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McDonald’s Australia announced an interesting addition to its menu: the Wagyu Beef Burger

Wagyu beef is derived from cows bred to create a marbled beef high in saturated fat and known for its tenderness. It is also really expensive thus the McDonald’s variety is a lot more expensive than other burgers on its menu – AUD$10.75 in fact. In comparison, the Angus Beef burger costs AUD$7.50 and AUD$10.50 for a small Angus Beef burger meal.

What’s in the McDonald’s Wagyu Beef Burger? There’s a listing on the McDonald’s Australia website and it seems fairly comprehensive. Likely the beef was a big reason behind the added price as the other ingredients don’t seem to differ much from the average McDonald’s burger.

As to the reception, it doesn’t seem as though people were very impressed. Here’s a brief roundup of media reactions so far.

Insider’s Marina Nazario: “The burger was overcooked, it lacked flavour, and it wasn’t worth the high price tag.”

Gourmet Traveller’s David Matthews: “This is a burger that feels like it doesn’t know quite what it wants to be.”

There were also mixed reviews on McDonald Australia’s Facebook page as well as on Twitter.

Lifehacker Australia’s Chris Jager liked the burger, however: “This is one delicious burger. It reminded us of the US burger chain Umami Burger, with the same subtle combination of sweet, salty and umami flavours.”

It’s unlikely the wagyu burger will make its way outside Australia anytime soon as limited edition burgers tend to mostly be regional specialities. So if you’re curious about the burger you will probably need to be in Australia to sample it.

Advice: don’t expect it to come near the taste of any wagyu beef you’ve had recently. Instead, just consider it a limited edition menu item to try only if you’re really, really curious and can spare AUD$10.75.