A PHOTOGRAPHER who has dined at 1,000 McDonald’s across six continents has revealed the one unusual dish he couldn’t finish.
Gary He, a food journalist from Brooklyn, New York has documented his journey to McDonald’s restaurants in 50 countries.
Gary’s new book, McAtlas, is his love letter to the popular American fast food chain that has become a mainstay around the world.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Gary said he had often gone to McDonald’s to try the local menu items overseas because he thought it was quirky and fun.
He said: “It became interesting and academic while I was on a trip to Morocco a few years ago during Ramadan.
“I encountered a McDonald’s meal which is what Muslims eat to break the daily fast during the holy month.
“When I tried to research it, nothing came up, and the gears started turning in my head… that there was an opportunity to tell this story about the largest restaurant chain in the world.”
While the majority of bulk of the photography and field work happened over the past three years, Gary said he’s been working on the project as far back as 2018.
“After years of research and field work, it’s going to be a book, releasing in November,” he said.
With hundreds of Maccies under his belt, Gary said there was one item on the menu that he would never eat again.
He said: “The Australian McDonald’s – or Maccas, as the locals refer to it – had a version of the potato scallop (deep fried battered potato slices) that is available at fish and chip shops around the country.
“It got all sorts of bad press, and I happened to be in the country so was able to order one.
“I couldn’t even finish it.”
But after his travels, there were several dishes Gary hoped he get his hands in America.
He said: “In South Korea they have the Egg Bulgogi Burger, which is a marinated pork patty slathered in that famous South Korean glaze, topped with an egg and lettuce.
“It’s definitely on the Mount Rushmore of McDonald’s menu items, alongside the Corn Pie a la mode in Thailand.
“I wish that I didn’t have to fly thousands of miles to have one. “
But the most memorable meal was in the Philippines.
He said: “I thought the McSpaghetti was really special, because it’s not what you expect.
“In the Philippines, they have this sweet marinara pasta that’s the result of local chefs re-creating spaghetti bolognese using what ingredients were available – a tomato shortage meant that the marinara was made with sweet banana ketchup, and chopped up hot dogs for the protein – but over time that became a flavour profile that every local was familiar with.
“It’s insanely popular at kids birthday parties thanks to the local chain, Jollibee.
“So McDonald’s just had to sell their own version of it in order to survive in that market.”
McBaguette, France – The McBaguette was added to the McDonald’s menu as a limited time offering in 2012.
It is periodically reintroduced alongside variants with chicken, bearnaise steak sauce, and even cross-promotional packaging for the hit Netflix show, Emily in Paris.
Macaroni Soup, Hong Kong – Cha Chaan Tengs are Hong Kong-style cafes that emerged during the British colonial period as a way for working-class locals to access western cuisine.
Perhaps the most iconic of the cha chaan teng dishes is macaroni soup, a pasta topped with ham in a bowl of beef or chicken broth usually eaten as a main breakfast course after a scrambled eggs and white toast starter.
McSpaghetti, Philippines – The sweet marinara pasta was the result of local chefs re-creating spaghetti bolognese using what ingredients were available.
According to Gary, the dish is popular with young children and McDonald’s had to sell their own version to survive in the market.
The Maccies connoisseur said that while the localised menu items provided the most visually stark differences, it was the difference in locations and spaces that stood out.
He said: “When McDonald’s first started opening stores in Europe, they tried to use the US strategy of opening in the suburbs.
“Our city centres had deteriorated to the point that they were the last places where you would set up a family restaurant.
“But that backfired, because in the Netherlands, for example, the major cities were still the beating heart of retail.
“Around the world, you can observe locals using the stores differently—in places like Tokyo and Hong Kong, the stores are like after school centers, full of kids doing homework.
“People go on dates at McDonald’s.
“Meanwhile, most of the action in the US is in drive-thru and delivery.”
And while Maccies restaurant can be found in almost every corner of the globe, the quirkiest restaurant Gary ate in was in New Zealand.
He said: “The quirkiest award has to go to the McDonald’s airplane in Taupo, New Zealand.
“It was an advertising fixture for the car dealership that used to occupy the location, and after the franchisees took over the lot, they just painted the Golden Arches onto it and made it overflow seating.”
While in Sweden, Gary used a “ski-thru” window at a popular Maccies restaurant in Lindvallen.
With years of travelling and sampling the different McDonald’s around the world, Gary said the expansion to overseas countries made the franchise better.
He said: “It exposed the brand to a lot of the protests that it faced in the late 90s and early 2000s, especially in France.
“At the time, it was a company in turmoil, its dominance and survival was not a sure thing.
“And so how they responded to that, by focusing on localising, and improving the product, and by refocusing itself on the franchisee model, turned the restaurant into what it is today.
“The restaurant is not a monolith controlled by the headquarters in Chicago – it’s a network of fairly independent operators around the world.
“And that network learns from one another and improves the entire operation in the process. “
Taupo, New Zealand – Commentators have called this the “World’s Coolest McDonald’s” and they wouldn’t be wrong for saying so: a DC-3 airplane, inherited from a car dealership that used to occupy this plot of land, was turned into a seating area for customers.
Lindvallen, Sweden – Open only during the winter months, the Lindvallen store is located at the base of the slopes at one of Sweden’s most popular ski resorts. Built to resemble a giant lodge, the defining characteristic of this McDonald’s is the ski-thru window, the only one of its kind in the world.
Roswell, New Mexico, USA – The UFO McDonald’s honors its hometown’s heritage as the site of the 1947 Roswell Incident. Shaped like a metallic space ship surrounded by alien statues, this location features a space-themed play place with McDonaldland characters dressed as astronauts, otherworldly light projections, and even a merch store.
São Paulo, Brazil – The world’s largest exporter of beef also consumes a ton of it, making Brazil fertile ground as one of the nine countries that have more than a thousand McDonald’s locations. To commemorate the milestone in 2019, the chain opened the palatial Méqui 1000, taking on the nickname that locals have so fondly bestowed upon the brand.
Cape Town, South Africa -The McDonald’s restaurant in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cape Town might have the best view of the over 40,000 outlets in the world, with a second floor terrace that looks out to Table Mountain and Lion’s Head.
