I Tried Russia’s "New" McDonalds...
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2024
- A few weeks ago I saw news about a new replacement for McDonalds in Russia. Today we're going to try what it tastes and looks like in St. Petersburg, Russia.
There are more than 100 restaurants re-opened across Russia, and we keep calling them "new McDonalds" although that's not quite accurate. I tried to find one of them in St. Petersburg but I kinda did it too early: the place I visited in this video was operating just partially. They didn't have half of menu in stock, and it looked very similar to original McDonalds this today. Next month I'll try going there again for a full experience :)
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As a Ukrainian, I find it amazing that the average Russian citizen is preoccupied with the quality of their burgers. In Ukraine, we are preoccupied with staying alive, avoiding Russian soldiers and getting any food and water. But I guess that you guys are not aware of that. Enjoy your ice cream.
It’s getting VERY irritating to have Russian bloggers running around to malls, grocery stores and McDonalds with no mention of the scorched earth in Ukraine. I’m pretty much done with watching them.
Yeah, pretty disappointing actually. I just UNsubscribed.
@@thefarmerswifeknits6190 it helps noene in ukraine when russians stop eating now or living there lifes. i condemm the russian facist administration for there genocide in the ukraine. but not the russian people at all.
I've tried to talk to Niki about this issue. But he's not interested. He doesn't realize how these kind of videos can seem callous and insensitive. In his defence, it's dangerous to talk about Ukraine and the invasion, everyone knows that. But Niki definitely used to be much braver and more sensitive about the situation in earlier videos. Hopefully, he can address the problem in his next video which is an interview with my hero the super brave and courageous Daniil from 1420.
@@pauldove966 These influencers make videos about life in Russia all the time and what pisses you off the most is that the western media just reports about how everyone is leaving Russia and nothing works there. and it's just for show or a matter of time before it's transformed.
There was a Russian guy that chained himself to a McDonald's in Moscow not too long ago. He was totally against McD's closing. It was hilarious! This chubby guy chained to the door like no, don't take my McD's, no, no, no! 😄 It was too funny.
Это был сын известного художника Никаса сафронова-Лука Сафронов 🤣
Loooool ppl are crazy sometimes
It's rather sad than funny to see those miserable people to whom burgers are their main source of happiness.
People of Walmart are also funny. There are muppets in every country.
You think Russia stole McDonald's recipe. :)
I worked at McDonald’s in the late 80’s in the U.S.. I’m guessing that the ice cream machines put in Moscow in 1990 were the same models I worked with. We rarely had any breakdowns. The machines must have been replaced sometime after that to these new ones that constantly need service technicians to come fix them. I wonder if the Russian McDonald’s ever replaced the original machines.
there is a movie about those new broken ice cream machines. it is actually way more interesting then I would have ever imagined.
Yeah cause they don't have that overly evil capitalist contract with that evil company where ice cream machines break on purpose for profit.
There's only one company that makes the machines and their contract with McDonald's meant that the stores would have to call the company's repair people to fix the machine even if it was something simple. The way the machines work causes them to break down fairly often, but with things that are easy to fix (like it freezes up or gets jammed), but the stores weren't allowed to fix it themselves. Then another company came up with an app or a program or something that allowed a McD's employee to diagnose the problems and do simple repairs, so stores started using it and the manufacturer sued McDonalds over it. They said that only they should be able to fix the machines. It went to court and the judge said that the manufacturer was acting in bad faith and putting an onerous burden on individual franchisees, so the stores are allowed to diagnose and do simple repairs, but they have to call the manufacturer if the repair is a bigger one. The McDonald's by my house only had ice cream about once every two weeks, but now it's available fairly regularly.
Johnny Harris made a doco on it, extremely interesting
I'm not from russia but it seems to me that US mcD is the only McD in the world that keeps having problem with its ice cream machines.
It's actually shocking to learn that considering US is the birthplace of McD.
"Mommy, can we have some Tasty, Period?!"
Mom said "no"....
Ironically, “Tasty, Period” did not have the most popular burger in Russia “Big Tasty” in stock
Period.
'Tasty period' don't sound very appetizing.
i have heard it translated as tasty, just that.
@@islandwills2778 Translated directly it’s, “Tasty, and period”, but interpretations can vary.
Некоторые позиции изменили названия, другие не изменны .Качество пока тожё. Рабочии места сохранились, главное. Акции есть .Приложение изменило название - Мой Бургер - теперь называетса.
The fact that Russia is doing this sort of thing is scorched earth. No company is going to risk coming to Russia again for a LONG time. You’re right, you can expect the food quality and safety to drop dramatically over time. One of the most impressive things about McDonald’s is how safe the food is to eat (not including long term health consequences).
that’s a good thing for Russian people more healthy and stronger less McDonalds
the USA special McDonald operation has failed to weaken enemy forces
@@gamers-xh3uc Good luck with that.
Imagine being Russian now , pariah’s of the world , it’s probably not fair some Russians are normal moral human beings.But if they can every travel outside to the West again they will feel it necessary to hide their identity.
Agreed. No business will touch Russia with a ten foot pole without serious regime change. It's almost as if Putin meant for this to be all along. He's a Soviet stooge up one side and down the other. The only good hope for Russia's future lies in it's young people.....people like Niki born after 1991 that didn't experience Soviet life. The older generation is still too ruined, brainwashed, and stubborn to embrace a free market. Putin and his cronies, as well as those stupid enough to follow his plan to send Russia to hell.....they'll eventually die off.
@@tacticalsecltd4587 That’s funny because Russian fast food is considerably worse than anything McD can ever think of.
Honestly, that hamburger patty was bigger than anything I've been served in Canada. Interesting, thanks.
There is an agreement between McDonalds and the third party that fixes the Ice Cream Machine for them. The agreement between the company is that Mcdonald's promises them the ability to service the ice cream machines a specific number of time. Since this only would occur if there is something wrong with the machine, the code for the machine has error code that can only be cleared by someone authorized by the third party that has this agreement with McDonalds.
There was another company that tried providing an update to these machines, so that it wouldn't error our needlessly like it does under the current set up. However, McDonalds squashed the use of this software since it was not authorized, since the owner's of the McDonald's can only used authorized McDonald's software.
any hardware manufactured like ice cream machine provides service package. It usually cost 10% of upfront cost/year. So over 10 years cost of machine is double of upfront cost. Mcdonalds must have a better deal may be 8% that's why they only allow one service provider.
