I'm Loving It...Are you? (Employment at McDonald's Restaurants)

Member Name: AmyAmy

Product:	Employment at McDonald's Restaurants
Date:	30/12/07 (219 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: delicious, variety, cheap, wide - spread

Disadvantages: unhealthy, often unhygenic

I KNOW THIS IS UNDER THE WRONG PRODUCT. I HAVE EMAILED THE DOOYOO TEAM TO HAVE IT REMOVED.


I have been enjoying meals at McDonalds, playing with my little toys, and laughing ah Ronald McDonald for many years now, and it is amazing how much things have changed since my earlier experiences! I thought it was finally time to write a review and sum up the wonders that is the McDonalds Restaurant!

***Brief History***
McDonalds is a well-known, much loved fast-food chain restaurant, which all began way back in 1954, with just a little hamburger stand situated in California. Salesman Ray Kroc was amazed at how many people were served at this stand, so he decided to open up a restaurant in 1955, in Illinois.
McDonalds' very own Ronald McDonald clown made its first TV appearance in 1963, portrayed by Willard Scott. And in 1979, the infamous Happy Meal was created, giving kids all over a fun and fascinating experience with their meal!
Now, McDonalds has a massive range of franchises right throughout the world, feeding the nation with its splendid, glorious tasting foods, providing a bucket full of family fun!

***McDonalds In The UK***
The first UK restaurant was opened in 1974, and now there are several branches located in the majority of the cities up and down the entire country, feeding millions of people every day! With it's well known slogan, "I'm Lovin' It!", it's entertaining TV adverts, and the whopping great menu, McDonalds is a fantastic chain restaurant, loved by millions, with so much to offer!

***Me And McDonalds***
I don't remember the first time I went to McDonalds, but I can imagine I would have been about four or five. I used to love going down to McDonalds, and ordering my special little Happy Meal with the free toy! I'd always order fish fingers, but they took absolutely ages to cook! Really, I think I was more interested in the toy (and what kid wouldn't be?!). I distinctly remember The Wombles, Tweenies and Winnie The Pooh toys, as well as their Wild Animals collection, and The Lion King teddies! I didn't get to go that often, so when I did, it was a fantastic treat!
I remember when McFlurrys first came about too, and the first time I had one! I would have been about seven, and I was accompanying my friend and her family at McDonalds for a treat. She offered me a McFlurry, and I had no idea what one was! Of course, when she said it was ice cream, I immediately accepted! I had the Smarties one, which I think was most common at the time! Now, though, I don't even know if they still make them!
I've been to my fair share of McDonalds restaurants, each providing a different, yet satisfying service! I shall tell you a bit about some of them...
McDonalds - Union Street, Aberdeen: My local McDonalds in Aberdeen is the one I've probably been to the most. It's two floors, and the queues aren't really ever too bad. It's quite clean too, unless you go during a rush, then it tends to lack hygiene. Other than that, it's ok. The food is good quality, and I've never had much problems with the service either! Though, the Milkshake machine doesn't always work!
McDonalds - Metro Centre, Newcastle: One of the first McDonalds I went to would have been the little one in the Metro Centre. It's just one floor, one room. It's really small, and quite cramped. The queues are always out the door now, so I dread to think what it was like what that one first came into business! Though, saying that, it is exceptionally clean, and the food is really nice! Though, they do take a while to serve you and prepare the food!
McDonalds - Blaydon, Newcastle: This is the one where I had my first Mcflurry! It's just a little one, but I think it's a nice size! They do Childrens parties frequently too, but I was never fortunate enough to have one! It's quite clean, but I'm going to put that down to the fact that it has a drive-thru, which is quite popular! That also results in really short queues inside - a bonus for me!



***The Menu***
The McDonalds menu is split up into several different sections;
Salad Plus - a choice of Caesar salads, fruit bags and carrot sticks, as well as your traditional garden side salad. I've not had any of the salads, but the fruit bags (apple pieces and grapes) are really fresh and juicy!

Breakfast - McDonalds offer a full breakfast menu before 10:30, including bagels, Mcmuffins, sweet muffins, rolls, and even porridge! On the odd occasion that I have went into McDonalds that early, I have enjoyed Bacon and Egg Mcmuffins, with the free Hash Brown. They both have such a splendid and rich taste! I think I'd quite like to sample their porridge too! Their Sausage, Cheese and Egg Bagel look quite delightful too, though slightly greasy!

Happy Meal - fun in a box! For the amazing price of just £1.99, you get your entire meal in a little cardboard box! It is put together in three sections. First you choose your main dish, i.e. fish fingers, hamburger, cheese burger, chicken nuggets, and the occasional fish fingers. Then you choose a side, which can either be fries, a fruit bag, or the carrot sticks. You select your drink after that, with options such as cola, sprite, milkshake, milk or water! Of course, you always get a little toy too, although I feel the quality of these really have gone down hill! Nowadays, if I do get a Happy Meal, I either go for Chicken Nuggets or a Cheeseburger, Fries or a fruit bag, and a milkshake. The toy never really makes it home with me!

