David Chang Calls The Fried Chicken Served At This Country's McDonald's Some Of The Best In The World

As anyone who watched the show "Ugly Delicious" is well aware, celebrity chef David Chang has a lot of strong opinions about food — especially when it comes to global cuisine. The show ran for two seasons and stirred up a lot of buzz as the James Beard award-winner traipsed around the world trying different meals, with viewers calling Chang everything from a nice guy who likes food to outright pretentious. One of Chang's more controversial opinions resurfaced in a more recent episode of his podcast, "The David Chang Show." Playfully stating that his feelings weren't an opinion but an actual fact, Chang reiterated that McDonald's fried chicken was the best chicken in China.

He might be on to something here. In our own definitive rankings of fast food chicken nuggets and tenders at Chowhound, McDonald's placed at a respectable fourth out of 15. But this was in the United States. While McDonald's has only been in China since 1990, it has enjoyed immense success among local customers and is the second-most prevalent fast food restaurant in the country. 

As Chang explained on his podcast (via Instagram), he's found over the years that quick-service chains in general tend to be "the best versions of anything you will get anywhere else in the world" in China. While he called out KFC as another worthwhile chicken contender in China, he specifically noted McDonald's as the frontrunner. As further evidence of his stance, Chang noted an old "Ugly Delicious" episode where he tried McDonald's Szechuan-spiced fried chicken in China and called it "some of the best fried chicken I've ever had."

McDonald's is known for its burgers and fries, but for travel enthusiasts, the world's most famous fast food chain offers another draw: Global differences in the menu. For example, there's gallo pinto, or "McPinto," in Costa Rica, McDonald's porridge in Britain, and a whole selection of rice bowls in the Philippines. This also means the chicken nuggets — or any type of McDonald's chicken — can be different for customers in China compared to other parts of the world. While the traditional McNuggets and McChicken sandwiches are there, they're far from the only cluck-worthy items on the menu. David Chang didn't dive super deep into the Chinese McDonald's menu on his podcast, but there is good reason to consider it a must-visit for chicken lovers who travel.

Patrons at Chinese locations get to choose from spicy chicken wings, lemon-flavored crispy chicken, garlic butter chicken, big chicken cutlets, and a delightful-looking snack cup called "McMagic" chicken balls — and these are just some examples! There are special sauces and seasonings for chicken found on the Chinese menu, but nowhere to be found on American Mickey D's menus. Feeling the FOMO? You can always try creating your own fried chicken specialties with some clever ingredient swaps. But the fact remains that if you want a lot of fast food chicken choices when hitting up McDonald's, you just have to take after David Chang and book the ultimate foodie trip to China.