Asian Persuasion
I'm not sure that I'm loving it. I'm always willing and able to taste test a new fast food salad. And I'm a sucker for anything Asian. But, as I'm sure you know these "Asian" salads (Wendy's has had one for a while, though I've only tried it once) are eerily sweet and crunchy concoctions formerly known as Oriental. I think mandarin oranges means Oriental, right?
I rarely eat at McDonald's, and I find the menu baffling. If you don't want a value meal, you're mildly screwed. I hate soda, so I like to order a cheeseburger and fries a la carte, which is no easy feat but doable. The salads, however, aren't listed anywhere on the menu. I know they have four choices because I've looked online like a freak. The only hint that they sell even salads is the one color ad touting the Asian salad, Dasani water combo with a free exercise DVD. Nowhere can you see how much the salad costs by itself or what other options are available, and that's fundamentally irritating.
The chicken comes glazed with a sweet and sour orange sauce, so you already have a tangy, sugary component. If you use the entire packet of Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressing, you're in for a zingy not-so-pleasant surprise. I could barely slog through the chunks of white iceberg because my tongue was being zapped with citric jolts, and I only used about ? of the packet.
The edamame were a nice touch. I did like the slivered almonds, and prefer them to Wendy's crispy noodles (oh, I just checked-Wendy's has almonds and noodles-no wonder it's higher fat). Wendy's also wins out for using fresher greens and offering a slightly larger portion. Granted, salads aren't necessarily intended as hearty fare, but I don't want to be starving a few hours later, either. I might actually give it another go when I'm feeling particularly cheap and calorie conscious, but I'll by hyper diligent about portioning that damn dressing.
Oh, have you seen McDonald's i-am-asian section? It's not hideous and patronizing like it used to be. Now it's just kind of fun (yes, I find this kind of promotional crap fun) and informational. 365Black and LoMcximo, I'm not so sure about.
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i think orange sauce is a cantonese thing, though most traditional recipes actually call for orange peel more than the pulp and/or juice.
now i once had a beef rendang burger at burger king in singapore. now that was something. there are weird japanese chains though like mos burger which subs rice patties for the bun, don’t know if they have any in nyc other than beard papa.
the mcdonald’s around me seems to be run by rude ex-cons so i’ve been doing good and avoiding it but the exercise dvd looks hilarious! Supersize me, but hey i’m watching the dvd so that makes it ok.
Aw, I missed the rendang burger, though I saw ads for it. Aparently, the big new fast food thing with teens when I was in Singapore in the fall was Carl’s Jr. because it’s more expensive. Like you could show off to your date. I don’t think there are any proper Mos Burger locations in NYC, though I wish there was.