@@tony232cool no, do some research
The Russian (Chinese could produce for EXPORT to THE WORLD) Engineers could PROBABLY REDESIGN A BETTER (minimum more reliable) MACHINE!
I like the way Constatine interpreted it, "Tasty, That's It" Sounds better than "period"
"Tasty, That's It" sounds better for me too, but I preferred to keep the literal translation
It sounds better, period! 🤪
"Tasty, That's It" sounds bad too. Though less passive aggressive than It's Tasty, Period.
I'd say just short it to Tasty's and be done with it.
Tasty, any time of the month!
"Tasty, I'm loving it".
Would actually love to see a video on traditional Russian restaurants and cuisine.
Yes, I agree!
Absolutely. We can eat McDonald’s slop in North America too.
Good for Russia! If I ever go to Russia I will for sure visit Vkusno as a must stop.
Sincerely, a Chinese comrade.
It is so refreshing to watch videos from Russia that are about the everyday person and not the government.
It's impressive how easy you can switch from russian language to english language.
I need a up to 5 minutes to speak and understand Russian when I was speaking German before 😔
I switch in under a second, without a problem. I lived in Russia until the age of 12.
I speak Russian in under 10 vodka! EZ! 😜
How do you mean? I switch from Swedish to English or German in an instant. Don't all people switch immediately when they speak a foreign language?
@@francisdec1615 I only started learning Russian when I was 25. In the meantime, I met my wife, who comes from Belarus.
Normally I only speak German and English during the day. But when I come home at the end of the day and we talk briefly in German and then suddenly switch to Russian, I always need a few seconds. Then I only speak light and short sentences. A short time later I speak normally in Russian again🤷🏻♂️
You start to do it automatically if you do it often, at least this is my experience.
I also have this funny thing, usually I will speak in our local German slang, which is quite off to "book or standard" German (hochdeutsch), but if anyone is talking to me in standard, I don't even realize that I switch. Others are looking than strange to me.
To non Germans: Our slangs are quite different, maybe like different kind of Slavic languages? You understand a part, the other part is to guess if you are not familiar. :)
But also happens sometimes in english/german.
8:40 The ice Cream Machines in the US don't work well because McDonalds corporation has a (unethically close) relationship with the company who services/repairs the ice cream machines. Because franchise owners are forced to pay for repairs fully out of pocket, and are contractually unable to service the machines themselves or use another company, the "defects" in the machines are built in to keep the repair company making money with no impact to McDonalds itself. It's pretty much the worst side of capitalism.
Hence its cheaper just to say the ice cream machine is not working and, and no one expects anything else. I saw a video where someone made a mod to improve the machines and keep them working and McD got very upset.
there was a video about it. the problem is the machines are over filled and cannot melt down fast enough for the machine to run the cleaning cycle.
DO NOT OVER FILL THE MACHINE
My guess is this will be a much better place than Mac. Please Russia show the World you can do it.
They may still have stocks of McDonalds patties & other supplies so it may take a while until they're all used up. Then you will taste the difference later. Great video Niki & as always; I Wish You Good Health & Take Care.
Since the same suppliers are supplying the new company as McDonalds, there's no reason to see a taste difference. The only thing that will change is the soft drinks.
@@peterwilliams2152 But i don t think the new "Mcdonalds" will last longer, It will fade away after one year. It s like if Native Germany would tale over Kebab donner. Wont never work.
@@peterwilliams2152 Who is their supplier ?
@@bordeaux1337 Supplier for big fast food franchises such as KFC, Burger King, McDonalds, etc, will always use locally sourced products. So Vkusno I Toschka will most likely have the same patties, fries, beef, buns, etc as McDonalds.
they get their stuff from the same suppliers. nothing will change.
I am sure I read in the News, that the new owner in Russia for "Tasty", is the same owner of the McDonalds franchise, and that the agreement is that if circumstances change, which they will, and Russia joins the rest of the World as friends in the next 15 years, that McDonalds will be able to buy the stores back, and re introduce McDonalds, or maybe if Tasty is a success, stay under that brand.
I heard it was a ten-year period. But if it was up to me I would never allow them back in...
@@bensontroy1526 well the world is a global village, one part of the world cannot function without other (see that 80% of stuff made for USA market is made in China for example.)You cannot isolate the biggest country in the world for long.
I've heard this too
@@milosradakovic8461 we'll see I suppose, it depends on whether the Russian Government continues to take chunks out of their neighbours or not.
@@jcym9058 I am beside myself with this. The United States, NATO, EU, and others are responsible for this Ukraine nonsense. They have openly bragged about it. If I were young again, I would volunteer for military service in Russia
"One 'Royal' " (aka 'Quarter Pounder'.) Yeah, no standard use of the metric system yet. We knuckleheads in the U.S, still stuck on the standard measuring system. 🤣😆
yeah- I'm like- somebody hasn't seen "pulp fiction"
I think people miss the point about McD. McD in Russia was/is about how to run and scale a business and be consistent. McD was never about how great their food is. As you can see. half the menu is already not available.
What a tragedy!
Rene, new dishes on the menu of Russian McDonald's appear gradually.
Nikki you’re such a good person and kind, thank you from Ukraine 🇺🇦
P.S. I loved that intro song you played in the first 25 seconds of your video.
I know that song, good choice!
(лагідно нагадую, що не варто шукати "хароших рускіх")
@@fm0363 не бійся, ти до їхнього числа не входиш 😉
The reason most of the McDonalds have shut down compared to the other fast food places is because McDonalds owned the majority of stores, the others are mostly Franchises owned by Russians, the head companies in the West don't have a legal basis to shut them down, at least that is my understanding. Those Franchise owners owns the right to sell their goods using the company logo and there isn't anything the companies can do about it, although I don't know much about that aspect of the law,
More importantly McDonalds operated the factory and distribution channels for all the food sold in the restaurants.
Franchises were shut down, but later, as per franchise contracts, franchisees have to be given a lot of advanced warning.
