Friday, April 3, 2009

McFlurry International - Balkans

To further exemplify that one aspect of McDonald’s can reflect the unique character of its host country is the variety of McFlurrys found in the Balkan states.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, the only McFlurry variety offered was “Nesquick,” which was more of a chocolate powder that would turn the creamy vanilla base into a chocolate variety. Not extremely exciting.

Greater interest was taken in the varieties offered in Belgrade, Serbia. Unlike the majority of the other McDonald’s visited, the choice flavors were not dominated by chocolate. Instead, the menu was taken over by the lighter, fruity varieties of šumsko vóce (forest fruit) and jagoda (strawberry). For those who do not want something as rich as chocolate, this is an excellent alternative. The strawberry fruit and syrup added did not have that disgustingly artificial oversweet flavor and had a nice natural taste. The same with the forest fruit, which had little berries to change up the texture of the dessert.

Jagoda (Strawberry) Forest fruit or šumsko vóce

McDonald’s does not currently have locations in Albania or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Though not directly part of the Balkans, the border country of Hungary also offered a unique variety creating a decadent flavor combination. Csokis-epres means chocolate strawberry because it tasted like a chocolate covered strawberry in McFlurry form. The only preference would be a tad more strawberry flavor to balance out the chocolate. In any case, the McDonald’s next to Nyugati train station is one of the nicer establishments ever visited.

Budapest – Csokis-Epres
McDonald’s by Nyugati Palyaudvar in Budapest

Unfortunately, not variety reminiscent of a meat or paprika flavor prevalent through Balkan cuisine has permeated the McFlurry market. Now that would be interesting.

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