Hey, Big Mac! Tidy up tables, serve me better

This is one of 238 McDonald's outlets in Korea, which was not the one visited in connection with the story. / Korea Times

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia

The instantly recognizable Golden Arches are found everywhere in the world. McDonald’s is undeniably the globe’s most popular fast-food chain, with over 32,000 branches in 100 countries.

In Korea, the American hamburger chain first opened in 1988, and is still going strong with 238 outlets.

With breakfast and lunch sets costing as little as 3,000 won, it’s a no brainer why many turn to McDonald’s when they need to eat something fast, filling and cheap.

Plus, nearly 70 percent of the McDonald’s outlets in Korea are open 24 hours, so people can get their hamburger fix any time of the day or night.

Breakfast at McDonald’s

An early morning visit to a McDonald’s branch in northern Seoul showed that some tables still had crumbs and water stains on them, while the floor looked dirty.

McDonald’s only serves its breakfast items, such as the Egg McMuffin, Sausage & Egg McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin, Hotcakes and Big Breakfast meals, from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m. The McMuffin sets were only 3,000 won and the Big Breakfast and Hotcake meals were less than 5,000 won.

The place looked deserted, with only about three customers quietly eating their McMuffins and sipping coffee.

A young-looking female employee took the order, but failed to ask the customer if it was for dine-in or take-out, or if the coffee would be hot or iced. Instead, she assumed it would be a take-out order and that the coffee would be iced.

Five minutes later, the hotcakes and iced coffee were packed to go, but had to be unpacked once again for the customer, who wanted to eat in.

The three hotcakes were freshly made, but were rather thin and bland. They came with a small packet of margarine and a tub of syrup. The iced latte tasted quite watery.

It’s hard to beat the value in a McDonald’s meal though. The same price of a breakfast meal would probably fetch only a cup of coffee at one of the trendy brunch places that serve fancy pancakes.

Looking at the McDonald’s menu, it is interesting to note that it not just indicates the price but also the calorie information, although the print is quite small.

The menu indicates the hotcake and coffee set is only 340 calories.

However, a cursory check with the McDonald’s U.S. website, which has a detailed nutrition fact section, showed that hotcakes without syrup and margarine amount to 350 calories. But adding syrup is another 180 calories and the margarine another 40 calories. Or if one ditches the plain coffee and switches to a latte, it adds another 65 calories.

Unknowingly, the customer has already consumed 615 calories, and it’s only breakfast.

Lunch deals

Lunchtime is the busiest time for McDonald’s, judging by the lines at a branch in northern Seoul. It also helps that the burger sets are offered at discounted prices during this time.

The line moved quickly, and service was efficient. Customers were asked to turn over a small sand timer, with a guarantee that if their order was not served within 60 seconds, the customer will receive a coupon for free fries.

Unfortunately for customers who wanted free fries, the service was fast. An order of Big Mac and Double Bulgogi Burgers, plus fries, two Cokes, a Shrek green apple sundae and Shrek green melon shake was served in just over 30 seconds.

A McDonald's hotcake meal with syrup, margarine and an iced latte is roughly 600 calories. The photo was taken after the table was cleared but not by its employee. / Korea Times photo by Cathy Rose A. Garcia

The calorie information is helpful, but it does not seem to influence the customers’ preferences very much. During the lunchtime promo (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), a regular Bulgogi Burger set costs the same as a Big Mac set at 3,000 won. Add 500 won more and you can have a Double Bulgogi Burger set.

So if one is deciding what meal set offers better value for the money, it’s definitely the bigger burgers that win out. In terms of size, a Bulgogi Burger is significantly smaller than a Big Mac and the Double Bulgogi Burger.

But in terms of calories, a bulgogi burger with fries and a Coke is only 650 calories, while the Big Mac with fries and a Coke total 905 calories.

The Double Bulgogi burger set, an item only available in Korea, has 1,030 calories. It has two juicy beef patties marinated in a sweet bulgogi sauce, with a dollop of mayonnaise.

Unlike the menu photos of huge four-inch-tall Big Macs, the real Big Mac served seemed smaller in comparison, maybe three inches at best.

McDonald’s currently has a promotional campaign tied with the Shrek movie, offering three green-colored desserts. The green apple sundae didn’t look appetizing with the lime green jelly-like syrup, and the apple flavor was too sweet and not tangy enough. The melon milkshake tasted like a melted version of the melon ice cream bar sold at convenience stores.

Same but different

The McDonald’s menu is the same everywhere but there are varying levels of service and quality in the outlets.

Some bigger outlets have a separate counter to cater to customers who only want to buy coffee drinks or desserts like sundaes, McFlurry and milkshakes.

McDonald’s outlets are also KT Olleh Wi-fi hotspots but it is free for all laptop users and KT phone subscribers. This is unlike the coffee chain Starbucks which offers free wi-fi for all customers. One outlet had a laptop computer with Internet for customers’ use.

McDonald’s Korea has been working to have 24-hour service at all of its outlets since 2005. A company representative said the 24-hour operation was started to address customers’ demands.

Unlike the U.S. branches of McDonald’s, there are no ``healthier’’ options such as salads, wraps or fruit smoothies.

But then again, people flock to the familiar Golden Arches not for green salads, but for those world-famous fries and juicy burgers that they know are not healthy but enjoy eating anyway.