McDonald’s adds Doraemon exclusives to its menu in Japan【Taste test】

Anime tie-up inspired by the flavours of a Japanese summer festival.

One of the great things about living in Japan is being able to enjoy McDonald’s goods in anime packaging. So when we heard that the golden arches would be teaming up with Doraemon for a new summer-exclusive offering, we immediately set out to try them as soon as they were released on 5 August.

Called “Anywhere Festival Sweets” — a tip of the hat to Doraemon’s time-and-space travelling “Anywhere Door” device — the new collaboration features two famous flavours synonymous with a Japanese festival, serving them up in the form of a limited-time pie and McShake.

▼ The Doraemon Choco Banana Pie is inspired by the chocolate-coated bananas sold on sticks at Japanese festival stalls

Given that yellow is the colour worn by Dorami, Doraemon’s younger sister, she’s the star character chosen as the face of the new pie, although she gets some support from characters Shizuka and Suneo, who also appear on the packaging.

▼ Which one of the three characters you get on the pack is a random affair, but we were lucky to be in the company of Dorami.

While the choc-coated bananas at festivals are usually served chilled, the choc-banana pie is served piping hot.

The inside of the pie is super dark, thanks to the generous amount of chocolate used in both the dough and the filling. There’s a good drizzle of banana in there too, which helps to send out warm and familiar choc-banana aromas if you open it up like we did.

While we were expecting the pie to deliver a sweet explosion on the palate, it was surprisingly well-balanced thanks to the banana, which added a nice tartness to the mix. The banana was thick and pulpy, and the crispy chocolate pie added a satisfying crunch to every mouthfeel, making for a very tasty take on the chocolate-coated banana.

To complete the festival experience, we have the Doraemon McShake, which is served in a blue cup as a nod to both the colour of Doraemon, and the flavour contained within it — ramune.

The characters on call for the McShake packaging are Doraemon, Nobita, and Gian, the latter of which was the one greeting us on our cup. The shake uses two types of ramune flavours, with the addition of citrus as a secret ingredient to create a refreshing finish to the creamy thick shake. It was spot-on with the ramune flavour, delivering a refreshing festival taste perfect for summer.

▼ A Japanese festival for the taste buds.

The Doraemon Choco Banana Pie is on the menu for 150 yen (US$1.11), while the Doraemon McShake is available in a small size for 130 yen and a medium for 200 yen. Both items will be on sale until early September.

Photos © SoraNews24
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