Da' Food EnthusiastHave you ever been in a situation where you were invited to go to a fast food joint with your family and friends, but the problem is you had your heart set on eating “healthy”? (What a dilemma, right?)
Well, I have and let me tell you, it’s important to make compromises so that both parties stay happy.
So, is it really possible to have something “healthy” at a fast food restaurant? Apparently, the answer is ‘Yes’!
I recently checked out 3 fast food restaurants in Brunei that offer healthy alternatives as part of their menu. Keep reading to find out more!
1. Burger King
When you think of Burger King, the first things that pop into mind would (obviously) be burgers.
But did you know that they have many other non-burger items?
Say hello to salads! Well, to be precise, the KingChicken Salad and KingBeef Salad.
The salads basically include lettuce, some sliced tomatoes and raw onion rings.
What you’re getting basically depends on the branch and stock – sometimes there are no onion rings included with the salad. The salad dressing they use is their own: a “light Italian dressing” that is vinaigrette-based.
As for the protein, you have a choice of either chicken or beef. In fact, it’s the same fried chicken or grilled beef patty used in their burgers. I do find them to be quite large – more than enough to be eaten with the salad!
The KingBeef Salad
However, it baffles me that they don’t offer grilled chicken for their salad.
In my opinion, this would have made more sense since grilled chicken is comparably healthier than the fried one. They do have grilled chicken burgers on their menu, so why couldn’t this have been used for the salad?
As it stands, their salads cost $4.50 each for either the beef or chicken variety. Out of all the other salads that I’ll be highlighting in this story, this is cheapest of the bunch that comes with protein.
I’d also like to point out that they are the only franchise that offers a salad with beef option.
Both salads include the same components except for the protein. So, this is why I’m only providing a photo of the KingBeef Salad for this article.
Light Italian dressing
2. McDonald’s
It wasn’t too long ago that McDonald’s introduced salad items on their menu. I’m glad that more fast food restaurants are now offering healthier alternatives on their menu.
McDonald’s offers 3 choices for their salads – the à la carte has veggies only, the second option includes a boiled egg and the third option comes with boneless grilled chicken.
Roasted sesame dressings are used for their salads. (I think it’s the Kewpie brand because it tastes exactly the same LOL!) I love this salad dressing by the way! It’s a good choice for them to use this!
So the salad includes lettuce, which is the main greens, with some shredded purple cabbage, cherry tomatoes and corns. The salad portion is a lot I have to say, more so than Burger King’s.
McD’s salad with chicken
However, if I’m being frank, I must say that the price difference between the basic option and one with protein is quite huge.
The basic salad here costs $4.50 (which is the same as Burger King’s) – the only difference here is that this price doesn’t include any protein (like Burger King’s).
Adding an egg would be 50 cents extra, and adding chicken would bump up the cost to $6.50. (Yikes!)
Price aside, it’s a good salad!
I was especially impressed that they used grilled chicken as a protein. The grilled chicken was indeed well seasoned and tasty!
Roasted sesame dressing
3. Wayback Burgers
Wayback Burgers, which recently made a comeback in Brunei, is another eatery that offers salads – Garden Salad or Caesar Salad. Both have minor difference, which I’ll explain.
You can either have it as it is (without protein) or you could add fried/grilled chicken for an additional cost.
The Garden Salad is more fully loaded with different types of veggies, whereas the Caesar Salad is more simplistic.
The Garden Salad includes crisp lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, onions, croutons and shredded cheddar with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
As for the Caesar Salad, it comes with crisp lettuce, shredded parmesan and croutons with Caesar dressing by default. You could, however, change the dressing to 4-5 other different dressings. Personally, I love the blue cheese dressing!
Caesar Salad with grilled chicken
Both salads cost $5.50. Adding chicken in the mix will come with an additional cost of $2 for both the fried and grilled chicken.
Out of the 3 fast food eateries mentioned in this story, I must say that the salads at Wayback Burgers are the most expensive of the lot (both with and without protein).
That said, I love the fact that Wayback Burgers are offering grilled chicken as an option. (I’d say it’s much healthier!)
I also feel that the quality of their salads match the price they are charging.
For this article, I’ll only be providing a photo of their Caesar Salad because personally speaking, I prefer this kind of salad 🙂
On a side note, I have always loved their burgers and shakes, so I’m glad Wayback Burgers are back in the market!
A fair compromise?
So there you go! Three fast food franchises to choose from!
I’m sure there is something for everyone at any of these restaurants. So there’s no excuse now … your family or friends can have their fries, fried chicken or burger, while you can have your salad. It’s a fair compromise I believe!
My personal favourite among these three franchises would have to be Wayback Burgers. I was impressed with the type of lettuce used in their salad and the fact that you are given the option to either choose fried or grilled chicken, as well as the different types of dressing, makes it a huge ‘Yes’ for me!
However, if I want to have beef with my salad, then I’d have to pick Burger King.
I hope this article proves useful for you. I hope that this article would encourage Neue readers to eat healthy every now and then 🙂