”. There’s this distinct McDonald’s element to it: the sauce is a complement to the patty and bun.

But the Pepper Burger is different.

The sauce, which apparently comprises “peppery jalapeno relish and sliced capsicums”, is a combination of sweet and spiciness.

However, the taste of the capsicums is so strong, it overshadows the entire burger instead of sinking into it.

Lest you don’t know what a capsicum is, here’s an image:

Yeah, it’s merely the high-SES way to call a red pepper.

Having the burger just doesn’t feel like any fast-food restaurant burgers that usually put its patty as the star. Imagine having a McSpicy and remembering the sauce instead of the patty.

The distinct separation of the sauce and patty makes it surreal.

Now, it’s either that, or they just don’t mix well.

I mean, if they mix well, I won’t have tasted them so differently.

By now, you should have a (non-)burning question: how does the sauce taste?

I can’t say much for it, though. It literally tastes like capsicums, so you either like it or hate it.

For me? Capsicums haven’t invaded my house and kill my cats, but I don’t have a particular love for them, too. So for someone who’s indifferent to capsicums, I still don’t think the burger deserves the calories.

Worth it? Nope, I’ll have McSpicy instead.

Rating: 2/5 Stars (it might be more if you like capsicums)