Wednesday, February 07, 2007

A Spicy (Sichuan Mala) Whopper from BK

Spicy Whopper

I didn't really notice Burger King's ad at the train station today until one word in the corner of my eye caught my attention: "mala," as in spicy Sichuan food. After a double-take to make sure I wasn't imagining it, I realized that they really were selling a spicy version of the Whopper, presumably as a temporary promotion in the runup to the Chinese New Year. Whoa. Could this thing be any good?? I could only imagine that it would be in a thick sweet sauce, somewhat akin to what Bread Talk did a while back, and especially given Burger King Singapore's success with its Rendang Burger. That wasn't too encouraging to me, but we still went in to see what it was like.

To my surprise, I liked it. I didn't think that I would, but I did. It wasn't the sweet thick sauce that I was expecting at all. Instead, this thing packed a good amount of heat, and didn't really clash that much with the rest of the basic Whopper ingredients. There wasn't really any of that Sichuan numbingness, but in some ways, that was a good thing. In fact, it was so straightforward that it could have easily been transported to New Orleans and passed off as a cajun burger instead. Well, technically they never did call it a Sichuan burger or anything; it was just a simple "Spicy Whopper." But the promotional material did say "Enjoy the Mala Experience" on a red Chinese motif, so it didn't take much to figure out the inference.

Wow - I'm impressed. I guess I could go for that again. I've just gotta remember to be sure to catch it again before their promotion goes away. How's that for more localized fast food?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

YOU are simply AMAZING. the consistency n tenacity.. the PASSION. WOW. I salute u. =D~

Anonymous said...

Back in the good ole days when the original franchiser of Mac-D's in Singapore was still at the helm, Mac's did a fantastic Black Pepper Burger which totally hits the spot. And the Samurai burger, with the slightly sweet blend of teriyaki and light, creamy mayonaise, ooh!

After Mac's took the franchise back, it was downhill all the way. Gelatinous chicken burgers, ultra-oily rice burgers, and now, the extremely spicy New Year burgers. They are right up there with Dave's Insanity Sauce.

You're one lucky dude who hasn't eaten one yet. Thanks for the Mala burger tip!

Anonymous said...

came across this blog while googling singapore bagel lox. because, unsurprisingly, there aren't any to be had in this country for love or money. if someone would open up a place selling bagels in the CBD i think i might actually die of happiness. but good job on the blog.