Macdonald's third pounder

My boyfriend was dying to try the new burger at McDonald's, so I humored him and tried it as well. McDonald's new third ponder is smaller than we expected. We got this during the 50% off special at $2.78.

The bun has a nice firm texture. The burger is less salty than the other burgers. Flavor is dominated by mayo and mushroom. Not necessarily a bad combination but reminiscence of greasy Jack in the Box burger. We ordered the Swiss and mushroom burger. The patty itself actually resemble meat instead of the usual dry grey cardboard serve at McDonald. He thinks the Angus burger can finally trump the gristle burger at Dairy Queen.

What we liked:

• Nice bun with good texture. Am improvement from their existing buns
  
• Mushroom and swiss option was a good variation
  
• Lots of mayonnaise
  
• Meaty patty

What we did not like:

• Expensive for fast food. Over $5 for the burger at regular price.
  
• So much mayonnaise, it can kill you ( This coming from a guy it says a lot)
  
• Where is my veggie? Mushroom is not officially veggie in my book (This was his comment as well)
  

Chef hung taiwaneese beef noodle

Located in Aberdeen center, this restaurant advertises to have won multiple awards for the best beef noodle in Taiwan. Upon arrival, the decor feels welcoming and the restaurant design is quite spacious. There is an open kitchen at the front of the restaurant.

For the side dish we chose The spicy beef tendons. For 5.95, it was quite expensive given the small portion. The tension did not taste spicy at all. The most spicy was the sliced chilies on top. Standard fair.

For our mains we ordered two noodle dishes. First is the champion braised beef shank, tendon and tripe with noodle soup. We choose the thick noodle. The noodle arrived in a timely manner. The noodles looked like fresh noodles, however the noodle shape was inconsistent in both width and thickness. First impression, my counterpart described it as tasting like Chef Boyardee. At first taste it seems the soup is pretty light, but there is a can soup aftertaste that reminds him of Chef Boyardee.

The second noodle is the champion braised beef shank with noodle in tomato soup. The description indicates that red yeast is used in dish. I do not believe I have seen that anywhere else. I give them points for originality. Imho this version of the noodle did not use a lot of soup stock. It seems they went with less salt but more msg. I was very very thirsty after the meal. The sweetness from the soup tasted like it was from sugar, and I could not taste much of the tomato flavor. I was somewhat disapointed as I was looking for more of the sourness from the tomatoes.

For drinks, we ordered a taro milk tea. Given that this cost $4, the drink was made from instant powder. I was kinda looking for a larger cup than what was they served.

Given the prices we paid, I would have expected the soup noodle to be served at least in glass bowls. Instead everything was serve in plastic dishes, including the taro milk tea. The only ceramics on the table were the 2 glass of hot tea. How is this a better dining experience than the food court at the other end of the mall that serves noodle dishes at much lower prices?

What we liked:

• The braised beef shank was cooked to perfection. Tender but not overdone
• The location. Aberdeen is conveniently located close to public transit and has lots of people flow.
• The noodle was not overcooked.
  

What we did not like:

• The price was expensive. Given the choice of restaurants and the food court nearby, this restaurant was not that busy during Saturday lunch hour.
• Please no plastic bowls. Not that I am worried about BHP levels, but the plastic bowls was not doing anything for the restaurant image.
  
• The MSG. I was still drinking water a good 2 hours after lunch.
• The noodle had a weird oily texture.