It’s a new year in China (the year of the dragon to be exact) and with each new year comes the prosperity burger from McDonalds! What? You’ve never heard of the prosperity burger?

In China the celebration of the new year is very important. It’s been celebrated by family get togethers, poetry and slogans being pasted on windows and walls, and a whole week of celebration. McDonald’s is no stranger to adapting itself to other cultures and their holiday traditions, this is especially true in Asia.

The sandwiches are akin to a McRib (an american holiday time tradition), but come in two varities: Chicken and Beef. The Chicken is shaped similarly to the McRib and has lettuce while the beef  version appears to be shaped like an elongated version of another limited time burger they carry called the pepper burger. They are both served on a hoagie roll with a seeded (not corn dusted like the mcrib) top and are both seasoned with a sweet tangy pepper sauce and slivered onions.

It comes with a variety of items included with the meal set. These include a red envelope for giving a money to loved ones as an offering for good luck, a zodiac tray liner, and a green tea drink.

Another thing that catches most people’s eyes is the fact that they don’t serve the traditional shoe lace cut fries with the meal, but instead include curly fries.
China isn’t the only country that gets this burger. It’s a fairly regular menu item in malaysia where it’s served for months leading up to the Chinese new year. Instead of the green tea drink, it’s instead served with a fizzy orange drink made from Minute Maid brand orange juice and carbonated water.  It also comes in a “double  prosperity” variety with double the meat. Thankfully, the malaysian McDonald’s sites and ads are in English, so I can show you a few commercials.

So happy year of the dragon to you all! May your prosperity burgers bring you… you know, prosperity.