‘Russian McDonald's’ new menu: more bug protein, fewer deep-fried foods

mw/tm 09.07.2022, 18:53
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“Vkusno i tochka” took over the operations of restaurants previously belonging to McDonald’s, which shut down its operations in Russia. Less than a month after the company opened its doors to their first customers, some unappetising pictures have made their way onto Twitter and Telegram.

The name of the new Russian fast-food chain translates into “Tasty and that’s it”. According to the company’s CEO, Oleg Paroev, on the first day of operations nearly 120,000 burgers were sold. By the end of summer, the company plans to re-open all 850 former McDonald's restaurants.

The new restaurant chain has pledged to uphold the standards previously held by McDonald’s.

Perhaps for now they might want to prioritise that over opening more restaurants.

Customers have posted pictures of their orders. Some have complained about being served sauces that were expired, albeit they were only expired by a day or two. Others have posted images of buns covered with green mould.

Some got more than others. And the images quickly began spilling outside of the Russian webspace, to the unconcealed glee of Ukrainian Internet users. Videos show the food products being stored outside and attracting the attention of birds. It is hard to tell whether the avians were more interested in the bread or the delicious high-protein bug treats inside. Hopefully, the customer who found bug legs in their burger complained. They got shortchanged - other customers were served the much more nutritious whole-bugs. At least there will be no complaints about the quality of the French fries served at “Vkusno i tochka”. Since McCain, the primary supplier of French fries for McDonald’s also withdrew from Russia, and the 2021 potato harvest in Russia failed, the “Vkusno i tochka” will not serve ANY FRENCH FRIES for at least the next three months, that is until the autumn potato harvesting season.

Deep-fried foods are unhealthy anyway.

“Vkusno i tochka” should not have any trouble resolving its mould problem though. Considering the hundreds of tonnes of grain that the Russians stole in the occupied areas of Ukraine, the supply of flour will not be a problem.

And if it ever does become a problem, adding sawdust should quickly resolve it. The whole family can go to enjoy such a meal, and babushka, who survived the Blockade of Leningrad during World War Two, can relive the taste of her childhood.

source: Business Insider, The Moscow Times, Twitter, Reuters