The Strange McFlurry Flavor You Didn't Know Once Existed In Australia
In Australia, a brolly is an umbrella, lappy is a laptop, and Macca's is McDonald's. However, differences between American McDonald's and Australian Macca's go beyond slang names. For instance, some of the food the restaurant chain serves is different: You can find a variety of wraps, hot cross buns, and BBQ, bacon, and cheese toasties on McDonald's menus in Australia. A little over a decade ago, McDonald's also released a dessert you couldn't get in the U.S., the Bubblegum McFlurry.
The recipe for this colorful treat was ice cream blended with scandalously sweet, bright blue bubblegum syrup and topped with mini pink and white marshmallows. While the Bubblegum McFlurry had a loyal base of intense fans, it never made it to the mainstream palate, so it was eventually removed from the menu.
In 2020, Eboni Taylor started a petition on change.org to get the item returned to the menu. To date, only 681 people have signed the petition.
A McDonald's competitor released a similar bubblegum dessert
While the petition didn't garner much support, one chain stepped up to fill the void. Americans might not be familiar with Hungry Jack's, but that's because, like Macca's, the chain has a different name in Australia. In the United States, Hungry Jack's is called Burger King. Perhaps to satisfy customers still lamenting the loss of the Bubblegum McFlurry, the popular chain has released its own version, the Bubblegum Storm.
According to a review video posted on TikTok, the Bubblegum Storm nailed it. Almost. The reviewer stated the ice cream is pretty good, and the bubblegum syrup is identical, but Hungry Jack's is stingy with its marshmallows, so it's not perfect.
Comments from other TikTokers, however, were a little more favorable. One user wrote, "I think it's better than the Maccas one, the[y] actually put enough syrup in to cover all the ice cream." Another person commented, "Hungry Jacks is superior in every way." A different commenter suggested that Hungry Jack's version is "underrated." Although this flavor might sound strange to some Americans, bubblegum desserts clearly have a solid fanbase in Australia.