Alright let’s take The Big Question out of the realm of video games. Let’s take things to the fast food burger realm. It is a good realm to be in. But say you have to choose between McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s, which do you choose and why?
I think it’s more complicated than one might think. As the slogan says, I do think the burgers are better at Hungry Jack’s. I truly do. But McDonald’s french fries destroy all. As does their breakfast menu. Also — McDonald’s has a range of actually surprisingly healthy chicken salads. When I get dragged in there during road trips but I still want to eat relatively clean, I totally still can. This is important to me.
But man. Those Hungry Jack’s burgers: the ones with the bacon on them. Goddamn. It’s difficult to go past them.
Thoughts?
Comments
124 responses to “The Big Question: McDonald’s Or Hungry Jack’s”
I used to think Hungry Jacks was better. That was when I was a silly teenager.
Now I think both are terrible but Maccas is occasionally the right kind of terrible. Also, HJs makes my farts completely rancid.
Your farts?
My farts.
No idea why but it’s a great reason not to eat from there. Well, it’s a great reason if I don’t want my girlfriend to kick me out of the house for breaking various chemical warfare treaties.
Onion rings?
The most likely culprit.
It’s always the onion rings…
Something in them – i forget everytime!
I have the problem with McD burgers.
So tough. The burgers are indeed better at Hungry Jack’s (except for the Serious Lamb Burger Maccas had for a while, that thing totally kicked arse). But then I always feel like I’m carrying a brick in my gut afterwards, which I don’t usually get from McDonalds. But then over there I’m left staring at the menu for a good ten minutes or so trying to figure out what to get because there isn’t really anything there that jumps out as the one to get.
I usually opt for Hungry Jack’s though, when it’s there.
McDonalds, hands down. Hungry Jack’s burgers all taste bland and disgusting. I have never had a decent burger at hungry jacks and never will because they don’t understand how to make burgers… but I have had some lovely burgers at McD.
When McD burgers are freshly cooked, they are better than the expensive burgers you buy in fancy restaurants.
Sometimes I wonder if we can sue Hungry Jack’s for false advertising… “The burgers are better at hungry jack’s.”… No, the burgers at hungry jack’s are the worst in the industry. They are completely shithouse and it should be illegal to even sell them as anything more than dog food.
The two hungry jacks near me are like that, belconnen and Fyshwick burgers are barely classed as food. The queanbeyan one however always have awesome burgers, better than anything McDonalds could ever make.
Ah! Not the Quangas outlet!
Hyperdome used to be best, but it’s gone now 🙁
I think the Hungry Jack’s in Canberra is universally bad. The one in Tuggeranong just closed recently, so I found that quite telling.
At least it’s not as bad as Central Station in Sydney. Hello food poisoning for a 4 hour train back home…
The Meat is nicer at hungry jacks, but the burger buns are terrible and ruins the meal.
A downvote for preferring Hungry Jacks? Really?
Hahahahahahahahahahaha
You might possibly be the biggest McDonalds fan ever. Better than a proper burger from literally anywhere else? Madness.
Yeah… give me a good fish & chip shop burger any day!
I love me some grilld but there are some bloody terrible (and overpriced) burgers out there. Part of maccas’ appeal is that it’s very consistent.
Personal preference here but the reason I always eat the same kind of foods is that I like getting what I pay for. I like knowing what I’m going to get.
It shits me to tears when someone forces me to buy a meal I wouldn’t normally eat and it turns out to taste awful. Happens far more often than trying something new and enjoying it.
When are they ever freshly cooked?
They are freshly assembled, maybe but they aren’t freshly cooked.
Yeah, I weighed a Quarter Pounder patty once, and it was less than half that weight. Got a frozen patty smuggled out (cooked from frozen isn’t exactly fresh) and it weighs exactly one quarter pound before being cooked. I think they must inject them with water to get it up to that weight when frozen.
The only thing I buy at Maccas is a wrap sometimes or something from the McCafe, but it would be maybe three times a year. Haven’t been to HJs in memory, but I liked the burgers better when I did.
If they didn’t freeze them it would seriously decrease the shelf life, or they would need to add preservatives, such as chemicals or salt. Also things always weigh more when frozen
Ahahaha yes “When McD burgers are freshly cooked”. I would like to see when this actually happens. It is hard to go past the fact that both these places hire “cooks” that are pre-pubescent teenagers.
