Why McDonald's Is Always Our First Meal in a New Country

You've just landed somewhere new. You've been in airports and on planes all day, you have no local cash, you can't read the signs, and every restaurant you pass looks like it needs a plan you don't have the energy for. You're starving, and the idea of figuring out how to order dinner feels harder than it should.

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In this guide 6 sections

That was us on our first night in Japan. We'd flown in from Romania to Osaka with no yen and checked into an Airbnb in Dotonbori, one of the busiest, brightest food streets in the country. On the walk there, the first thing we noticed was a McDonald's. We dropped our bags, looked at each other, and didn't even need to say it. Navigating Dotonbori that tired felt overwhelming. McDonald's didn't. We walked in, felt instantly comforted by the familiar setting and the kiosk, and even though the menu had some things we'd never seen, it was easy to order and get our food.

That's when a habit became a rule. Cream and I have been traveling full time for more than 500 days, and McDonald's is our first meal in almost every new country. We've now eaten at McDonald's in 14 countries and filmed a lot of them for our McDonald's around the world series. Call it our unhinged travel hack. Here's why it works.

Why Eat at McDonald's When You Travel? Our Quick Answer

Because it's the easiest first meal in a new country and one of the most interesting. McDonald's almost always takes your card, the self-order kiosk usually has English, and you get a seat and air conditioning after a long travel day. Then there's the part most people miss: the menu is different everywhere, so it's a quick, cheap look at local tastes before you go and find the real thing.

7 Reasons McDonald's Is Our First Meal in Every Country

1. They Take Card // No Local Cash on Day One

We land without local cash more often than we'd like to admit. Airports have bad exchange rates, ATMs don't always like foreign cards, and the first night is never the time to sort it out. That was exactly the problem in Osaka.

McDonald's solves it. In all 14 countries so far, McDonald's has taken our card. In Almaty, Kazakhstan, our whole order came to 10,250 tenge (about $22), and we paid by bank card. At Taksim Square in Istanbul we paid in Turkish lira, on a card, without ever touching cash.

2. The Kiosk Speaks English // No Language Barrier

This is the big one. The McDonald's we've visited lately have self-order kiosks, and every one we've used had an English option. You tap through pictures of every item, see the price, and pay. No pointing, no guessing, no holding up a queue while you try to pronounce a menu item.

At a McDonald's in Shinjuku, Tokyo, we ordered the whole Japanese menu in English. We did the same at the rooftop McDonald's on Jeju Island in South Korea and at Taksim Square in Istanbul. In Malaysia the kiosks switch between Malay and English. It's the only restaurant in a new country where we know ordering will be easy before we walk in.

3. It's Comforting After a Long Day of Flights

After a travel day, your brain is done. The comfort of McDonald's isn't really about the burger. It's knowing exactly how the whole thing works: where to order, where to pick up, where to sit. In a city where everything else is new, that familiarity lets you switch off for half an hour.

That's what we felt in Osaka, and it's why McDonald's is still our first meal after a flight.

4. A Seat, AC, Wi-Fi, and a Bathroom // Everything You Need to Regroup

Sometimes you just need a burger and a place to sit in the AC. McDonald's gives you a table, cold air, usually free Wi-Fi, and a bathroom. It's a good place to charge your phone and plan the next move.

In Kuala Lumpur, stepping out of the heat of Bukit Bintang into the McDonald's there felt like walking into a fridge. If you're heading somewhere hot, our guide to the best time to visit Kuala Lumpur explains why that AC matters.

5. The Menu Is Different Everywhere // The Fun Part

This is what turned a survival habit into a series. McDonald's changes its menu in every country, and the local items tell you something about what people there like to eat.

A few of our favorites so far:

• Malaysia: the Nasi Lemak McD, coconut rice with sambal, fried anchovies, and an egg, with a frothy Teh Tarik. It tastes like a proper nasi lemak. Here's our full review of McDonald's in Malaysia.
• Japan: the Chicken Tatsuta, soy-and-ginger fried chicken on a soft bun, and the Ebi Filet-O, a whole-shrimp burger.
• South Korea: the Shrimp Beef Burger on Jeju Island, a shrimp patty and a beef patty in one bun. Cream liked it even more than the Ebi Filet-O.
• Turkey: a real Turkish coffee in a ceramic McCafé cup, served with a piece of Turkish delight, plus a köfte burger and an Adana wrap.
• Kazakhstan: fries with garlic sauce, which reminded us of the garlic sauce at McDonald's in Romania.
• Thailand: the fried chicken, and a Ronald McDonald statue out front with his palms pressed together in a wai, the Thai greeting.
• Dubai: the McArabia, a flatbread sandwich. We haven't seen anything like it anywhere else.

