The McDonald’s menu has been chock-full of unique items, both worldwide and in regional locations. That has especially been the case for its dessert items — and apparently, that includes a unique new ice cream flavor in Thailand. According to a new report from ChewBoom, McDonald’s is now debuting Chili Paste Pork Ice Cream in participating restaurants across Thailand. The dessert offers McDonald’s signature vanilla soft serve covered in a chili paste sauce and shredded pork floss, which is a dried Asian meat product that is often topped on foods. The flavor combination apparently allots for “a rich, spicy, and meaty” ice cream taste. The only caveat is that the Chili Paste Pork Ice Cream is only available through Tuesday, April 5th.
McDonald’s Launches New Chili Paste Pork Ice Cream In Thailand: https://t.co/yE870XkrsN #chewboom
— ChewBoom (@ChewBoom) January 19, 2022
This isn’t the first time that McDonald’s has combined chili with frozen treats, as the chain initially debuted the Yóupō Làzi Sundae in select Chinese locations. This menu item was only available for one day, on January 25, 2021, and topped vanilla ice cream with chili oil. While the deal was very limited, it did spawn an unexpected TikTok trend, with customers in the United States creating their own version as a “hack.”
The Chili Paste Pork Ice Cream is just one of many new menu items headed to the golden arches of McDonald’s, with the company bringing back its beloved the Holiday Pie just before the holidays. Late last year, Japanese McDonald’s locations also debuted the Gracoro Burger, which has a patty made out of a croquette filled with shrimp, macaroni, and a white sauce. The burger comes in crispy-fried panko shell, and traditionally comes with buns, cabbage, mayo, and a croquette sauce, with an additional option topped with a Bolognese sauce. In 2022, it is also bringing back the Blueberry & Creme Pie, and also expanding out the testing market for its McPlant Burger.
The company also made headlines for its decision to use IBM’s artificial intelligence technology to automate its drive-thru lanes.
“One of the things that we’ve learned in our 10 restaurants that we’ve done it is: How do you train a crew to actually not want to jump in as soon as they hear a question or a pause?” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski told Nation’s Restaurant News earlier this year. “We’ve had to do a little bit of training of ‘just keep your hands off the steering wheel, let the computer do its work.'”
“Most of those are not ready for prime time, nor will they be ready for prime time over the next five years or so,” Kempczinski explained. “The level of investment that would be required, the cost of that equipment, we’re nowhere near to what the break-even would need to be from a labor-cost standpoint, to make that a good business decision for franchisees.”
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