While some would rather not spend their food “quota” during travelling on fast food restaurants thinking that the menu and food would be alike as their home country, I on the other hand, like to explore them instead. One thing I can assure you is that their menu is not 100% identical in every country. McDonald’s Japan has bacon potato pie & prawn fillet while McDonald’s Thailand offers Samurai Pork Burger which can’t be found at McDonald’s Malaysia due to its halal nature.
We went to McDonald’s Hat Yai that situated on ground floor of Lee Garden Plaza which we had to go through the security check before entering. It has been heavily guarded ever since the bombing incident that took place on 31st March 2012 which involved the death of 4 and injuries of 146 people. As a matter of fact, this is the reason why we would not book Lee Garden Hotel despite its central location.
Ever since the insurgency, McDonald’s at Lee Garden Plaza reopened again in improved design incorporating McCafe and small area with power outlets. Its edgy design of plank flooring along with striking chairs of pink, orange and green did make us go wow for a second.
Apple pie is the most common pie in McDonald’s Malaysia while banana pie, taro pie, blueberry pie and so on come occasionally as guest. Here at Hat Yai, I have corn pie, pineapple pie and spinach pie (red).
Crispy bites of golden fried outer layer with fillings of spinach, corn and carrot in creamy sauce. If I were to put it in another way, it would be creamy soup in a pie. Other than the bacon &potato pie I’ve had at Japan, this is the second savory pie I’ve ever come across and I couldn’t help but to buy another one for 29 baht each.
Corn and pineapple pie on the other hand didn’t leave such a deep impression to me but I guess the joyful expression from my dear Jason would be enough to convince others of McDonald’s slogan “I’m lovin it”.
Though pork itself is not being served as a common dish in Malaysia, the land of halal, we still managed to get our cravings fixed at some non-halal restaurants. Being said that, getting a non-halal burger at McDonald’s thrills the Malaysian in me and journey to Thailand wouldn’t be complete without the much awaited Samurai Pork Burger.
Similar to McChicken in its simple burger structure of sesame bun, pork patty, mayo, lettuce and being served in Teriyaki sauce, it didn’t taste as porky as what I would have expected. I am no blind believer that whatever came disguised as pork must be good and the fact that it came in thin patty just upset me.
We thought we could use a photo together given the ample sunlight condition because as any other photographer, I always keep myself behind the lens. Taking self-portrait without flip screen on almost 1kg weight of DSLR (d7000 and tamron 17-50mm f2.8 lens) was not easy at all but Jason nailed it in one single shot. It must be the long and strong arm.
Having filled our stomachs, we took a stroll around that area. No specific itinerary as Hat Yai is a small town and we hoped to enjoy its slow pace.
I saw these cute little pineapples and asked the hawker for price. To my surprise, he as an authentic Thai answered “sa liap jit bak, jit liap si sip” in perfect Hokkien which means 3 for 100 baht, 1 for 40 baht. Indeed, due to Hat Yai close proximity to Malaysia, they were very much influenced by our Chinese culture which can be seen from the well-versed Hokkien and Chinese cuisines such as dim sum and suckling pig. There are also a lot of Muslims here so finding a halal meal is not such a hassle.
We had this condiment that came with the pineapple which is spicy with chili flakes, a rather uncommon taste to go with fruit.
Coconut is another must have in Thailand and I would always choose this over the other. Cost me 30 baht if I remember correctly.
Dried cuttlefish is a common street food in Hat Yai where it was fixed using clips and displayed in rows. It will then grill over charcoal fire upon request.
This palm-sized big prawn or what we called Udang Galah can go for 100-200 baht each depending on the stalls and your negotiation power. I was so tempted to try this upon looking at its fiery red crispy shell and how it must be a mouthful one judging from the size but Jason made a point which I can’t deny: No flies at all on these stalls with big prawns. Something just doesn’t seem right when there are no flies coming after the street food as if they were avoiding it and no, it wasn’t the measure taken from these stalls that cast the flies away. We decided that the prawn might not be as great anyway given its expensive pricing so we skipped this for good.
That’s all for now and my next post would be on Lee Garden Hotel Plaza Sky Buffet: Eat-all-you-can on 33rd floor facing excellent Hat Yai night view for only 169 baht!