Then you don’t seem to understand that McDonald’s owned all the stores in Russia up until recently and is the only country they do it in everywhere else is franchises but not in Russia they actually owned all the locations
The actual food isn't made at the restaurants. Doesn't McDonald's sell the frozen bread, burgers etc to the franchises?
@@devrerffs Of course the actual food is made in the stores.
@@devrerffs No. All is local food in Russia. "True" McDonald's food straight from the US/Europe would be illegal in Russia since they have very tough laws in how to grow food, including a complete ban on GMO which McDonald's food in the west is full of.
Russia has all the ingredients required to make its own McDonalds in abundance: Beef, chickens, potatoes, flour, cheese etc. Why didn't they make their own from the start? Why did they need to involve an American multinational company?
McDonald’s is symbolic for western relations
Recipes, and efficient processes
because US was ahead of the game. russia was just transferring from communist state to free market, which involves foreign competition.
Potato wedges are pretty standard around the world, I always buy them at the grocery store. But you can also find them in restaurants, especially steak houses.
We have the potato wedges in France, I way prefer them to the normal fries :D We also used to have the chicken premiere sandwich but haven't had it here in many years, really interesting to hear you still had them in Russia until recently
I always wondered what french fries were called in france, "normal fries". Makes sense.
In the US, that ice cream would be considered vanilla ice cream with hot fudge.
Honestly, after living in US for over 30 years i can safely say that people in US have no clue what Ice cream is...
Gwyn Bleys I think that is a rather narrow statement. Some Americans are well traveled and have eaten “ice cream”on all continents of this earth with the exception of Antarctica. Some is often homemade. I have had really good ice cream with a currant topping in the former Soviet Union when living there. Some of the best I have had in the United States. We have selection and choice that few other countries have (especially if one has the money to spend on it.
ice cream in America runs the gamut from real cream and sugar, to 'non-dairy frozen dessert synthetic goo'. Brahm's and Blue Bell have excellent ice cream to be sure.
@@GwynBleys you are very misinformed, hon. We make some of the most awesome ice cream in the world.
@@RealJohnnyDingo You can find good and bad ice cream in most countries, but the person who said she can "honesty say" that the entire US doesn't know what good ice cream is must be incredibly ignorant. We are the home of some of the best ice cream brands including Ben and Jerry's, Van Leeuwen, Jeni's and Tillamook. The brand Milk Bar has some of the most delicious ice cream ever made.
At this point I fully believe that going to the new McDonalds is pointless - it will taste almost identical to the real thing because they still have original stuff in stock and are selling that as of right now..... it would be better to see what it looks and tastes like in a few months, as that's when they'll definitely run out of original McDonalds produce and will have to substitute with fully russian alternatives, which do not have the same additives as the ones you have right now. Also expecting them to say they don't have most of the stuff available in the future as well, because such a big franchise is hard to keep up with no help from imported goods.
McDonalds in Russia sourced all its produce from Russian suppliers, and those same suppliers will be supplying Вкусно и точка, except for Coca Cola. McDonalds didn't import goods from outside of Russia.
Most, if not all, of the ingredients used in Russian McDonalds were from local sources - transport from the U.S. would be way too expensive. The only changes will be a temporary increase in quality to build business followed by the usual decline caused by the all pervasive corruption.
Russia ban GMO products...GMO food is coresponsible for irrational behaviour within USA society in last twenty years...it will be scientifically proven it damage brain.
@@peterwilliams2152 They may be sourced in Russia but the quality was checked by MacDonald's not Russians version of MacDonald's. The quality will go down soon and just be another Russian burger place.
@@bcool9104 The same quality inspectors are working for the new company, using the same quality guidelines.
I used to work as a crew trainer at McDonald’s here in the US at a franchise in my small hometown (it’s since been purchased by another franchisee because the original franchisers retired....they had started out as McDonald’s employees before ever becoming franchisers so I definitely enjoyed working for them because the owners would come in and work alongside us a lot of times). Anyways, there’s no “problem” with the ice cream machines in the US. They’re functioning as intended. It’s just that the machines have to be regularly cleaned and receive maintenance throughout the day and it’s not a quick process. Management of stores try to pick when they think it’ll be slowest as to when to do this process, but just because it’s technically slow doesn’t mean there aren’t customers still coming in. So when customers order items that require the ice cream or shake machine (two different machines) while the cleaning and maintenance process is occurring we have to tell them that the machines aren’t working. It certainly has led to people discussing it online and thinking the machines are constantly broken. They’re not broken, they’re just taken apart, unplugged, and being serviced and then reassembled, plugged in, and having to go back through the process of freezing the product. At the four stores my franchisers owned they did this process twice a day at two of them because they were 24-hour restaurants. A third store only did it twice a day on weekends because it was open later on weekends, while the store inside the Walmart was the one that was opened the least hours so only had to do it once a day.
Potato wedges would be neat to get At McDonald’s. I like the fries. However I remember a friend whose kid didn’t like thin fries and would usually eat potato wedges, tater tots, and waffle fries. She usually got him apple slices with his Happy Meal. Anyways, other than the potato wedges the only sorta difference I noticed was the chocolate sundae. But honestly it’s not really a difference because sooooooooo many McDonald’s franchise restaurants have employees make them the way you did that it’s just normal to see it. However, when I was training to be a crew trainer and had to learn the official corporate way of making things, one of the things I learned is that there’s supposed to be chocolate, caramel, strawberry, or hot fudge (depending on what type of sundae you get) at the base of the cup, then the ice cream (for a small it is 2 swirls of ice cream, for large sundae it’s 5 swirls of ice cream) followed by the same chocolate, caramel, strawberry, or hot fudge on top. I don’t remember the explanation given as to why it’s done that way, but the corporate video I watched did explain why the company did things the way they did for everything I learned about either in the video, the book I was given, as well as the corporate manager who was training me.
I was in 5th grade (elementary school) whenever the first McDonald’s opened in Moscow, USSR. I remember it was a big deal and talked about on the tv news and in newspapers. As a kid who had only ever left my state to visit family in other states of the US on holidays or for family reunions, it was the first time I realized that certain things weren’t necessarily normal for everyone everywhere in the world. I mean, I kinda had a feeling that was the case since I had an uncle who was British and my grandparents had friends from lots of different nations that’d occasionally visit and a great aunt and uncle who traveled around the world for their job and would bring me back things from their travels and tell me about what the people and cultures were like there at family reunions (they were also the ones who’d bring the unique dishes). So while I knew my family had differences from other families and that there were things that didn’t cross state lines, McDonald’s was something I saw everywhere and it hadn’t occurred to me until that moment that it wasn’t just an everywhere thing! If that makes any sense.
