The Easter Bunny has arrived early at McDonald’s with a new menu chockful of treats.
Some old favourites are returning for a limited period, and there are some new items to try out.
The centrepiece is a welcome encore for the McCrispy Deluxe. A large chicken breast fillet is served with caramelised onion compote, seasonal lettuce, bacon, red onions, a slice of cheddar cheese and a sourdough-style bun. There’s a bit of a zing to it too, thanks to a hot and spicy mayo.
There’s no two ways around it, this is a big burger and a meal in itself – as it should do at £5.89 or £7.79 for a medium meal. It dwarfs the standard Maccy D’s burger, and does feel like good value for money, especially in a meal option.
There is a lot to eat here, and thanks to its mayo, has some bite.
The Halloumi Fries (£2.79 for four, or a sharing box for £7.39) have returned as well. These are nice, but not the best halloumi cheese – it hasn’t quite got that salty texture that a good halloumi has and, if you didn’t know different, you could mistake them for mozzarella. It could be the batter that masks the taste.
It comes with a rich tomato dip, a bit different to a ketchup.
Two oddities are both hot cross bun related, and you will either love it or hate it.
There is a hot cross bun flavoured latte (£2.69), which we haven’t tried. This sees sweet and spiced Hot Cross Bun flavour syrup, topped with cinnamon cream and a Hot Cross Bun flavour dusting.
It will be an acquired taste.
The hot cross bun pie (£1.99) is a dessert option that will divide opinion. If you like the fruity flavours of a hot cross bun and you enjoy the McDonald’s apple pies, this might work for you. It is a crispy cinnamon pastry, filled with a spiced fruit mix and butter-flavour cream filling.
It wasn’t to our liking, and the sample went to the great food waste bin in the sky.
However, the two new McFlurries were much appreciated. Both are £2.19, or £1.59 for a smaller version.
One needs like introduction, as it is the Crème Egg variant. It sees pieces of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate mixed in with the soft serve ice cream, topped with a Creme Egg sauce. Slips down far too easily and leaves us wanting more.
The showstopper is a very chocolatey Galaxy Truffle Bunny McFlurry. It has the kitchen sink thrown at it – soft dairy ice cream swirled with pieces of Galaxy Truffle, Galaxy bunny ears & white and dark chocolate drops, topped with Galaxy Chocolate sauce.
It’s delicious, and a chocolate lover’s dream.
The Winning Sips promotion is back for Easter as well. Special cups have a peel-off sticker added to them, some will have prizes. All have codes, which can be added to the app.
We tried and failed to get the camera to automatically read our stickers so had to enter them manually.
Prizes include McDonald’s socks, festival tickets, £10,000, Coca-Cola glasses, and McDonald’s food vouchers.
Never fear if you don’t win – if you enter eight codes you receive a 1,500-point bonus, which will put you well on the way to getting a free drink.
The range is only available until Tuesday, April 16, or while stocks last.
