McDonald’s Is Offering a Messy Meatball Burger in China for a Limited Time

Some McDonald’s customers now have a new option when it comes to the chain’s burgers, with McDonald’s China serving up the Big Meatball Burger. According to Hypefoods, the “burger” is in fact several meatballs covered in tomato sauce, along with lettuce, mayonnaise and a slice of cheese, and everything is served up on a classic sesame seed bun.

Judging by the photo, the burger actually contains several actual meatballs along with a heap of ground meat, all of which is sitting atop the cheese and below the lettuce and mayonnaise. As one commenter noted, eating the Big Meatball Burger could prove to be a very messy affair, as a circular burger bun might prove less capable of containing its intended meatballs than the traditional long bun of a meatball sub. The Big Meatball Burger is only available at participating McDonald’s China locations for a limited time.

Stateside, McDonald’s customers were able to get a taste of something new starting in February, when the chain began selling its new chicken sandwich in three versions: the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich, and the Deluxe Crispy Chicken Sandwich. According to Yahoo! Finance, the launch day of Feb. 24 saw a 19% spike in foot traffic when data from multiple locations was averaged together. The following day, in-store visits were up by 29% and remained up by an average of 16% for the rest of the week.

Prior to the launch, McDonald’s had been experiencing a nearly 30 percent drop in year-over-year business, which was attributed to the pandemic along with cold weather. Sales are now expected to keep recovering due to the boost from the sandwiches along with the distribution of stimulus checks.

McDonald’s foray into chicken sandwiches was one that several fast-food chains have made in recent years following the launch of Popeye’s incredibly popular chicken sandwich in 2019. Recent entries include Wendy’s Jalapeño Popper Chicken Sandwich, Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco, Zaxby’s Signature Sandwich, Jack in the Box’s Cluck Sandwich, Shake Shack’s Korean-Style Fried Chick’n Sandwich and KFC’s New and Improved Chicken Sandwich.