McDonald’s Xmas 2013 menu

Special edition meals at fast food joints are something I look forward to, even though 95% of the time they are just not as good as the standard thing I order. Today we had lunch at McDonald's, so I got to try the festive menu : festive deluxe, chicken celebration and the cheese melt dippers.

‘Tis the season to savour our 100% beef patty with all the trimmings, like bacon, cheese, Batavia lettuce, red onions, honey BBQ glaze and smoky peppered mayo, all in a cheese-topped bun.

Firstly, the festive deluxe, which didn't seem to have any Christmas connection whatsoever. Also, it was entirely awful, with soggy lettuce (I don’t know where Batavia is, but they can’t grow lettuce!) and odd-tasting cheese. I also have no idea why peppered mayo is considered festive? This is definitely something I wouldn't order again.

Treat your taste buds to a crispy golden chicken breast fillet with cheese, red onion rings, Batavia lettuce, smooth festive relish and cool mayo, all within a sesame-topped bun.

Secondly, the chicken celebration, which (although not especially Christmassy either) somehow felt more relevant to the season. Poultry instead of red meat was a good start, and at least the sweet chilli sauce was the right colour for cranberry.

The cheese melt dippers were good, as they generally are when McDonald's drag these out from time to time. I would suggest ignoring the festive tomato dip and just going for regular BBQ as the accompaniment. I don't understand why this mozzarella (which, whilst average, does at least taste like a cheese you recognise) can't be used in other burgers? Other than cost, obviously.

Conclusion? Have a Big Mac. If a Big Mac scores 4/5 on the fast-food-burger-for-less-than-a-fiver scale, then the festive deluxe and chicken celebration score 1/5 and 3/5 respectively. For a 5/5 keep going past McDonald's and pull into Burger King for a Whopper instead.

http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/promotions/festive-menu.html