Every one of those is something we can't order back home in the US.

6. You See How Locals Actually Live

Sit in a McDonald's for an hour and you learn a lot about a place. In Shinjuku it was busy but almost silent, with everyone eating alone with headphones on, and spotless. Clean and quiet, very Japan. In Kuala Lumpur we were greeted at the door by staff with their hands on their hearts, and the morning crowd was locals working on laptops. On Jeju it was families and locals, with a rooftop looking over the ocean.

Sometimes McDonald's even tells you a bit of history. In Kazakhstan, the McDonald's restaurants became a local chain called I'm after McDonald's left the country.⁴ Everything from the kiosks to the chairs looks the same, and if nobody had told us, we wouldn't have known.

7. It's Great for Picky Eaters (and Predictable on Price)

If you're traveling with a picky eater, or you're just not ready for a mystery dish on night one, there are always fries, nuggets, and a burger you recognize. Prices are easy to predict, too: at McDonald's in Shinjuku we paid about $17 for breakfast and about $17 for lunch for the two of us, trying six or seven items each time.

How We Do It: Our McDonald's Ritual

Back on that first Osaka trip in May 2025, the local menu was a surprise, and so was every one after it. Now that we film each country, we look up the McDonald's menu before we arrive and plan what to order. That's how we found out McDonald's had left Kazakhstan: I looked up the menu before our trip, saw I'm instead, and was confused. At first I thought it really was McDonald's.

When we get there, we always order two things:

• Fries. They're our test. If the fries are good, the McDonald's is good.
• A Quarter Pounder, if they have it. That one is always a good sign.
• Chicken Nuggets. Always a classic and a fun way to try the unique sauces.

Then we order the local specials and share everything. For the filmed ones, we go twice in one day, once for breakfast and once for lunch, so we can try both menus. We did that in Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, and Istanbul.

The Downsides (Because There Are a Few)

It isn't perfect, and it's not a replacement for local food. We usually only do McDonald's once per country, plus the odd day when we're busy or it's a late-night meal, and we always go for local food right after. Here's what can go wrong:

• Long waits. Popular branches get packed. In Japan the McDonald's we used was busy, and the lines were usually long. At lunch in Shinjuku it was almost impossible to find a seat.
• The kiosk can't always take payment. At Taksim Square in Istanbul, the kiosk's card payment was down, so we ordered and paid at the counter instead. It still worked, but the counter is where the language barrier comes back.
• Waiting for your number. You order on the kiosk, then wait for your number to be called. If there's no screen showing order numbers, and they're called out in the local language, it can be tricky to know when your food is ready. Keep your receipt in hand and watch the counter.
• Not every "McDonald's" is McDonald's. In Kazakhstan it's I'm now. It's close, but it's not the same brand.

Every Country We've Eaten at McDonald's So Far

As of September 2026, we've eaten at McDonald's in 14 countries: the United States, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan (at I'm), Turkey, Romania, Thailand, Vietnam, Italy, Spain, the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Indonesia, and Australia. Greece and Morocco are next.

Our top three so far are Malaysia, Japan, and Jeju Island in South Korea, with Dubai's McArabia as an honorable mention. Malaysia is still our favorite, for the Nasi Lemak McD alone.

Should You Try It on Your Next Trip?

Yes. Make McDonald's your first meal in a new country, and let it do the hard part on the night you land. Order the fries, order whatever you've never seen before, and sit by the window for a while. Then go straight for the local food, like we do. In Kuala Lumpur, that means the 10 must-eat foods in Kuala Lumpur.

Next Steps for Your Next Trip

• Our full review: McDonald's in Malaysia, our favorite so far
• After the fries: The 10 must-eat foods in Kuala Lumpur
• Beat the heat: The best time to visit Kuala Lumpur