Fiery Mala Burger (Level 4 McDonald’s Spicy Challenge) – Food Review

Should you try the Fiery Mala? Yes.

Is it spicier than the Level 3 Flaming Green Curry? Yes, but not as spicy as a Double McSpicy.

Is it worth the money? It’s not the best value but it’s decent for the price.

Fiery Mala Burger (Level 4) Banner

So I saw this banner on Saturday (26 April 014) and I knew that yes, I was ready for the challenge!

Actually I was more hungry than ready for any sort of physical challenge (unless it was eating). So it was off to a McDonald’s that I went.

Note that the banner didn’t say McSpicy. It said “Level 4 Spicy challenge”. This little bit of foreshadowing will pay off later. I’m putting foreshadowing in my food reviews, yes I am.

So PSA here – it might not be on their banners or posters (I went to a McD’s branch with no posters/banners and was puzzled for quite a bit), but if you go to their cashiers, you’ll see the Fiery Mala Special there.

It’s $7.70 with a Yuzu McFizz, but $7.00 for a regular Fiery Mala meal. I’m not too partial about the Yuzu McFizz (I don’t like my fruit juices to be gassy, plus Yuzu is really more of an alcoholic pairing to me) so I went for the $7.00 regular meal.

The Fiery Mala Burger box.

Behold, the Fiery Mala Burger!

The first thing that struck me was that the patty wasn’t the typical McSpicy patty. It was the McGrill type patty. I was a bit surprised, given that Level 3 (Flaming Green Curry) & Level 1 (Sizzling Citrus), and even last year’s Black Pepper Flamer & Red Peri Scorcher were all fried patties.

The other thing was that it was kind of small – even the greens weren’t as impressive as the usual McSpicy’s offerings.

It’s still a sizeable patty though, not miniscule as detractors online would have you believe. It’s also slathered in a spicy sauce. If you touch the patty with your fingers, you’re not going to be able to take off your contact lens later, so heads up!

If you’re wondering whether it’s hot, yes, it’s really spicy. The first accidental lick had my lips watering (not out of pain, but out of flavour). It’s spicier than Level 3, partly because the spiciness is littered on the surface on the burger as well as inside the patty itself, rather than the regular McSpicy burgers which have their spiciness within the meat itself (or at least under the fried crusty coating). But a Double McSpicy would beat the Fiery Mala hands down, largely because the Double McSpicy’s heat will linger on for quite long even after quelling the heat with liquids, while the Fiery Mala’s spice can be washed away fairly easily. Also, it’s gentler for your rear end than a Double McSpicy, though there will be some heat.

Taste-wise, it’s a little strange. There’s a lot of pepper and a tinge of chilli crab in it. The sauce that it’s slathered with definitely isn’t Mala, but it’s spicy. I didn’t really like the execution because I like my burgers to be somewhat crispy, and even the Chicken McGrill is crispy to an extent. But the sauce really smothered the crispiness of the Fiery Mala patty, leaving it kind of soggy but juicy. Overall, wasn’t a big fan of the texture.

It was a pretty unique experience, but I wasn’t blown away by it.

Kudos to McDonald’s for leveraging off the Spicy Challenge and being fast and flexible to create a Level 4 burger (if you check out the posters, you know it was added post-publication, and some posters don’t even advertise it at all). That’s some effort there!

But one thing about the Fiery Mala, Flaming Green Curry, and Sizzling Citrus is that it really makes you appreciate the regular McSpicy much more.

Here’s some more shots of the box (that’s all I had left after eating the burger).

I’ll have the McSpicy the next time I head to McDonald’s (unless they have a Level 5 burger!) but I’m glad I tried the Fiery Mala (and all the other burgers).

Go try the Fiery Mala Burger!