Curry Pork Burger

Jim in North Carolina, this one's for you!

I don't eat at McDonald's all that often, but I do like the McRib when it occasionally comes around in the U.S. I have been known to go out of my way to eat that tender, barbecued pork-rib-like sandwich -- it doesn't actually have any ribs but is shaped to look it does -- which is how the Happy Valley McDonald's sucked me in with their posters for the "Grilled Curry Pork Burger."


Look at it here on their web site ... doesn't that look tasty? It looks like it has the little rib shapes on the meat and everything, but dipped in curry sauce instead of barbecue sauce. I'm not sure I would have come up with that combination, but I like curry, so for HK$14.80 -- about $1.85 -- I picked one up for lunch today.

The box makes this sandwich look pretty good, too, so I was fairly optimistic that this would be a tasty, if not especially healthy, lunch. (I skipped the fries, so this one particular meal probably won't cause my heart to stop beating...) The grilled onions on top of the sandwich look like a nice addition. I just wish I could read Chinese so I knew what the two guys on the box were saying...

Unfortunately, when it came time to unwrap the grilled curry pork burger inside that colorful box, I was faced with a rather unappetizing, gray piece of meat that didn't even fit on the oblong bun. And there were not any ribs. And the meat was not tender at all. In fact, it might have been the toughest piece of meat, or meat-like substance, I have ever eaten. Verdict: It is no McRib.