Great video! Thanks for making it! Your videos are always interesting and I certainly enjoy sharing them with friends of mine who are interested. I didn’t realize you spoke Chinese. I have a friend that learned it in elementary school and continues to practice using it and learn it. It’s come in handy a few times for her when she worked in a retail store. Once there were tourists who spoke Mandarin as their first language. She was able to switch back and forth between English and Mandarin with them to help them find the items they were looking for as well as understand how things were priced (because the signage at the store had things with price tags, but then things were on sale based on a sign on the table, but the original price determined what the sale price was; for example an item that was $9 would be on sale for 25%, but an item that was tagged as $19 would be on sale for 15% or be buy 1 at regular price get the second one for 25%....it’s a local hobby/craft store that does weird pricing like that all the time) and how to calculate sales tax. I’m gonna share this video with her just because I know she’ll enjoy hearing another nonAsian speaker of Chinese. And she might enjoy the rest of the video, too (not sure since we mostly share music videos with each other), so this is a good way to find out! :-)
Love your channel!
Check out "The REAL Reason McDonalds Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken"
This restaurant should be known like Prince was when he got angry with his record label and changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol. Thereafter he was referred to as:
"The Artist Formerly Known as Prince"
Hence your rebranded food place could be known as "The Fast Food Joint Formerly Known as McDonalds."
I Lol'd 🤣😅🤣 at that idea!
The unpronounceable logo/sigil should be the poop emoji...
Just so you know, the US side of Burger King & KFC did pull out of Russia. But almost all of those Russian stores are franchises. Watch for changing price even in the same brand unless they are owned by the same lessee. There will be some brands stay on in Russia. None were forced to leave. I heard Red Bull (Austrian) plans to stay on. Proctor & Gamble (US) has plans to stay in place. It could be the taste won't be as good in a year. But that is up to the people that run it now.
Yes it’s a shame that P&G stays in russia
@@johndorian3685 Who can do the right thing when there's money to be made! maybe they can change the name to Putin & Gorbachev.
"None were forced to leave"
No, they just got left out of federal grants, publicly shamed and threatened with secondary sanctions for not leaving 150 million people without medicine, food, basic clothing etc.
@@gabrieldantas63 don't be so dramatic. by the way the population of Russia is 144 million - so you're off by a little bit.
.....and the general population deserves everything that comes their way - they should have stood up to dictator Putin.
@@gabrieldantas63 Not sure where you think the correct information is. Believe whatever you like. Many medicines (not all) will still be there. 2 western grocers are still there (with subsidized pricing). Clothing can be had all over the world. Most of that doesn't come from the west anyway. But I'm sure you have a story to tell.
The only reason I go in there is for the polonium tea and Novichok cookies. They're to die for.
Ha ha ha
🤣Lol
“Vladimir Putin is a pedo____”
-O. Kalugin
-A. Litvinenko/RIP
New Zealand has the same problem with their ice cream machines. They can be broken for months. Really annoying.
Niki I really enjoy your casual style videos and just telling it like it is. It is fascinating to see how things are changing for you. Keep the the great work!
If you like french fries you should go to Belgium one day. They invented them and they have huge varieties of sauces. Just delicious. 😋
If he can get a visa
So true I don’t even like french fries from Mac. In Haarlem (The Netherlands) is a very good flemish friet( fries) bakker. But I don’t think Nikki will ever go there 😊
@@elsotto3314 Niki only likes China and Indochina
fritten!
@@nikedoesthings 🤣we say’ patatje ‘the good ones are crispy and delicious but Mac’s are not to my taste, as a matter of fact Hamburger sucks too🤣🤣
I grew up in San Bernardino, California, USA. I lived within walking distance from the first McDonalds ever built and went there often. I can't remember that far back but I would bet the quality was a lot better than todays McDonalds! lol
I went there as a boy when I visited my ante and uncle. You were served through an outside window in those days. It was good and we couldn’t wait for the first one to come to Hamilton Ont Canada. It was a sit down store.
The fries were definitely better back then for sure they changed the recipe years and years ago. Everyone says that. That I ever knew.
The ice cream machines here in Australian McDonald's are always broken as well. The rumours are the staff can t be bothered making thickshakes and ice cream products.
Do you talk alot about crypto with your McDonald collegues ?
nah its way more sinister than that, they have backroom dealings with the company that has exclusive rights to fixing the machines, and they actively discourage startup projects which would make self service easier, its about money of course, like everything else in this retarded world. I'm guessing they just didn't have the weight to throw around in Russia to force people into using their shitty machines and to not have them serviced by anyone else
Universally McDonald's ice cream machines are always "broken" that's because the ice stuck gets and has to with them cleaning them.
There’s a specific error code which is the most commonly seen and it’s to do with the automatic cleaning function. It’s designed to purge bacteria but if there’s any minor failure it has to be repaired by the company that manufactures the machine, which takes forever as they have a monopoly on repairs of said machine/franchisees cannot contract another company to come and repair the machine
Ice cream machines in America are normally not working for two reason: 1) ice cream machines in general are bacteria factories. They require a lot of cleaning and it's not worthwhile repeatedly cleaning them throughout a day if you're not selling them regularly. 2) US branch of McDonalds has a contract with multiple third parties to maintaining their ice cream machines. There's constantly disputes around these contracts that stop the machines being repaired, including certain companies purposely programming ice cream machines to say they are faulty when they're not. Russia sort of doesn't care about either of those two things, the health standards for ice cream are slightly less stringent and repairs are generally done by the franchise owner.
Yes I just read an article about this as an American I have say this hilarious. I didn’t know so many Russians loved McDonald’s
There is (was) something special in Russian McDonalds. Extremely popular for kids and youth, my friends loved going there after having a night-long party. I loved going there for ice cream
It's the idea behind it. What it represents.
basically any non north american countries love mcdonalds. Trying to get mcdonalds out here in singapore is a 30min wait during the lunch hour..... the store sizes here are 4-6x as big as the ones in the states too.
