A Korean Fast Food Tour!
When you think of fast food, you often think of American fast food chains like Popeyes and Burger King, but did you know that Korea has many of these food chains as well? Menus are often the same in America but they may have items that feature unique Korean cuisine and can only be bought in Korea.
MCDONALD'S
- Shrimp Supreme Burger
Sandwiched between a bun, the shrimp patty is crispy and is accompanied with lettuce, tomato, and a spicy onion sauce. For those seafood lovers looking for a quick meal, stop by McDonald's to try their shrimp supreme burger!
- Egg Bulgogi Burger
Traditionally, bulgogi is thin slices of beef or pork that is marinated and grilled; but at McDonald's, the bulgogi is formed to look like a patty. A bun, lettuce, a little bit of mayo, bulgogi sauce, and a locally sourced 1+ grade egg is all it takes to make this delicious meal.
- Kimchi Shaker Fries
The famous golden fries are paired with a fine powder of kimchi flavoring. The garlic tang of kimchi combining nicely with the salt of the fries. To add a bit of fun, the fries are loose in a bag and then you open the flavour packet. After dumping the powder in, you roll the bag down and shake it all you want to spread the delicious seasoning.
- Chillers
During the hot and humid summer months, cool off with two unique flavors of chillers that McDonald's offers:
The Green Grape Chiller is green grape juice blended with ice. This delicious chiller will have you chilled out in no time.
The Plum Chiller features plum juice blended with ice making this chiller just as delicious and cooling as the other.
- Salted Caramel McFlurry
Craving something sweet like a McFlurry but want change? Look no further because Korea offers a Salted Caramel Mcflurry. With a blend of vanilla ice cream, sweet and salty caramel, and Oreos, this McFlurry is sure to give your tastebuds a nice treat.
KFC
KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken, but in Korea it’s a fitting acronym for Korean Fried Chicken. All jokes aside, the menu offers unique items to satisfy any craving!
- Rice Bowls
These delicious bowls feature steamed rice that is topped with chicken teriyaki or fried kimchi and mayo. They are served with two pieces of fried chicken, making it the perfect meal for any hungry customer.
- Tender Tteokbokki
Best as a side or snack, KFC offers a new take on the ever so popular street food. Chicken tenders are served over a bed of delicious rice cakes. A sweet and spicy sauce is then poured over everything making this one mouth watering meal that needs to be tried by everyone.
- Zinger Double Down Max
A bun made entirely out of chicken?! This sandwich features a bun that is two pieces of chicken, cheese, bacon, a hash brown patty, and a spicy sauce. So what are you waiting for? This meal is finger-licking good!
- Beer
In Korea, chicken and beer go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. So it is no surprise that KFC sells beer! The pairing of both chicken and beer is called chimaek. If you are nineteen or over you can enjoy this ever so popular combination.
PIZZA HUT
- Grilled Bulgogi
This pizza features peppers, mozzarella, jalapenos, mushrooms, a cheesy crust, and the star of the pizza: bulgogi.
- Star Edge Pizza
Pizza Hut Korea has a whole new take on surf and turf, but there is a catch: The toppings are steak, shrimp, bacon, sausage, calamari, broccoli, peppers, and of course, cheese. It sounds delicious and like a normal pizza, right? Here’s an unexpected twist: the stuffed crust is a dessert! You can get two different flavors, cranberry cream cheese or apple cinnamon nut cream cheese. This pizza leaves the consumer satisfied with the best of both worlds—pizza and dessert!
- Cheese Balls
Who doesn’t love cheese or fried balls of cheese? You can order these yummy and cheesy fried balls as a side. Gruyere fondue sauce is a great addition to dip!
BURGER KING
- Coconut Shrimp with Chili Sauce
When you order the coconut shrimp, each order comes with three pieces. The shrimp is coated in coconut and fried. They serve each order with a chili sauce.
- Chili Cheese Fries
With the warm salty fries, these are loaded with chili and cheese to satisfy your craving.
- New Orleans-Style Chicken Burger
When you hear New Orleans, you may think of gumbo or cajun flavors, but Burger King in Korea has created a chicken burger that captures the flavor profiles. The New Orleans-style chicken burger features mayo—and lots of it—pickles, lettuce, and breaded chicken served on a sesame seed bun.
- Bulgogi Long Chicken Burger
Chicken and bulgogi are two well-loved food items in Korea, so why not combine the two? The bulgogi chicken burger is on a long sesame seed bun with lettuce, onion, mayo, a chicken patty, and a bulgogi sauce.
- Bulgogi Whopper
As we have seen, many fast food chains offer some variation of bulgogi. This variation has a patty that is marinated in bulgogi sauce, mayo, lettuce, onion, pickles, and tomato; all on a sesame seed bun.
DUNKIN' DONUTS
- Sausage Burrito
Dunkin Donuts offers more than just donuts. If you are craving something savoury at any time of day try the sausage burrito. This burrito features a tortilla filled with fried rice, sausage, cheese, and a chili sauce.
- Donuts of the Month
Dunkin Donuts has a few different donuts of the month. In Korea, this month’s donuts are in honor of Toy Story 4. Buzz Lightyear and Woody are the stars of the donuts.
The Buzz Lightyear one is a vanilla donut with a vanilla icing topped with long, green and purple sprinkles to match Buzz’s outfit.
The Woody donut is a vanilla donut with a yellow icing. The decoration is red icing in a crosshatch pattern representing Woody’s outfit.
- Mozzarella Hot Dog on a Stick
When you order this item, you immediately think, “Wait, is this just a corn dog?” The answer is no. Once you take a bite, your taste buds are greeted with the taste of sausage and cheese that is enclosed in a batter.
- Cheese Bagel
Cheese and bagels?! Who doesn't love the two? If you are looking for something other than donuts, you can satisfy your hunger with this three cheese bagel.
- Green Tea Chocolate Chip Muffin
Muffins are a great option for breakfast or a snack. With many flavours to choose from, there is bound to always be flavour combinations that steer away from the norm. This muffin flavour is green tea, which has chocolate chips throughout each delicious bite you take.
Fast food in Korea is vastly different from the U.S., pairing unique flavors together creates delectable items for everyone to enjoy. Has anyone been to Korea and tried any of these items? If so, what did you try and did you like it? If not, what would you like to try? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Written by Brianna Giles
