McDonald’s Hawaii: Special Menu Items EXPLAINED!

Last Updated on Apr 12 2019 by Bruddah Ron

McDonald’s is an amazing, international fast-food chain. The restaurant is one of my favorites because it combines low cost and a variety of tastes. One of the greatest qualities of McDonald’s is that it is franchised and the flavor is standardized — a cheeseburger you eat in New York will taste the same as a cheeseburger you get in Moscow!

What I like to do when traveling is to visit McDonald’s and then see what special menu items they have! I’ve had a shrimp burger in South Korea and I’ve also eaten a limited-time burger where the bun was made with sticky rice in Singapore. Now, let’s talk about the special menu items at McDonald’s of Hawaii:

1. Fresh-Cut Pineapple (just plain pineapple)

As a frequent patron of McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii, I always welcome any new additions to the menu, to keep my visits interesting. This past week, I visited the McDonald’s across from Waikiki Beach and saw this:

That’s right — for a limited-time, you can buy pineapple at McDonald’s! This is fortunate for those of you visiting Hawaii who can’t manage to find pineapple at any restaurant, any grocery store, or heck, maybe even on the side of the road in North Shore :D.

When I ordered, I was told they were all out! In fact, they had sold out in the morning. So, I can’t tell you the flavor or size of it. Try it yourself!

Update: I went back at 5pm on Friday… I got the 3rd to the last fresh-cut pineapple! I am not impressed!

Cost: $1.80 per serving

Availability: in at least 1 Waikiki McDonald’s, probably for a limited-time

Review: …it tastes like pineapple… in a cup. Nothing special. I feel like you might be able to find the same thing from a convenience store. No special branding or labeling either.

2. McTeri Delux (a teriyaki burger)

The McTeri Delux is a gorgerous, and flavor-filled burger whose patty is sauced in a salty and sweet teriyaki sauce (it’s a Japanese marinade made of soy + sugar + rice wine).

The last time I had this was last year, but I haven’t had it since. It seems to come and go.

Cost: $4-$5

Availability: comes every year or two

Review: fills your face with flavor

3. Spam Breakfast Platters

You know we weren’t going to make list about special menu items in Hawaii without a mention of SPAM (Related: Why do Hawaiians love Spam?).

The breakfast platters consist of eggs, processed meat, and rice. It’s essentially the local equivalent of hotcakes, sausage links, and eggs you might find in the rest of the U.S. These are always okay — I feel like you could find better breakfast plates elsewhere.

Cost: $4.50 -$6

Availability: all day, everyday

Review: a boring choice, not that flavorful, better Spam breakfast plates elsewhere

4. Haupia Pie (coconut)

Haupia pie is basically an apple pie with coconut filling. There are some coconut chunks in there, but I suspect that it’s mostly just sugary goop with coconut flavor.

Cost: $1.50

Availability: limited-time (though I often see it or taro pie available)

Review: pretty boring, last one I ate was somewhat watery, and you can find much better haupia desserts at local bakeries

5. Saimin (noodles in soup)

Saimin is one of the weirdest items on the menu in Hawaii. Not only is it barely advertised, but it’s also fairly expensive for a bowl of soup noodles. It is “fancy” since they have some herbs and fish cake in there and seaweed, but at $3.39 for only 240 calories (I would need to eat 2), this is the only item on this list I have never tried. It might be fun for little kids to eat.

Cost: $3.39

Availability: should be available always

Review: nice novel item, but very overpriced and not filling… you could get a McDouble and small fries for the same price.