McDonald's Open Doors 2011

You're hungry and the smell of the famous McDonald's fries wafted out from your nearby outlet. Drive-thru is even available lateeeee in the night because it's 24/7!

May I take your order, sir?

McDonald's is my favorite fast food restaurant, what's yours?

Two Saturdays ago, I attended McDonald's Open Doors 2011. It's the first time I've ever heard of one, but apparently this initiative has been around since 2009. A group of us bloggers were invited to join the crew behind the counter and take a look at what goes on around in the kitchen (and more). More importantly, we were shown how the foods are stored, prepared and served.

The tour began with the fries station. Frozen fries are dispensed from the machine, then brought to the frying err, sink? We saw how the crispy fries were prepared, and later after the tour enjoyed a big packet of the cheese shaker fries. YUMS.

Customers can request for salt-free fries!

McDonald's had implemented a new "Made-For-You" kitchen system in order to serve fresh food. Orders are taken at the counter and sent to the TV in the kitchen. When the staff members receive the order, they will repeat the order out loud before proceeding with the order.

Packed sesame buns

Putting in the beef patty

18 seconds and done!

This station is where the patties are cooked. One station for beef, the other for chicken. The staff member gave a demonstration of how a beef patty is grilled, in exactly 18 seconds. And according to them, the beef we eat at McDonald's has always been made with zero additives and fillers. With a dash of salt and pepper, your Quarter Pounder with Cheese is where you'll find your juicy red meat.

When handling raw and cooked foods, the staff wear different colored gloves and use separate utensils. This machine (heater?) helps keep the food warm before making into a burger at the station.

Check out the all the neatly arranged boxes and sauces! 

I wish they would give me more veggie *coughs* hint *coughs* for my next McD trip.

We then proceed downstairs to the storage rooms and saw sourdough bread ~

The freezer is kept at -20 degrees Celsius and we went inside to get a 'feel'.

Let's take look inside.

Where the frozen foods are kept.

I felt a little peeved by something. As much as McD promise the quality of their eggs (washed, sanitized and certified), do you know that the eggs in the Big Breakfast come from these carton eggs that were stored in the cold storage?

The hotcakes, corn and salad were also stored in the refrigerator.

Also, I didn't expect to see dehydrated onions! Those juicy ringlets on the burgers shown in the ad aren't freshly sliced onions. :(

Nevertheless, the storage rooms were very clean and tidy. There are numerous safety and quality checks in the kitchen and there is no doubt that the food is safe for consumption. :)

Moving on, we went into the crew room where staff members take their breaks. I find the room a little small, and sadly, the TV in the room is not for them to watch at leisure. There was an info-mercial on how to serve the customers on loop. The crew is entitled to free meals, but only from the McD's menu. Really, every day???

 The walls were plastered with service milestones, monthly sales target, employee of the month etc. They also had a reward system to encourage their employees.

This tour took place at the McDonald's @ King Albert Park. We were seated and served the favorites. I started with corn and milo, then I couldn't resist...

McWings

And the new Horlicks McFlurry!!!

Four of us girls shared a packet of large cheese fries. I could have wanted more if I didn't have lunch before that! I'm lovin' it. Hehe.

Fresh, piping hot apple pie!

We were told that the vegetable oil McDonald's use is free from trans fat and cholesterol. Yes, I see that eyebrow raising. But if you don't believe it, you can always join this open kitchen tour and see it for yourself!

The Open Doors kitchen tour is now open to the public starting from 18 September 2011 to February 2012, conducted at 25 McDonald's restaurants islandwide. Interested parties can register online at www.mcdonalds.com.sg/opendoors!

This guided kitchen tour is FREE at selected McDonald's restaurants, and you can learn about its "farm to fork". 

I've posted this on my Twitter a few times now, that although McDonald's isn't the healthiest choice around,  but when you're hungry in the middle of the night and desperately craving for its fries or burgers, you know the number to call - 6777 3777.

I don't eat it every day, but I still enjoy my meals whenever I dine at McDonalds. :P

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Let's Make It Better With The New Chicken McGrill

It's all over Twitterville.