30 years ago McDonald's coming was the true symbol of the end of communism and the Iron curtain coming down and Russia opening up to the rest of the world.
The people of Russia before that would have to wait in lines for toilet paper and things like Levi's were a hot commodity and had to be smuggled in.
So yes McDonalds in Russia more than any other country was a huge deal of cultural and historical significance.
What's not to love? It's good.
You should try making Italian Style potato wedges at home. New Jersey style. Cut your wedges. You can leave skin on. Spread onto cookie sheet and toss it with olive oil oregano and garlic powder. A bit of salt. Toss it about on the cookie sheet and cook in oven 400...450... until done. They will be crispy on outside. It's good. James from Pennsylvania.
James, I guess you're referring to °F. I guess 450°C would provide good charcoal 🤣
thank james from pennsylvania
Yum!
But are we sure the new McDonald's isn't actually McPoots?
In other places round the world we call the 'village potatoes' - wedges. Not that common but I definitely like it too, it just feels more fleshy than your usual french fry.
I actually ate at McDonald's in Kyiv like 3 years ago. I'm from US, and generally DO NOT like mcds, but it was the only place open. I ate at the one in Maydan and the menu was basically the same, except (this one anyways) had breaded shrimp and something like chili cheese fries. I had the big Mac meal. Was basically the same crap we sell 🤣, but they had a double fudge cookie that was UNBELIEVABLE!!!
The worldwide standardisation allowed the creation of the Big Mac index, to compare standards of living
I tried McDonald in many European countries and is much better than the same thing in US. The quality difference is noticeable and of course it's mire healthier too
McDonalds in Japan probably has the best quality. They have a teriyaki burger too.
In the US, I have never had any difficulty in getting ice cream at McDonald's. I don't eat there all the time, but honestly, the other people are either there an awful lot or have bad luck or something. Lol
The burger you ate looks like what we would call a Quarter Pounder, possibly.
The potato wedges I have never seen at any fast food to include McDonald's, except a place called Jack in the Box.
I find your videos quite informative, thank you for sharing!
Never really had a problem myself either, but I do see the sign saying the machine is broken all the time.
I have heard from people that work at McDonald's here that they say the machine is broken when they don't want clean it.
Potato wedges are very common in the USA 🇺🇸 nearly every large market like ralphs kroger etc have them in there delis
Niki, here in the states I’ve never seen potato wedges at any McDonald’s. Also we do not have a cheese sauce option.
The mystery behind our never working ice cream machines is this: every 24 hours the machine requires cleaning. I’ve heard it will not dispense ice cream until the cleaning is complete. If the restaurant has been really busy and - or if the employees that shift are lazy they will just say “sorry the machine is broken” sometimes they are honest and say “we don’t have ice cream right now because the machine is being cleaned - or because the machine needs cleaning”
It's more like collusion between McD & the maker of the ice cream machines to boost their respective profits (by "keep fixing" the machines thru its only authorized dealer).
I saw interview with new owner of these ex-McDonalds in Russia - and they said for a while they have ingredients to keep 90% same taste, but when these ingredients will dry out - then taste might be much different.
That might not be a bad thing. Eating McDonalds burgers is like eating sugary paper.
@@TheDa6781 they're not gonna use anything better
Oh, no, how will they survive without junk food? loool
@@cooltwittertag pretty sure they will
@@cooltwittertag damn we got an expert here
To answer your question about why USA McDonald's ice cream machine or smoothie machine is never working is because they don't want to clean the machines. It is not specific to McDonalds though. Almost all fast food restaurant will say their machine is not working to not serve you ice cream to save the time to reclean or have to clean the machine.
Petersburg is the most beautiful city in the world , I realise that after being in USA 6 years , , European cities are so much more beautiful the us cities where homeless everywhere, and every down town looks same in every USA city .. just tall buildings, nothing interesting.
How much did the ‘almost McDonalds’ meal cost?
I think I put the price tags in the video, all things I got there cost me 450 RUB / 8.5 USD
In Russia, in addition to fast food, there are many delicious restaurants and cafes of the national cuisine of Russia! Russia is a multinational country, there is a very rich cuisine here! But McDonald's is not so delicious, it's not delicious food, if you want to eat a delicious burger, it's better to eat in Burger King, it tastes better there!)
As usual, I always enjoy your videos. Mostly because I am glad to see the quality of life we American's really don't have much of an idea of how life is in Russia. Fairly close to our lives here in the United States. I am happy that the franchises did not close, if that were the case I'd be upset to miss my quarter pound with cheese and large fries hold the salt and they actually do make me a special batch of salt-free fries that allows me to add my own amount of salt and they don't drown in salt which is way to salty for me. I remember when I was much younger when a Mcdonald's was only a dime for a hamburger and the line was always so long of cars wanting such a good bargain and being able to feed their children a good hamburger which was a special treat. Do you have another franchise called "IN AND OUT BURGERS".... they beat McDonald's hands down, but they are to hard for me to find where I live? I also loved seeing so many people with very modern motorcycles and cars and Moscow looks beautiful. I wish so much that our countries would get along because many Americans would enjoy seeing how beautiful Russia is. I come from the part of Alaska that is very much fashioned like the early Russians that did travel to Alaska like the Kenai Peninsula. Even the village i come from had a Russian cemetery and of course the story of our land being so close to Russia and at times during the winter when the narrow waters in upper Alaska freeze it is possible for each one of our countries people to literally walk across the ice into each other's countries. I believe it is only 36 miles apart. Keep up the great work and showing us really how much in common we are citizens despite our leaders not getting along ...that we the people have a great interest in each of the other country's lives. God bless you and be safe! Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors as I have misplaced my glasses and I know full well I have made many errors. I apologize. God bless you and stay safe.
Fairly close? Lol dude, your country cant provide even public healthcare, how can you be fairly close to Russia, which is one of the most progressive welfare states in the world
About the American ice cream machines, Johnny Harris made a surprisingly in depth explainer video about it. Long story short; it's to do with the monopoly on the Mc Donald's ice cream machines and them not allowing self-repair.
