Why McDonald's Fans On TikTok Are Calling Its Menu In Indonesia 'VIP'

Americans love their McDonald's hamburgers and french fries, but wouldn't it be nice to branch out occasionally, beyond the Quarter Pounder and Big Mac? And we're not talking about mixing in the occasional Whopper. For a completely new take on the McDonald's experience, this would be a good time to book a flight to Bali, Indonesia. (Actually, right now is not a good time. Bali is closed to tourists until August due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, per Traveling Lifestyle.) The menus at McDonald's restaurants outside the U.S. are often different because the fast food chain needs to appeal to each culture's unique palate. But McDonald's in Indonesia has something extra special going on through August 12: a Taste of Japan menu to honor the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (via the McDonald's Indonesia website).

TikToker Diana Trofim took a break from their ongoing series of selfie videos to post a video overview of the current menu at a McDonald's in Bali. (To give some idea of the fast food chain's appeal, Trofim's McDonald's video has received 3.6 million views so far — more than 10 times the number of views their selfies usually get.) What Trofim showed amazed their TikTok following. The top comment declares, "They have VIP MCDONALD'S."

Diana Trofim's TikTok video, posted on July 10, is a 15-second tour of what you can get at a McDonald's in Bali. Some of the items you won't find in the U.S. included matcha drinks, a spicy chicken wing with rice, and a hamburger with nori and Japanese sauce. The Australian news site News.com.au identified the burger in the video as a Beef Yakiniku Tamago Burger, off McDonald's Indonesia's Taste of Japan menu. The beef burger includes a Japanese barbecue sauce called yakiniku; nori; cabbage; and "tamago," which is Japanese for "egg."

Commenters on the TikTok video were somewhere between impressed and jealous. "Now this would be my dream McDonald's," one commenter posted. "Wow," another said. "It's like 5 star restaurant for us Brits." Someone who was familiar with McDonald's Indonesia used the comment space to recommend the spicy chicken — sort of a claim to fame for the chain in that island nation. A couple commenters thought the Bali McDonald's had something over the chain's fare in, say, England or the U.S. "It looks so much healthier," @hannah_smithhh commented. "I love it."