Last time I had fresh from Maccas was in Vietnam. A hell of a lot better than any maccas in Aus.
You’ve never even been to Grill’d have you? Come to Canberra, get a Brodburger, then look in disgust at your favourite Maccas burger :p
you got hit by the downvote hate brigade but I completely agree. HJ’s stuff tastes like char grilled cardboard.
I’m biased because I eat maccas regularly but I never have a bad burger. Chips vary a lot. I also love the premix, it’s the perfect combination of flavor without being too carbonated or too sweet.
Hands down Hungry Jacks. Whopper is great but the Angry Whopper is something else. That’s my to go fast food burger.
This. The angry whopper is king.
It is great, but a poor substitute for the Double Angry Angus. That truly was a breakfast of champions.
There is a burger called an Angry Whopper?
Indeed, sounds like what happens the morning after a night on the piss…
Yes, has spicy sauce, deep fried crunchy onion bits sprinkled on top etc. Great food.
Agree, it’s all about the bacon on the Hungry Jacks ones.
That said, I’ve been to both a combination of maybe 5 times in the past 10 years. I’m not really educated enough here.
Hungry Jack’s Bacon Deluxe burgers are awesome. I almost always opt for Hungry Jack’s and very rarely eat McDonald’s.
I do admit that McDonald’s breakfasts are better, but I almost never need takeaway breakfast (and when I do, I normally opt for a breakfast sub from Subway or something from Breaktop).
But hands down, Hungry Jack’s burgers are better.
I don’t know if they changed their recipes but I loved them as a kid, now I am pretty sure licking my dogs anus would produce a better taste in my mouth…. have not been to either in what seems like 5 years plus.
As you age your tastes change over time. What was once good may fall out of the flavour zone as you age. But there is always the chance it will come back.
Before 15-20 Sweet is king, after 20 we move to savoury and after 60 we move back to sweet again. This is not to say you won’t enjoy sweet things just how sweet something you loved as a kid is could be overpowering now, but after 60 could move back to being fantastic.
Hungry Jack’s has the better burgers which create the illusion of being healthier since they have more salad and taste less greasy, plus they do curly fries.
But I don’t know what it is, I don’t really like going there. Maybe it’s just years of conditioning but when I want a cheap & simple fast-food dinner and the opportunity to express a reckless disregard for my health, McDonald’s just feels like the right option.
I like going to HJ’s because of the 50s diner aesthetic they’ve usually got going on.
Well, for the standalone stores at least. Not so much with the ones in shopping centres.
I don’t think it matters. The only time I’ve eaten either in the last 10-15 years is when I’ve had too many drinks to recognise the awfulness and just need something to fill my stomach – A task that could probably be just as successfully fulfilled by a pile of shredded newspaper.
Corner hamburger fish/chip shop > Franchise burger..
Not in england I’ve found unfortunately..
Yeah, England seems to have a weird relationship with burgers. The classic Australian ‘burger with the works (including pineapple, bacon and an egg)’ is almost impossible to find there.
I have never found this to be true… never
Trying to pick what to have for lunch @markserrels?
Why did you have to ask that so close to lunchtime? Why?
OPORTO.
But, between these two, probably McDonalds? Sometimes their little cheeseburgers hit the spot, and their McChicken is okay. I just never got into HJs that much.
Oporto for the win!
Except the KJ’s are insane.
fuck yes. Oporto above all
i prefer the maccas smooth bun squashed cheeseburger, to hungry jack’s crumbly wet cardboard cheeseburger. But also cant turn down a good whopper. oh and the rodeo sliders…
Hrmm, gonna have to go with Hungry jacks.
Macca’s for breakfast, Jacks for Burgers.
KFC…but McDonalds due to their variety, breakfast menu and better milkshakes/deserts.
I don’t go to either of them, but Hungry Jacks wins because I used to work at McDonalds and can’t really bring myself to buy it any more. Given a choice though, I’d always go to Oporto.
KFC
Maccas with a mcafe is very good, as you can have a burger with any kind of coffee they happen to be serving at the time, good for those kind of people who haven’t had brekkie at the time, mmmmm brekkie wraps with coffee
Maccas because I don’t like the buns they use for Hungry Jacks. It just feels so damn greasy.
Plus Maccas seems to be more consistent. No offense to anyone here who has worked at Hungry Jacks but the service is usually bad and the burgers are usually half arsed. Maccas the service is usually decent and the product is usually put together properly.