The new ice cream machine costs half a million bucks bro. Imagine top brass telling your franchise ass about the new machine 😭 😂
Niki, the story I hear about the ice cream is that it is too difficult to properly clean and maintain the machine. So in the USA it sometimes is simply not operating.
This makes sense. In russia they simply don’t clean it.
you got it. American fast food employees tend to not care at all.Ive worked in a few diff places.
It is usable the McFlurry machines that are broken not the actual ice cream machine.
There is a single company that makes the machines and has exclusive rights to fix them. I think it’s the original company from when McD’s first started too.
So basically McD’s cannot hirer just anyone,when there is an issue. They have to wait for the companies worker to fix it.
So this is why they can be down more often the not 💁♀️
@@johndorian3685 lol
The reason McDonalds was so successful was because service was extremely fast...
As an Italian, i have to say that, if Mcdonald's has left Russia, I really envy the Russians for this
Why is there mandatory McDonald's eating in Italy? If not if you don't like it you could just not go I don't see the problem lol.
I'm used to real food, so I think I would die of starvation rather than exchange a dish of tagliatelle with a big mac.
In a country like mine, who has one of the best food tradition in the whole world, fast foods are only a kind of cultural colonialism and nothing more.
The reason US ice cream machines are always broken is due to them having to get them cleaned. It sucks to clean a sticky machine out and sometimes the workers won’t do it. It also has to do with the time you want an ice cream. It’s considered a desert for later in the day or at night and that is usually when they start to shut the machine down and get things cleaned for the next day. The night workers are few and don’t want to spend time cleaning a machine for one customer to have an ice cream so they say it is broken.
There's nothing wrong with the ice cream machines at McD's in USA.
The staff hates to clean it, so rather than use it they just say it's broken.
I worked at McD in high school. You are right the cleaning is the worst job. You have to take it apart.
This is so true I worked in this industry as a teen and we would always tell everyone it’s down and it was working. Just because we wanted to leave during closing. The machine takes a long time to clean 🧼
The western sanctions aren't aimed at consumers in Russia, it's targeting industrial manufacturing and inflation inside Russia. Exports/imports especially parts for manufacturing and fixing equipment will be effected.
"Western sanctions aren't aimed at consumers in Russia"
Meanwhile, western countries: "We are gonna ban all of Russia from the western free markets, we will prohibit you from getting a visa for western countries and if you manage to leave somewhere, we will harass you physically or otherwise... But we are only targetting the elite, of course"
@@gabrieldantas63 I didn't say it won't impact everybody. The whole world will hurt because of one man's war...
yes im sure that banning cell phone sales was meant to target Russian manufacturing. thats gotta be it, cellphones that Russia does not manufacture or have the ability to manufacture and are almost exclusively sold to civilians. target. Russian. manufacturing.
stop lying to yourself, this economic war is being heavily aimed at Russian civilians.
@@islandwills2778 you don't need cellphones to live and survive. Seriously get the bigger picture.
@@albertvanlingen7590 Are the bans on medicine also aimed towards Putin?
I love the fact the royal burger uses McDonald’s wrapper
New subscriber! I am in the U.S. and at least 75 percent of the time I try and order the ice cream from McDonald’s the machines are not working. Just like you said. I know they must lose out on a lot of money especially in the summer. Keep up the great content!
Never heard of that problem here in Portugal either. It seems like that really is an American thing. Here in Europe we may still have the older machines, which came from the US in the 90s, and were probably better manufactured. The new machines being crap may have a little something to do with planned obsolescence. The only thing that I care for in McDonalds these days really is the Sunday, so it would be a shame if they didn't have that. As far as American fast food is concerned, the burgers are much better at burger king.
Two cool things about McDonald's. First is the obvious...they have a core set of products: Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, McNuggets, etc. So no matter where you go in the world, you'll beable to find something familiar. McDonalds has also allowed their francisees offer a few different foods that cater to local interests. When I was in Austrailia I noticed the McDonald's there offered the Kiwi Burger which was a burger with beets and egg. In the Phillipines, the McDonald's there offer the McDo w/ McSpaghetti (chicken drumstick and spaghetti). In the UK, the menu was pretty much the same as the United States but they provided vinegar for the french fries instead of ketchup. I'm curious if Russian McDonald's offered any local specialty dishes before leaving. BTW, slang for McDonald's in the United States "Mickey Dees".
Thanks for sharing this video,
I was so curious about this new McD's !
In the USA the McD's do not have these types of potato wedges but in the southern states its very common to find at other fast food places under the name "Jojo potatoes". :)
Very true… but hot McDonalds fries are excellent in any country I have ever visited. I am Southern. Next best may be 5 Guys.
Здравствуйте/ привет Ники!
Я из Венгрии, но живу в Турции (Стамбул).
Мне очень жаль народ Украины и России.
Спасибо за видео! Я учу Русский язык. Хорошего дня! 🙏🌸
"Мне очень жаль народ Украины и России" - I feel no pity for Russia, to hell with them.
@@ms7703 Your civility request and your comment doesn't match at all..
But Russia is doing much better than the rest of the Western countries
@@ms7703 😲😔 I think wishing any nation to hell is really wrong. 😔
All sympathy for Ukraine, zero for russia
@@aussiestallion69 watch more TV, it's a pity that you don't see the real truth
Excellent video! Thank you for taking us with you to see the McDonald’s replacement.
In Canada, potato wedges are pretty common but I've never seen them at a McDonald's, nor have I ever seen them with cheese sauce! They look very good though...I think the "Royal" is the "Quarter Pounder with Cheese" here.
The ice cream machine company has contracts with McDonalds, that just their service personel is allowed to repair it (even everybody could fix it within minutes, if they would be allowed and has a minimum of knowledge) and for a hell lot of money.
Yeah they intentionally obfuscate the process and everything just to get more money out of the McDonald's through constant repairs
Not even that, but all the McDonalds equipment is not run of the mill stuff you can get in the open market. Once those parts are not available, how can you fix the machines. This is the same thing with elevators and airplanes. Its going to get very complicated.
@@gabrielapetunia1871 I know that it is the main point. The manual doesn't even offer simple informations to handle standard issues, so that that the service technicians have to be called.
You "guess" with parts not easy availabe is nothing else but a guess. Sorry to say that!
