Every few months, McDonald’s comes out with new menu items – sometimes seasonal favourites, like the CNY prosperity burger and the McGriddles, and other times, innovative creations inspired by cultures from our country’s neighbours.
In case you haven’t seen any McDonald’s advertisements (they’re everywhere), the seasonal item promoted in May 2024 is the Yakiniku Burger series.
Unfortunately, we’re barely hitting mid-May and customers across the island cannot seem to get their hands on these Japanese-inspired burgers. Is it true that it’s always sold out?
McDonald’s May Burgers – Japanese Yakiniku
The word Yakiniku means “grilled meat” in Japanese, and it can be used to describe an entire cuisine.
In the land of cherry blossoms and anime, the diner will cook bite-sized pieces of meat and vegetables over a wired plate on top of a flame or grill, and it is one of the most popular dishes in Japan.
According to McDonald’s advertisements on their website, they seem to have captured the grilled flavour into a burger, offering the Yakiniku Crispy Chicken Burger and the Yakiniky Beef Burger.
Both burgers include caramelised onions, white cabbage and the raved yakiniku sauce, sandwiched between semolina buns.
Well-loved by McDonald’s Fans Nationwide But Couldn’t Buy Them
The Yakiniku burger series was launched on 25 Apr, and patrons of Plaza Singapura saw special vending machines that dispense the burgers.
McDonald’s also promised free Yakiniku burgers at all of their outlets on 29 Apr but with a catch. Customers needed to say “yakiniku hakku” to the staff anytime between 3-4 pm to enjoy the free burger.
For a free burger? Who wouldn’t channel their inner anime voice and perform for the staff?
On May 12, McDonald’s uploaded more promotional content on their Facebook page, encouraging customers to try their Yakiniku burger. However, the comments section on this post weren’t too nice, with customers claiming that they can’t order them anywhere.
A Facebook user, Shaija Khan, commented that her son had planned to surprise her with the Yakiniku burger for Mother’s Day, but was told that “it’s no more” despite advertisements on 10-12 May.
Other users also commented that they couldn’t order the burgers online, wondering if there was no stock.
The McDonald’s Facebook admin simply replied that they were a promotional item available for a limited time while stocks last.
It seems that people can’t get them from anywhere but their promotional campaigns are still ongoing. Their website still shows the items.
The Straits Times reached out to McDonald’s to get to the bottom of this disappointing case. A spokesman told them that due to the high demand, they had “sold out the limited-time burgers a little earlier than anticipated”.
A little? May had only just begun.
However, the spokesman also said that McDonald’s was “heartened” by the “customers’ fantastic response to Yakiniku Burger”.
He said that “there’s always a chance of bringing this back if that’s what our customers like to have”.
So it’s been confirmed. You might not be able get the savoury Yakiniku Beef and Chicken Burger anywhere. The stocks, indeed, didn’t last.