It’s baaaack! From its much-anticipated debut back in 2017, the Nasi Lemak burger at McDonald’s has entered Singaporeans’ hearts and filled stomachs with satisfaction with a colorful palette of flavors. Before leaping into my verdict of the burger, a background on nasi lemak is important in order to understand the hype behind the burger.

Native to Singapore and Malaysia, nasi lemak is ubiquitous as it’s a treasured favorite in the local street food scene. Nasi lemak is a simple yet flavorful rice dish. The rice is cooked with coconut milk and pandan, and its most common accompaniments are typically cucumber slices, sambal sauce, fried anchovies and roasted peanuts, and a hardboiled egg. It usually comes with chicken, fish or other seafood – it depends on the menu, there are variations of nasi lemak around.

Out of all the interesting burgers I’ve seen, this is by far takes the crown as being the most intriguing McDonald’s burger. The whole spin to well-loved local comfort food isn’t what most people typically have in mind when visiting McDonald’s. With the buzz around the latest menu switch-up, I decided to taste the burger.

Smothered in the sambal chili sauce, there are several layers to enjoy in this well thought-out burger:

1. A semolina burger bun (which replaces the rice – or ‘nasi’ in the nasi lemak)
2. Slices of cucumber
3. Caramelized onions
4. Sambal chili sauce
5. A fried egg
6. Chicken thigh patty with a coconut flavor and a cornflakes batter

When I lifted the box’s cover, the sambal chili sauce’s fragrant aroma was instantly noticeable. It smelled like the real deal too. The sauce is less spicy – subtle and enjoyable.

A helping of caramelized onions replace the traditional version’s regular side of anchovies and peanuts.

A delicious fried egg sits above the chicken. The juicy & succulent chicken thigh, which is coated with crispy cornflakes and deep-fried to perfection, has a light coconut flavor. Replicating the rice’s coconut milk element from the traditional dish, the coconut works excellently with the chicken in the burger. Probably the easiest description of the chicken is that it’s a regular McDonald’s chicken patty, with the added coconut flavor and the golden coat of deep-fried crunchy cornflake batter.

The entire burger is absolutely delicious, especially when you take a mouthful of the nasi lemak-based combo that’s packed into a burger. If you’re in Singapore, you should go for it! It’s not often that you’ll have an experience like this at McDonald’s.