And for sure it is not because it is "complicated", it is just because the users of these machines don't get the informations they need, because the company earns most of their profit not by selling these machines, but by their expensive service technicians. Just read their annual report!
I am happy you are back and doing okay! Thank you for this interesting video!!
One thing you can always count on about McDonald's is their quality control. No matter which McDonald's franchise restaurant you go to, the menu is the same, and their food always tastes the same. So, I agree, the true test will be 6 months to a year from now. I also expect that Russia will see more inflation and "stagflation," after the full effect of trade sanctions hit industries, including higher food costs, smaller portions, and ice cream machines that, when broken, will stay broken for lack of parts.
yes, it may not tase any good, it may not look any good and it will be unhealthy, But it will be equally as Bad, no matter where you go.
@@metricstormtrooper name any healthy fastfood ?
broken ice cream machines? so just like the US on an average day 😂
@Common I gotta disagree. Best McDonalds i ever had was in Tokyo, worst was in Dubai (literally made me puke, i have no clue wtf they did).
You can quality control the raw ingredients as hard as you want, its the employees preparing the food who ultimately make the difference.
Also while all McDonalds have the same staples, every country also has their own special items and sauces. Im sad every time im outside Finland and they dont have chili mayo sauce.
Thanks for the info. I was thinking mostly the US and Western Europe. FYI: If you ever had a "Wimpy Burger" in the UK, you'd still be happy for McDonalds.
The taste will stay the same only for a while, before the old stock of ketchup and frozen nuggets will run out, and the management quality will go down, like so many other Russian businesses
Actually the quality of food and service in Russian restaurants and cafes is definitely higher than in many European countries, first of all in France and Italy (though, curiously, they are seen as mekkas of good cuisine).
You must not know where or how to eat in Italy and France!
@@1ACL You are absolutely right. Finding a good restaurant in France and Italy is a real art, inaccessible to a normal person.
@@MN-ir4es I dint say that...but, whatever..
@@1ACL You’re talking to a Russian bot.
Seems they are selling just the leftovers from Mcdonald's stock. I guess when that is all gone, the menu and taste will change dramatically.
No, same supliers. Just changed faced to avoid bad marketing
@@euchrisssssssss How do you know this. Are you an executive at Tasty, Period?
@@euchrisssssssss What same suppliers? McDonalds was the only supplier. It has its own factories with McD equipment.
@@afcgeo882 BS. McDonalds bought produce from Russian suppliers who keep supplying Вкусно и точка.
@@afcgeo882 wrong.
I just watched a guy on the internet from Russia eat a burger and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Бургер Кинг, КФС.СБАРРО, Сабвей остались и продолжают работать. Малодцы !
@@user-ef2eu7kn1t Не вижу поводов для радости. 1) Это всего лишь франшизы 2) Лучше бы вообще весь бизнес в России остановился, чтобы побыстрее закончить войну в пользу Украины и начать медленно возвращаться к нормальной жизни.
Я это как россиянин говорю.
In regards to America's McDonald's ice cream machine, the reason that they seemed to be broken all the time is that all the maintenance is CONTRACTED to one private company that has VERY BAD SERVICE due to employing very few maintenance workers.
Our McDonald’s ice cream machine is always working. The Manager keeps it maintained. Cleaned every night.
not really. it's planned obsolescence. mcdoanlds makes more money by servicing the ice cream machines than by selling them
wait till its supplies run out like coca-cola. and all the ingredients change after the surplus stock is all used up. then try again. please tell us what the new name means..
Apart from Coca Cola, all the ingredients will be the same as Вкусно и точка will use the same Russian suppliers as McDonald's used.
@@peterwilliams2152 no it won't there pulling out too. there are American brands so even sauces will change. also, Heinz belongs to the Uk.
@@katielouisemcgeary6838 The Russian suppliers will keep the same recipes and just change the labelling. Contract manufacturers do this all the time.
@@peterwilliams2152 you are so wrong this time they won't.because they can not .risk sanctions. so it will definitely be a no.
@@katielouisemcgeary6838 KraftHeinz is a US company with branches around the world. It has suspended imports and exports but not manufacturing for the Russian market.
The reason why it`s not that different from mcdonalds is simple - they simly stole (as is it custom in russia) the supplies left after the leave of mcdonalds :)
Haha the stores were sold, in contract they can buy back again in 15 years(they will when dust seatles)
@@euchrisssssssss Sounds like Russian propaganda to me.
As far as I know McDonalds sold their premises and equipment, it wasn't just stolen. Anyways, the "new" company is missing the most important thing that McDonalds has - their standards
@@NikiProshin In addition, the branding and packaging is a billion dollar industry because it matters. That is why the McDonalds brand itself, is worth billions. There are studies that prove packaging can make a product taste better in the consumer's mind. McDonalds worked hard to get the right tones of yellow and red. Great video - good work.
@@NikiProshin Niki, you have to admit that they bought it pennies on the dollar though. Not a fair market deal. Special operation created a situation where McDonalds wanted out. I wasn't a normal market situation.
icecream machines in usa often get shut off because health department finds bacteria growing
The owners of the fast food restaurant will never be able to come into the Western world without being sued for breach of agreement
They will go to China, and other Asia, Africa and South America Countries.
McDonalds food in the US is pretty much a chemical joke.I don't know how they stay in business, except that every kid wants a Happy Meal. They are basically bottom of the barrel fast food.
The royal burger is probably a lot like what we call a quarter pounder, when I was in France that's what they called it and they even talked about it in Pulp Fiction.
Ahhh, so many cool and memorable lines from that movie. Although technically I think Vince said it was the "Burger royale with cheese". At any rate, given today topic that one was most apropros.
also that's the same as in "Рояn burger" meme.
the problem with the ice cream machines in the US is that you have to clean them. That's it. And it sounds like a SIMPLE problem, but we also have unmotivated workers.
Thanks for this video, I'd been really wondering about this. Keep sharing about changes or non changes in Russia.
Nikita, i think they should rename the restaurant to "Putin food on the table"
They should Putin more effort to rename it.
@@financialk haha 😂
Lol
It makes sense to me that the franchise stayed open. They operate pretty independentally and I assume they use up everything they still have in stock from McDonalds. And then replace things with new suppliers slowly.