I'm talking about the 1-for-1 McDonalds virtual voucher that can be used at all Mac outlets. The voucher can be used to purchase all ala carte burgers, McWings and McNuggets today! 2 for the price of 1! Totally worth it, and Porcupine and I have also flashed ours at King Albert Park's drive-through to enjoy the offer.
 
What we had today was what I tried at the food tasting last week at the MacDonalds event.

The location was a little hard to find but the team had really put in a lot of effort to decorate the venue and make it comfortable for us bloggers.

We were in for a treat, for the new Chicken McGrill. It was a very interesting affair the staff members presented us a menu (yes, at Macs!).

Have you noticed the decor? We had table linen, fresh yellow roses to brighten up the restaurant and even utensils laid out neatly in front of us! William was already busy with taking pictures.

Seated next to us were Qiu Ting and Sophie Willocq, who were chatting with Silver Ang.

The host for the night, really eloquent and pretty too!

She kicked off the night by cracking a joke about the youngest food blogger in the house, and made the little boy flushed! Haha.

For starter, we had the unique Fish & Corn Quiche, which is actually steamed egg with cubes of Filet-O-Fish and corn in them. It was baked with BBQ sauce to give it an extra flavour. Silver and I was hoping we could get this on other ordinary days because it was really quite yummy, like a different version of chawanmushi.

Silver Ang and I
My orange juice was only used to cover my fat face. Haha. I don't like orange juice, they give me the coughs. :/

Next, our appetiser is a healthier choice of Fresh Salad Greens of fresh crisp lettuce, tomato slices, corn bits topped with low-fat Thousand Island dressing. The dressing was a bit too sour for my liking, tastes good just on its own!

I'm lovin' it.

The chef gave us a little introduction with her creation before bringing out the big one - Chicken Mc Grill!

The hospitality was GREAT. The waiting staff were smiling throughout the night.

Scored points with me for the effort put in to decorate the main course - Teppanyaki Chicken McGrill.

This big boy is made of grilled chicken thigh (thus explains the tenderness), lettuce, tomato slices, dribbled with chargrill sauce and sandwiched between two bakery-style sourdough bread. It is such a delight.

The Teppanyaki Chicken McGrill is of a bigger size than other burgers, so it's definitely very filling. I especially love the sourdough bread. However, it can get a bit messy so standby some napkins around!

Served with fries and a drink, the set meal costs S$8.

Silver and I  taking pictures for tweeting. (Picture by William)

Oh, but did I mention the connection there was VERY bad?! I had to go to the back door to tweet. :(

After the main course, we're served with another interesting item by chef Jansen, which is the Apple Yogurt Trifle.

The dessert is a tangy, refreshing  dessert with toasted caramel-cinnamon sourdough croutons. It is made from McDonald's Apple Dippers, strawberry yogurt, vanilla ice-cream, sourdough bread, strawberry sauce and cinnamon powder.

Very shiok.

What a spread! The food items we had were created by famous chef, Irene Jansen, who specially created Fish & Corn Quiche and Apple Yogurt Trifle for the crowd.

She later put up a performance with some of the staff there (I call them McDancers), twice (encore requested!). Watch their entertaining act here:

After dinner, we were encouraged to stay back and hang out with other bloggers over coffe/tea.

Chatting and picture-taking with the other bloggers. :D

On our way out, there was another surprise! The staff lined themselves one on each side and greeted us goodnight. They too, handed us a goodie bag which contained the full set of McDonald's food strap.

I gave it to Porcupine because he has been collecting Mac toys (err, except the Hello Kitty plush toys) ever since he was a little kid. :)

Dining at my favourite fast food outlet - I've been eating Macs 3-4 times recently. :X Haha, too convenient...

I'm so glad to be at the food tasting event and met many food lovers.

Anyway, if you didn't use the 1-for-1 deal for the Teppanyaki Chicken McGrill, don't worry because...

Here's another new voucher valid till 7 March 2011 for your indulgence! Remember to PRINT it out to enjoy with your family and friends.

You can find out more about it at Make It Better.

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