McDonalds in the USA and Singapore
I made a new friend and we both decided we wanted to have time to talk longer. My friend suggested 'McDonalds'. I used to be a devoted daily follower of McDonalds when we had a child under ten years old. One of the attractions was the free toy. This was more important to me than our son. I am a sucker for freebies. Afterwards my tastes progressed on to Burger King and when I first arrived in Singapore, after 6 months of trying to eat local I reverted to Burger King for hamburgers and Starbucks for coffee and water and found my mood much improved. (I might have had an allergy to MSG or have been suffering from dehydration, cured by going to American style outlets where it was OK to ask for or help yourself to water.)
Later, with family members recovering from cancer, in the UK and Singapore we were on a strict regime of lots of fruit and vegetables. We avoided processed foods. We had a preference for brown bread, seed bread, crackers, or, because I was on a calorie cutting diet, no bread.
However, when I'm eating with others I go with the flow. A little of what you fancy does you good, goes the old saying. For physical and mental health. So a little of people you fancy, friends, does you good.
Besides, McDonalds has inexpensive coffee, I thought.
McCafe
To my surprise my friend walked into the mall at Toa Payoh in Singapore, beside the MRT underground station, towards the McDonalds and then veered to a cafe on the right. It turned out to be the McCafe which I had heard about but not yet visited so I was keen to check out the prices and choices.
I'd been under the impression that it would be alongside the serving area of McDonalds, a different cashier, or on the opposite side of the room. I had not envisaged a separate unit with a cake display,like the established coffee chains such as Starbucks and Costa.
I looked at the prices. Oops. Not the cheap coffee I expected at McDonalds. The coffees all seemed more or less the same price. My friend chose a capuucino so I opted for the same. It was served in a large solid cup with a pattern in the froth on top. My fired asked for tap water so I did the same.
I looked at the cakes and saw what purported to be three or four vairites of cheesecake. Strawberries mixed in - a marble effect, something brown, either chocolate or Oreo cookies. A solid orange was mango. That was my choice.
I must admit the mango, although flavoursome at first bite, was light like a mousse or blancmange. Although it had a nice solid biscuits base, and being on a diet I would not expect or complain that I wanted a larger slice, it was not the solid clotted cream and baked effect of New York style cheese cake I had always loved in Singapore.
My friend chose a cinnamon dessert. It looked a bit like profiteroles with small balls of dough covered in cinnamon. I have read that cinnamon has health benefits.
We chose a delightful table, behind the square bar, against the floor to ceiling window, wo we had the entertainment of watching passers-by outside, but nobody pushing past us so I didn't have to keep watching my bag and packets the whole time. I could concentrate on my friend and our conversation.
Looking back on it, I loved the seclusion of the tables for two at this particular venue. The tables were tiny. But I could put my bag on the floor against the window - not very hygienic, but at least nobody passing would have access nor would they fall over it.
Looking back on our food choices, I don't think I'd have the mango 'cake' again. Nothing cake-like about it, apart from the shape. It seems to me you have more chance of finding fruit or vegetables in the regular McDonalds than in the coffee shop. (Starbucks elsewhere served an apple.)
Would I go back? Yes.
I looked on TripAdvisor and could not find McCafe in To a Payoh listed. I googled McCafe To a Payoh and found a Singapore food site which listed all the McCafe branches and discovered that Toa Payoh has four. At this point I have to hunt through my stored receipts to locate the branch I visited. (I always keep receipts. If you leave behind a phone or lose your doorways or hat or gloves or anything else and need to ring around, it's so handy to have the phone numbers of everywhere you have visited, if only to phone and get a no luck and eliminate them from your list of places to check.
According to a reviewer who is regular customer, the McDonalds sometimes has free flow of coffee in the morning breakfast time.
I picked up a leaflet in McCafe offering a loyalty system which gives I free beverage with 5 stamps.
Visit
www.mcdonalds.com.sg/mccafedevotee
For reviews on local websites see:
hungrygowhere.com
goodfood.sg
McDonald's To a Payoh HDB Centre
490, Lorong 6 Toa Payoh
Number 01-11 (ground floor, unit 11)
Singapore 310490
tel:63972392
My bill says I had a Mango Cheesecake Set at S$6.50 and aM Cappuccino (MC) at 0.70 total 7.20.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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