Canadians like their… raisins to be plump grapes
International McDonald’s – What’s on the menu? (Guest)
Brought to you by a guest poster. Enjoy!
If the thought of eating yet another Big Mac bores you perhaps it’s time to take a trip to a few McDonald’s restaurants from around the world. You’ll be surprised at just how different the menus can be, but I’m sure you’ll still be lovin’ it!
Japan and Hong Kong: Ebi Filet-O-Shrimp
Essentially this is the oriental cousin of the much maligned Filet-O-Fish. But the Filet-O-Shrimp (or Shrimp Burger as it’s called in Japan) actually sounds pretty nice. It has the same structure as a Big Mac, but instead of a slab of meat it’s filled with a few whole breaded shrimp, lettuce and some spicy special sauce.
If the Shrimp Burger isn’t for you there are plenty of other novel items on the McMenu in Japan. How about some Ume Nuggets or some Shaka Shaka Chicken? Whatever you decide to eat you should wash it down with a green tea milkshake. They’re said to be delicious.
Italy: Parmesan McNuggets
If you’re settling down to a plate of McNuggets infused with spinach and parmesan cheese you can only be in Italy. They’re stuffed with the filling to make a kind of nugget ravioli. To eat them you’ll have to plan your Italian adventure carefully, as they only appear on the menu every now and then.
You might be interested to know that Italy resisted the influx of American fast food until 1983. Wendy’s was the first American chain to open in the country, and three years later a McDonald’s appeared in Rome which at that point was the largest in the world. It sounds like they were making up for lost time.
Costa Rica: Gallo Pinto (McDonald’s Style)
This dish is unlike anything you’ll find in an American McDonald’s. Gallo Pinto is a traditional Costa Rican dish made from rice and black beans, and it is served with scrambled eggs and sour cream. Well it’s not always traditionally served with eggs and sour cream, but you can’t have a McDonald’s breakfast without some slightly dubious scrambled egg!
Another interesting menu item from Costa Rica is Fanta Kolita, which you can’t actually get in the United States. It tastes of bubble gum instead of orange, which sounds a bit crazy to me!
Canada: McLobster
The piece de resistance is without doubt the McLobster, which is seasonally available in the Maritime Provinces of Canada and has proved so popular that you can now get one in New England. Essentially it’s a lobster roll with a bit of lettuce thrown in. It sounds simple but there were even plans to introduce them across the whole of America at one point, so they must taste good.
Other items found on a Canadian McDonald’s menu include the Buttermilk Biscuit Sandwich (served at breakfast) and a double Filet-O-Fish. It seems that they love a bit of seafood in Canada!
Adam Daniels loves to write about quirky stuff. He works as a copywriter for Find Me A Gift, the online novelty gifts specialists from the United Kingdom
Leonidas Belgian Chocolates Vancouver – Cocoa & waffles
One of the great things about Vancouver is that there is -always- something going on.
Oh, and that Groupons make them even more accessible, of course. ;)
Last week, I got a Groupon for $5 hot chocolate and Belgian waffle from Leonidas and it just so happened to coincide with the annual Hot Chocolate Festival. Yes, these things exist, and they’re amazing. And it meant special hot cocoa flavors that were specifically for the festival, which makes it feel even more special, no?
Here’s the special ones they had:
DARK CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY – dark chocolate and raspberry cream
"TOSCA" – dark chocolate ganache and rum with a hint of pistachio flavored ice cream and white chocolate
FROZEN NOISETTE – Buche Pralinee: Milk chocolate and pure praline with milk chocolate ganache, chopped hazelnuts
RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE – white chocolate raspberry cheesecake ice cream with white chocolate; optional white chocolate with butter cream and pineapple flavor
All come with a choice of chocolate or liege waffle sample and are available every day of the festival
Even with only four choices, I still had trouble deciding. I ended up going with the raspberry and my hot cocoa buddy for the night went with Tosca. Turns out, when they said raspberry, they meant -really- raspberry which was delicious but a little more fruity than I’d normally want hot chocolate. On the flip side, the Tosca wasn’t quite their cup of tea (cocoa?) but I loved it, so we ended up trading about half. I certainly won’t argue with getting some of both!
We got our waffles first. Mine is the bottom one and obviously has the better chocolate L, but I also somehow managed to get two berries in my whipped cream.
The guy doing the plates and hot chocolates seemed slightly frazzled, so maybe he put on a berry, it fell off, and he didn’t notice, so he added another, thinking he hadn’t done it yet? That’s the totally logical and way too thought out explanation I’m going with. :P
When the hot chocolate finally came out, my L had partially sunken in. I barely got a picture while he was apologizing before he whisked it away again, insisting on redrawing it, despite me telling him it wasn’t necessary.
So sweet. He apologized yet again and told me that it probably wouldn’t last long but to enjoy.
Instead, this time, it stayed until the bottom of my cup. I think I have a way with keeping my hot chocolate drawings in place, huh?
Toward the bottom, it slightly morphed and looks more a J, no?
Now at some point, we were chatting along and the unthinkable happened. The plastic fork he was using decided it just wasn’t cut out for waffles after all.
And suddenly….weee! Waffle went flying behind him, into our pile of coats. Joking, he pretended to toss it at my plate, but uh, apparently it was the night of flying waffles instead, and it bounced on down to the floor. 
Oops!
Overall, the Leonidas visit was definitely a good one. The hot chocolates were delicious, the waffles yummy, and the service was spot on.
And I love their cups. I could still feel the warmth of the hot drink, but no risk of dropping it or burning myself either. Next time I’m there, I’ll be sure to try some of their chocolates while I’m at it, too, mmm.
Oh right, and for our pre-cocoa dinner, we stopped at Caffee Artigiano for a roast leg of lamb sandwich with red pepper pepperonata, minted goat cheese, and rosemary aioli. Their sandwiches are hearty enough that one was plenty to split and head off for cocoa right after. :)
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