They have different names all over the Balkans, but the same taste. Called “cevapi/cevapcici” in Bosnia, Serbia or Macedonia, “kjebapi” in Bulgaria and “mici” in Romania, they are a small, grilled egg-shaped meat roll, served on a plate or in a flatbread, often with chopped onions, sour cream, kajmak, minced red pepper and salt.

On May 1, a day when many Romanians usually go barbecuing and “mici” is one of the traditional favourites, McDonald’s Romania decided to go native this day.

The fast food chain is introducing the famous “mici” to its menu in the form of a sandwich with minced meat mix and mustard, which will be sold under the name, McMici.

The new product is part of the Romanian week campaign started by McDonald’s Romania, and will be accompanied by a sandwich with pork meat and horseradish, sold under the name McPorc.

A McMici will cost 4.5 lei (1 euro) while the McPorc will cost 9.9 lei.

Meanwhile many Romanians will be heading to parks and the countryside to enjoy the weather and food.

“We like to cook our own ‘mici’, that’s why we will go for a picnic close to the mountains near Bucharest”, says Mircea Badescu, a 39-year-old engineer. “For Romanians May 1 means a countryside picnic, with grilled meat or mici”.

Two years ago, Romania adopted a law aimed at curbing outdoor cooking to designated areas to protect the environment. But many people still grill food for picnics, leaving all their rubbish behind, a practice the law hopes to crack down on.