Around the World: McDonald's UK and Germany - Tastes of the World

Perhaps to spite us here in the U.S., McDonald's restaurants in the U.K. have been offering a "Great Tastes of the World" promotion where each week a different burger is available inspired by the cuisine of a specific country. The promotion runs for four weeks and the four countries represented are Spain, Australia, Mexico, and India.

For week 1 (which started last week), McDonald's offered the Spanish Grande with Chorizo. The burger features a paprika topped bun, beef patty, chorizo, roasted red and yellow peppers, cheddar cheese, Batavia lettuce and a bravas-style sauce.

Starting this week, the Australian BBQ Supreme arrives with a fairly typical sesame bun, beef patty, bacon, cheese, Batavia lettuce, onions, mayo, and a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. Not terribly exciting by U.S. standards.

In week 3, the Chili & Cheese Mexican makes it debut with a cheese and  paprika foccacia bun, beef patty, cheese, tomato, Batavia lettuce, sour cream, and a chili bean sauce.

Finally, in week 4, there will be the Chicken & Chutney Indian which features crispy chicken, shredded lettuce, onions, spiced onion chutney and a yogurt and mint mayo on a toasted bun.

McDonald's in Germany also have a similar promotion that loosely translates to "Far away tastes week."

Part one of the promotion offered three burgers representing a taste of Argentina, Thailand, and South Africa.

The Argentina Big Barbecue features a beef patty, a bun sprinkled with semolina flour, a smoky-spicy barbecue sauce, lettuce mix, tomato slices, peppers, and chili cheese slices.

The Thai Chicken offered a sesame bun with a fruity, sweet, and slightly spicy sauce, grilled red and yellow peppers, lettuce, and a crispy fried chicken breast filet.

For that South African flavor, there's the Big South Africa which comes with a beef patty, a soccer-ball-shaped bun, a spicy sauce, fried onions, lettuce mix, tomatoes, peppers, and spicy cheese. It was recently replaced by the Australian Surf & Turf.

The Australian Surf & Turf features a bun dusted with semolina flour, a beef patty, an herb lemon sauce, rucola, tomatoes, a shrimp-patty.