Photo credit: XIAOHONGSHU/MCDONALD’S

McDonald’s China dishes up coriander-flavoured ice cream

The bizarre flavour instantly became a hot topic worldwide.

Nicki Chan

Probably that one person singing in the shower at 2am.

Published: 25 February 2022, 1:13 PM

McDonald’s China served coriander ice cream for just five days – but it was enough to launch the internet into a heated debate about the flavour. 

“Coriander gang, raise up your hands, the fresh and sweet coriander sundae has arrived,” said McDonald’s China in a statement on Feb 18. 

Released for a limited time from Feb 21 to Feb 25, the dessert consisted of McDonald’s classic soft serve ice cream, drizzled with a green coriander sauce and topped with the herb itself. 

The taste is sweet and sour with a strong coriander fragrance, McDonald’s China said. 

The dessert set off a visceral response after Twitter user ZhugeEx posted about it, with many commenters reacting with disgust. 

“Might as well put soap in a cup,” tweeted one user. “This is a crime against humanity,” said another. 

However, some praised the dessert, and others expressed interest in trying it. 

“Cilantro ice cream is really f***ing good.  Anyone who hasn’t tried it should – spicy + sweet/creamy does amazing things on your tastebuds,” one user said about the combination despite not having tried the McDonald’s version. 

Another said: “As a massive cilantro fan, I desperately want to try this once things warm up. Anyone seen these in Hong Kong?” 

Coriander is known as cilantro in the United States.

 

mcdonalds-china-coriander-cilantro-vanilla-sundae-bizarre-interesting-weird-crazy-flavour-combination-soft-serve-ice-cream
The ice cream was available at 6.6 yuan, or around S$1.40. PHOTO CREDIT: XIAOHONGSHU/MCDONALD’S

 

Coriander is extremely contentious, although widely used. Hatred for the herb even inspired a Facebook group in 2013 that eventually branched out to sell merchandise. The group now consists of over 280,000 members. 

The same group created an unofficial anti-celebratory occasion, I Hate Coriander Day, which falls on Feb 24 – incidentally coinciding with McDonald’s coriander ice cream release. 

Why Why Why @mcdonalds ? From @newscomauhq : McDonald’s has launched a very unusual menu item in China – and it is...

Posted by I Hate Coriander on Thursday, 24 February 2022

This is not the first time McDonald’s has developed wild food combinations – last year, it released a chilli oil version of the same sundae.  

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