Something I noticed - how slowly the employees move around! Very rare in the US and even Europe.☺
Its different based on location.... In New York a colored lady will take a dump on you in McDonalds..... But if you go to McDonalds in Connecticut, they will serve you at your table like in a real restaurant
Yeah, this is what we call a traditional "Soviet" service )
Seriously, the quality of service in post-Soviet countries is noticeably lower than in traditionally capitalist countries. Employees might be unfriendly or even plainly rude, the speed isn't always the best too.
Employees take their sweet time in canada 😅
oh hell i worked in a mcdonalds and i have seen plenty of slow AF employees here in Canada.
I think its pretty universal.
That is good no negative stress yet.
The ice cream machines have a very lengthy cleaning cycle built into the system, in uk / Europe / USA they have to apply the cleaning cycle due to regulations and the chemicals poured into the machine takes a long time to work - hence many machines always being out of service. maybe the cleaning cycle is not applied so often?
I think the Royal burger is most similar to what we call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese burger in the US. If these "New McDonald's" are going in where the old ones were I wonder if they purchased the locations "as is" meaning they're still using the wrappers, meat, cheese, etc from when McDonald's left. Just a thought.
Youre right about the burgers. Its because of the metric system.
Q: You know what they call a Quarter
Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
A: برجر الجبن الملك
It's so weird you have to scan your bags at the railway station, it's not a thing in Canada. Thanks Niki for bringing us these video's.
Russia is terribly scared of t3rror1sm. While visiting I would see such stuff even in small cities with 10-30k inhabitants. They have posters warning about it everywhere.
Well I don't remember Canada having a bunch of terrorist attacks unlike which Russia had by radical Islamists especially in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Give Trudeau some time and he will have scanners everywhere.
He used a military surveillance plane during the Ottawa Freedom protest to listen to cell phone conversations.
@@revolter7094 Canada maintains it safety by being very good friends with the terrorists. Why do you think you're best friends with the muricans?
@Revolter My guess is you've never experienced Communism because that is what they do. Don't take freedom for granted or you too will lose it, both you and the US are already loosing your freedom, yes possibly the two greatest countries in the world are losing their freedom
Enjoying this diversion.
In the U.S. we also have "In and Out" Burger as well as "Chik Fillet", for chicken sandwiches. Definite upgrades of McDonald's and KFC.
Niki - I worked at McDonald's in the year 1995. The truth is the ice cream machine is a horrible pain to clean and set up every day so we used to just say it's not working. Technically that was true because it was not assembled. The machines still look the same so I am sure it's the same reason. Haha. - Nathan from Tulsa Oklahoma.
it's a bit sad to see while the ukrainians are living a hell, in russia it seems that nothing happens, life is good
Most the battlefield are areas where ethnic Russians live...so most suffering is on Russian side as Ukrainian army use them as shields and terrorize them.
@@bobpadok5331 The RAF don't care where the battle is, they attack cities that aren't part of the fight too with cruise missiles.
@@ChucksSEADnDEAD they try avoid casualties as much as possible...watch Patrick Lancaster videos from battlefield...if Russians not cared of civilians..Ukraine would be finished over one weekend..that why they call it special military operation...demilitarization and denazyfication of Ukraine.
@@bobpadok5331 Patrick Lancaster is a independent Russian backed journalist that that no one in the west would touch with a ten foot pole. Essentially he is unemployed.
@@boynamesue7720 who care of west?! His hours of reports with thousands of Ukrainians are more authentic than any of corporate warmongers propagandist in west.
MasterCard still works in New McDonalds? DIdnt VISA and Mastercard suspend their operations in Russia?
Previously issued cards will work until their expiration date, but only in Russia.
Always remember: the Russians, too, love their children. Which is no wonder, when it comes to boys like Niki ;)
I still hope we all will see better times.
You are right. Yet … they apperantly accept that their leader kills children in the neighboring sovereign country. …. So that leaves very little compassion towards russia.
I think they still have a lot of McDonald’s stocks and the taste might change once the stocks are gone. Thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed your videos and your tiktoks. At one point, you used a card for your paymen, i thought Visa and Mastercard suspended their operations there, but apparently its still working.
You are literally doing a great job with editing and amazing quality of video. Keep it up.
Well Niki they're basically recycling the equipment from the McDonald's operation in Russia. That's going to keep quite a bit of the taste the same because it's basically be made the same more or less. However access to this equipment going forward will get increasingly difficult as time moves forwards and Russia doesn't have the technical expertise to replace it and likely won't for some time.
My guess is China will help you out as long as it's in the CCPs interests to do so. How long it remains in their interests is another story all together. Right now Beijing needs oil and natural gas and Russia has the capacity to meet those needs as more and more renewable energy comes online and more and more EVs take over the market the Chinese need for these materials will decline and likely their interest in helping Russia.
So you're absolutely right that the quality will decline over time.
From what i hear, the most common reason iceream machine is said to be often broken in McDonald's in the west is due to the troublesome and long cleaning process of the icecream machine, employees often do not want to clean them so they just say that its not working so they don't have to clean it that day.
now that's sticking it to man. workers of the world unite and cast off the chains of your ice cream machine 😂
Sergey Baklkov has been in various sites in St Petersburg & Moscow & found the food the same as before. He always films live. Even on news in UK the agreement reported was all sites will be open and food will be supplied by the same suppliers, so when McDonalds returns in the future the service etc hasn’t dropped. I’ve known this for weeks.
Спасибо за видео! Всегда интересно посмотреть, что происходит в России. Очень качественный ролик! Кстати, у тебя очень приятный голос. Располагает людей. 😄
Two weeks since your last video, I was very concerned if something bad happened to you. Glad you are back 👍
Back and feeling fine, thank you :)
Cpnsidering what the Spetznaz is doing to protesters....
There was an article about the ice cream machine problem in the Wall Street Journal a while back. Many franchisees felt the specific machine which the company requires is overly complex. It has a four hour antibacterial cycle. If there is a malfunction only the machine company itself not McDonalds or the franchisee can repair the unit. Some franchisees installed another company's monitor to avert trouble but the machine manufacturer has thwarted that leading to a Federal Trade Commission investigation. It is strange that McDonald's cannot resolve this problem.