Sandwiches - this is probably the most common part of the menu! This is where you can find the classic Big Mac, their variety of cheeseburgers, fillet-o-fish, and their Quarter Pounders! I have yet to sample the wonders that are supposed to lie within a Big Mac! One day, maybe!
Pound Saver Menu - obviously, everything on this menu is around about the £1 region in price. It has a lot of variety in it, with options such as a selection of cheeseburgers, salads, medium sized drinks, and a variety of sizes of fries, sundaes, snack wraps, and McFlurrys. I think this part of the menu is really quite useful, if you do not want to order an entire meal! I occasionally just grab something from here!

Toasted Deli Sandwiches - this section provides us with what I have been told are delicious deli sandwiches, but I have not had one myself! Freshly made for you, you can select your type of bread, and your tasty filling, with a selection to choose from, including chicken, meatball melt, spicy veggie, and the new bbq pork. I think, if I were to try one, I'd have the Meatball Melt- it looks heavenly!

Desserts - some of their desserts appear elsewhere on the menu, but they also gather them together for this section too! They offer McFlurrys (in flavours such as Smarties, Crunchie, Dairy Milk, and then the special limited edition offer, which just now is Terry's Chocolate Orange), Sundaes (toffee or strawberry), Apple Pie, Muffins, Donuts, Mix 'n' Muddles, and ice cream cones. I adore McFlurrys! I think my favourite would have to be one of the Limited Editions Cadbury's Crème Egg, which is usually out around Easter! And the toffee sundaes look gorgeous too, though I have never had one! The apple pies...wow! They are so sweet, and piping hot! The aroma from them is delicious!

Sauces - as a lot of people like to add a little extra flavour to their meals, McDonalds provide a selection of sauces too; tomato, barbeque, curry, sweet chilli, sour cream and onion, and sweet and sour. I really like the curry sauce, that's the one I tend to have the most with my fries! I think I'd like to try the sour cream and onion, or the sweet and sour, but I am unsure of whether my local McDonalds provides those particular ones, as it can vary per branch!

Drinks - there is plenty of drinks you can choose from on the McDonalds menu, so you cannot be left feeling thirsty! Not only do they have soft drinks like Cola, Sprite and Fanta, but they also have milkshakes (vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, banana and the Limited Edition Rolo), and a selection of hot drinks, such as coffee, tea and hot chocolate. They also provide healthier options; milk, water, Fruit Shoot and Tropicana. I always have milkshakes with my order, or often just on its own. I don't have a favourite flavour, they are all gorgeously chilled and creamy!

Festive Menu - there is a special festive section of the menu just now, celebrating Christmas! This offers a variety of appetizing festive foods; such as the big bacon and cheese burger, special chicken wraps, toasted deli sandwiches, Terry's Chocolate Orange Mcflurry, and Mincemeat and Custard pies (sort of like the Apple Pies). These look so delicious, I am so tempted to try!
I'd say the McDonalds menu has such a wide variety of both healthy and the more unhealthy options we can all treat ourselves with, at such cheap prices! You can never be caught hungry there, with something to suit everybody!




***McDonalds For A Day***
Of course, I'd never eat McDonalds for an entire day, that would be awful! But if I did, this is what I expect I would have (not considering healthy options or anything, just going based on what I like and enjoy!)

UNHEALTHIER
Breakfast;
Sausage and egg McMuffins
Hash Brown
Freshly Ground White Coffee

Lunch;
Fillet-o-fish
Medium Strawberry Milkshake
Tea;
Chicken nuggets
Medium Fries
Curry Sauce
Medium Banana Milkshake
McFlurry

That is one unhealthy day (!) According to the nutrition counter on the official UK website; www.mcdonalds.co.uk, I would have consumed a total of....
2939 calories
125g fat
357g carbohydrates
8.4g salt
That is shocking for one day's intake! Now, if I were to choose more healthier options...

HEALTHIER
Breakfast;
Oatso-Simple Porridge
Freshly Ground White Coffee
Lunch;
Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad
Organic Milk

Tea;
Toasted Deli meatball melt, with cheese (brown roll)
Tropicana orange juice
Fruit bag
Hmm...a bit better... I now apparently would have consumed a total of...
1354 calories
46g fat
164g carbohydrates
4.4g salt

That's better, not even the maximum recommended daily allowance for calories, either! I don't think I'll be indulging in McDonalds for an entire day any time soon, though!

*****
So, as you can see, McDonalds seems like an amazing chain restaurant, with almost anything and everything available to suit everybody! And although it can be portrayed at being unhealthy, if you find a clean, hygienic branch, and eat in moderation, every now and then, what harm can it do?!

Summary: McDonalds fast food chain restaurant - weight up the factors