Thailand: McDonald's

Okay, wait!  WAIT!  Before you start throwing stuff, let me explain why I'm posting about McDonald's.  (Not that I should feel guilty about it because McD's is AWESOME.  Big mac, anyone?)  

After Bangkok, we took an early morning flight to Phuket.  Dr. Chu's secretary had booked us a boutique hotel in Patong called Nicky's Handlebar.  While I could spend an entire post describing our biker-themed accommodations, that's not what this blog is about, so I'll move on.

We spent the bulk of the first day just exploring the area around the hotel.  We strolled along the beach, checked out the shops, and looked for places to eat.  What we learned is that food in Patong is predominantly western and ridiculously more expensive than what you usually find in Bangkok.  Preposterous!  

Affronted, we went to the only place we felt was reasonably priced.  You guessed it, McDonald's: 

The double big mac was very tempting (imagine a regular big mac and double the hamburger patties), but while I was contemplating it, CK lobbed a bomb at me that shook my world to its very foundation.

I commented on how dumb it is that the double big mac only has 1 slice of cheese when the regular big mac has two and CK responded that the regular big mac has always only had 1 slice of cheese.  ONLY ONE SLICE OF CHEESE?  I always thought it had two.  That would make more sense, no?  Two layers, two slices of cheese.  McD's, why must you betray me so?

Thoroughly put off, I glumly ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, the tuna pie:

Even though it was the cheapest thing on the menu, I still felt a little dirty forking over the money.  At 50 baht (slightly under $2), the tuna pie seems reasonably priced by American standards, but you have to understand that in Bangkok, we were able to get full meals for under that price.

Once I got over the price tag, however, I found myself really enjoying the pie.  Rather than baked like in American McD's, the pie was FRIED.  Freshly fried.  And the filling was made of a creamy tuna combined with sweet corn kernels:

Color me impressed.  So much so that when we visited McDonald's again on our last day in Phuket, I ordered another one.

Now aren't you glad you gave this post a chance?