A jaunt with your five sense before you decide if you would try that burger.
*this is not a sponsored article
Can a burger really taste like the Hainanese Chicken in Singapore?!
Well, for this year's Singapore National Day McDonald’s Singapore and Mediacorp Artiste & Guest Chef, Ben Yeo, have made an attempt to win the hearts of fellow Hainanese Chicken Rice lovers in Singapore with the Crispy “Hainanese Chicken” Burger. Read on to see what we think of the locally inspired burger.
History
The origins of Hainanese Chicken Rice comes from the immigrants from Hainan in southern China and was adapted from the Hainanese dish, Wenchang Chicken. Different variations of it can be seen throughout Southeast Asia, documenting the migration patterns of the immigrants from Hainan. The dish is considered one of the national dishes of Singapore.
The dish consists of poached chicken with a jelly-like skin finishing and seasoned rice. The rice is typically seasoned with ginger, garlic and pandan leaves. The oily and flavourful rice is also known as ‘oily rice’. The dish is then served with a dipping sauce made from minced chilli and garlic together with dark soy sauce and freshly ground ginger. Fresh cucumber boiled in chicken broth, light soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil is also a common side dish that goes along with it.
The Sight
Here it is, the Crispy “Hainanese Chicken” Burger! At a glance, it looks like any other chicken burger with Semolina buns, crispy fried chicken patty, chopped carrots, cabbages and lettuce. And we were like “Hmm…?”. So we put on our food critic cap and start examining this burger.
The Smell
There’s a very faint aroma coming from the burger. The scent is a light mix of garlic and chilli, which hits the mark of the dipping sauce in the original dish.
The Sound
“Crunch!” is the sound it makes upon the first bite from both the crispy layer of the fried chicken patty and the freshly cut carrots and cabbage.
The Taste
The crispy fried chicken is crispy on the outside but surprisingly juicy on the inside. Its juiciness is comparable to McDonald’s buttermilk crispy chicken. The flavours of the chilli and garlic sauce pour in as the burger makes its way around the mouth. It blends with the juicy chicken patty; a great reminiscence of the Hainanese chicken rice flavour with a spin on the texture.
Adding the dark sauce that comes separately gives a sweetness that blends all the other flavours together.
Every bit is filled with the crunchiness of the vegetables, the sweetness of the dark sauce, the gentle spice of the chilli and garlic sauce and the juiciness of the chicken. And our food jaunt ends with the lingering aftertaste of the burger. Although contrasting, the flavours seem to be in harmony.
The Verdict
Will the Crispy “Hainanese Chicken” Burger replace the Hainanese Chicken rice in our hearts? No. Apart from the chicken in ‘Hainanese Chicken Rice’, the rice is equally important, so is the light broth that comes with it.
Did McDonald’s Singapore do a good job at recreating the local dish and putting their own spin on it? Yes. Ignoring the texture and all other visual cues, we would be convinced that we’re having Hainanese chicken.
The Crispy “Hainanese Chicken” Burger adds novelty to the traditional dish and has generated a new hype during the Singapore National Day period.
PS. We went to get more a week later before the limited-time menu came to an end.
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