We head half-way across Japan and try what foodies say is the most delicious McDonald’s branch in the whole county.
Among people who’ve tried both, there’s a strong sense that McDonald’s tastes better in Japan than it does in the U.S. However, recently we’ve been hearing rumors that even within McDonald’s Japan, there’s one branch that’s better than all the others.
By-location variance seems contrary to both the purpose of a chain restaurant and Japan’s cultural appreciation for diligent precision and quality control, but there’s been more and more chatter from online foodies in Japan that McDonald’s Shonai branch, in the Osaka Prefecture town of Toyonaka, is a cut above the rest. So even though Toyonaka, being just to the north of Osaka City, is halfway across the country from SoraNews24 HQ in downtown Tokyo, we figured a taste test was in order, and our Japanese-language reporter Ahiruneko, accompanied by our boss, Yoshio, made the trip to Toyonaka, making sure to bring their appetites with them.
We wanted to be sure, though, that we weren’t just tasting some previously unknown-to-us underlying difference between the flavor of McDonald’s in central and east Japan. In order to avoid that, we went to a different McDonald’s branch in Toyonaka first, in order to establish a baseline, and then hit up the fabled Shonai branch immediately afterwards.
That made our first stop the above-pictured McDonald’s 176 Shonai branch, which has the extra “176” in its name because it’s located along National Route 176. Once inside, we ordered a Big Mac…
…an Egg Cheeseburger…
…French fries…
…and Chicken McNuggets.
Splitting the food evenly between them, Ahiruneko and Yoshio dug in, and they didn’t notice a single difference from how these items tasted in Tokyo, or any of the other parts of Japan where they’ve eaten these perennial all-stars of the McDonald’s menu. They all tasted great, but in the exact same way they always do.
Now it was time to move to the McDonald’s Shonai branch for the second stage of the taste-test. Conveniently, it was just a 7-minute walk away.
The Shonai branch is located right across the street from the East Exit of Shonai Station on the Hankyu Takarazuka Main Line. Though neither of them had been here before, Ahiruneko and Yoshio immediately recognized the storefront from social media posts they’d seen gushing about the place.
They repeated their order from the last McDonald’s, and thanks to the speedy service of the staff they had their food three minutes later, meaning only about 15 minutes had passed in total since the first part of the taste-test and all of the baseline flavors were still very fresh in their minds.
Starting with the burgers, the ones at the Shonai branch definitely looked nicer. In the case of the Egg Cheeseburger in particular, the egg was almost twice as thick, giving Shonai’s so much more mouthwatering presence that it looked like a different, more premium sandwich.
▼ Shonai branch burgers shown on the right
In terms of how they tasted, though, Ahiruneko and Yoshio didn’t feel like Shonai’s burgers were all that different from any other branch’s. They did find the buns at Shonai especially fluffy and high-quality, but the other ingredients were of the same standard any veteran McDonald’s Japan fan would expect.
The first big difference with the Shonai McDonald’s, though, was their fries.
Compared to the fries you usually get at McDonald’s Japan, Shonai’s are more thoroughly cooked, without even a hint of pale floppiness to them.
▼ Regular McDonald’s fries on the left, Shonai branch fries on the right
With a golden color, more alluring aroma, and classy bit of crunch, McDonald’s Shonai’s fries feel like fancier fried spuds. Munching on them, they really did feel like a different entity from the more obviously fast food-level fries they’d had at the other branch.
▼ You could even say these are the gold standard of McDonald’s Japan French fries
And sure enough, there was a very noticeable difference in the other fried part of our test, the Chicken McNuggets. Ahiruneko, who’s eaten countless pieces of the bite-sized chicken morsels, knew Shonai’s were something special from his very first bite.
▼ Shonai McNugget on the right
Once again, it’s the texture that was different. Shonai’s Chicken McNuggets’ outer layer was delightfully light and airy, while still delicious in its fried goodness. Maybe the Shonai branch changes its oil more frequently than other McDonald’s do, or maybe their staff has a supernatural-grade sense of exactly when to pull the McNuggets out of the frier. Whatever the reason, the results were fantastic, with an exquisite texture and flavor, and the problem was that since this was a joint taste-test, Ahiruneko and Yoshio only got to eat half the McNuggets each.
So yes, even if their burgers don’t stand out from the rest, the Shonai McDonald’s really is on another level when it comes to their fried foods, and we’ll be keeping it in mind the next time we’re in Osaka, since McDonald’s has plenty of other fried food on their menu too, and we have a hunch they’re better at this branch too.
Restaurant information
McDonald’s (Shonai branch) / マクドナルド（庄内店）
Address: Osaka-fu, Toyonaka-shi, Shonai Higashimachi 2-4-1
大阪府豊中市庄内東町2-4-1
Open 6 a.m.-midnight (6 a.m.-11 p.m. Wednesdays)
Website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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