McDonald's has been pushing the hell out of their Evangelion collaboration for the past few weeks, and for good reason. This is the first time the two have paired up, and in the 30th anniversary year for the series at that! So I was just as curious as everyone else about the new food offerings coming to chain as anyone else, and decided to take it upon myself to try them out and offer my impressions both for posterity and anyone who just can't make it to Japan to try them out.
I went to a local McDonald's to eat them in the restaurant so I could have them as fresh as possible as to not negatively impact the results of this taste test. One thing that stood out when I got to the restaurant itself was how limited the advertising and POP placements for the collaboration were. Aside from a video playing on their menu screens & self-service kiosks, all that appeared in the store were a couple of posters that weren't at all front and center, and a box for the items themselves on the countertop menu. It definitely didn't seem as "in-your-face" as the rest of the advertising has been.
Each of the burgers comes wrapped in paper that features either Rei, Asuka, or Shinji depending on what your order. The design is simple but effective, making use of the iconic EVA-Matisse font for the sandwich names and including a small Evangelion 30th anniversary icon next to the golden arches. In addition to the packaging, each of the burgers also has a special bun exclusive to this collaboration which is meant to invoke the image of the series' iconic AT Fields. This visual concept falls a little flat though, it just looks like a really bumpy hamburger bun. The texture of the bun isn't any different than a normal burger either, which is something they do change up from time to time like with their yearly tsukimi or tatsuta sandwiches.
With the visual elements out of the way, let's get into the burgers themselves.
Chopped Potato & Thick Beef with Rich Garlic Mayo
Price - set: ¥840, ala carte: ¥540
So I have to preface this one by stating that I was biased going into all of this. I love a hash brown or some kind of potato representation on a burger. Pair that with garlic and there's not much way they could have screwed this one up in my opinion. While the garlic mayo and hash brown are the real special guests on this sandwich, it also has a really nice demi-glace kind of sauce on the bottom layer. None of the flavors overpower each other, which can be a problem with some garlic sauces or infusions. The total package is a delightfully savory affair with some really nicely complimenting textures, I was expecting it to be my favorite and I was not disappointed.
I inhaled this burger, and will shamelessly likely order it a couple more times before the collaboration goes away.
Mexican Cheese Chicken
Price - set: ¥790, ala carte: ¥490
Out of the three burgers in the collaboration, this was the one I was most intrigued by. Japan is not known for having a great selection of Mexican food, and even innocuous fusion dishes like taco rice can vary wildly from place to place. So in a case where you're including taco seasoned meat on a cheese chicken burger in a country not known for the cuisine, there's a lot of potential to go wrong.
Gladly I can say that isn't 100% the case here, but it's still far from perfect. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the taco meat paired with the chicken patty and cheese itself. The burger is also advertised as having a spicy flavor, but the spice is very mild for better or for worse (depending on your preference). Things get a little iffy with the mayo and pickles that decided to crash the party. In the case of the mayo it's a bit less egregious but the ratio is just completely off, especially when the sauces aren't evenly placed. The pickles are the big offender here, at least for me. I admittedly don't love pickles but will eat them, so I'm trying to be objective when I say that pairing them with taco meat just tastes weird. I may have to go back and try this one without the pickles and mayo to see how different it would be.
All in all, definitely not a bad burger and of the three it's easily the wildest swing. Just keep the ingredients in mind when you order, and ask for alterations accordingly.
Cheese Double Teriyaki
Price - set: ¥830, ala carte: ¥530
The teriyaki burger at McDonald's is a messy burger. It has always been a messy burger and will always be a messy burger. That isn't to say it's not delicious though!
There's a reason it's been a mainstay at the chain in Japan, and the sweet sauce combination with the savory ingredients still remains a great one. This is a "cheese double" which only includes one slice of cheese, where I think having more of a "double cheese" affair with a second slice would balance things a bit more but this is still a solid burger. I would say my biggest disappointment with its inclusion here is just that it isn't anything new, so it doesn't really excite as much as the other two entries do.
When all is said and done, they did a good job with the new sandwiches for this particular collaboration. All 3 are something I would order even outside of the scope of their limited-time window, which can be a rarity when it comes to fast food collaborations. It is a bit disappointing that the overall collaboration didn't have more to it though. This would have been a perfect opportunity for McDonald's to introduce Hi-C Orange to Japan as a limited-edition drink, and it would have been cool to see the other packaging feature some kind of Evangelion related flourishes. With the effort put into designing Unit-M, they really should have given it some more use as well.
The collaboration is set to run until early February, so if you happen to be in Japan and want a break from all of the other fantastic local fare available to you I would say these are definitely worth giving a try.