I will agree with that. Maccas is very consistent everywhere. HJ’s range from good to substandard and some are just downright awful.
The difference in quality of service/well put together burgers comes down to HJs being stingy as a corporation. I’ve worked at both and am currently at HJs and we are always understaffed, always. The way HJs is structured is for insane profit margins which means pretty dodgy working conditions a lot of the time, mainly when busy. Maccas would always have double the people we actually needed, so if you don’t get quality at maccas there must be some slack people working.
I can’t really afford to go to either anymore, but the Bacon Deluxe or the Ultimate Double Whopper… they’re two burgers that just can’t be topped by McD’s in my opinion.
That said, McDonalds is considerably more convenient for me (no HJs near my work or home), and often is the cheaper option, so when I do frequent one of the two, it’s usually McDonald’s.
Hungry Jacks because their cheap menu is slightly cheaper. Also their $1 large frozen cokes. That said both are pretty disgusting. No one really wins here.
Subway.
Both the above options are terrible.
Comments say McDonalds, poll says Hungry Jacks. Go figure.
I can’t decide really. Both have their place for me. I suppose I’d go with McDonalds as they have more menu options I like but a double whopper with cheese from Hungry Jacks is incredible. Other than the double whopper though Hungry Jacks chips are sub par and I don’t rate any of their other burgers that highly. Their chicken nuggets are horrible too, last time I got those I couldn’t even eat them.
I would start listing other joints that do burgers I prefer more (grill’d or nandos for instance) but then a mcdonalds and hungry jacks burger isn’t the same thing, to me it’s like how dominos pizza doesn’t really taste like normal pizza, they are their own food sub group and when you crave mcdonalds you crave a mcdonalds burger and the chemicals that make it’s flavouring unique not a real hamburger.
I’m not a fan of McDonald’s all that much but they don’t have chemicals in their food now, it’s all pretty natural. They’ve done a few mini documentaries on how it all works and take some cynics and show them the whole shebang from the farm to the restaurant.
By chemicals I mean their flavour mix, I’m not sure if I’m right but I’ve seen a doco on foxtel a while back about the company that produces their signature flavours. Maybe they don’t use chemicals for it but they have a distinct taste that isn’t like a common burger you’d cook up at home.
I assume you mean their special sauces?
Or are you talking about some actual part of the burger such as the patty, bun or something?
Their seasoning mixes probably. Wish I could find what it was I saw but it talked about how they would make it so every item there would taste vaguely similar and keep the overall taste of the franchise. I’m not one of those people saying it’s all horrible food or they pump rat poison in to their meat or anything like that. Just that they have unique tastes.
Hungry Jacks has tastier burgers.
I’d say the fries are generally the same quality but fries are kinda boring – I go for the onion rings.
Maccas “chicken” nuggets taste a lot better than HJ.
Maccas seems to have a larger menu of things I’d want to eat.
Mate, have you ever had real onion rings? The ones at HJ are all the same size and if you big into them you will see it’s onion mush. Find somewhere that deep fries actual onion rings in batter. Amazing and for some reason stupidly hard to find (at least in Tas). I have only found one place that does it.
I prefer the McDonalds breakfast and their nuggets. As for burgers much of a muchness. There was a time I woudl swear by a bacon deluxe but find it a bit heavy these days.
Also find a standard burger just isn’t filling so generally will get chips and drink as well. For that price I can get a proper decent burger from burger edge (or grill’d).
Although can also get a burger or wrap from Schnitz so there really is no choice
The meat patty at HJ are better than Maccas but the “sausage” in the McMuffin are better than HJ’s version.
Yes indeed, the “sausage”.
At least with that particular product they’re honest about what’s in the pattie, i.e. mystery meat.
Maccas if I really, really have no choice. Probably just fries. But only once they stop using unsustainable palm oil.
WTF is BK called Hungry Jacks anyway over there? or is that a stupid Question
http://youlearnsomethingneweachday.com/quick-facts/why-is-burger-king-called-hungry-jacks-in-australia/
It’s a bit of a weird story.
When Burger King first set up down here, they found that they couldn’t use the Burger King name because another company had already trademarked it. So they set up shop as Hungry Jack’s (as a Burger King franchise) instead.
Years later Burger King tried to set up again as Burger King but the owner of Hungry Jack’s took them to court saying it was a violation of the franchise agreement. He won, and Burger King decided to pull out for good after that.
Which is also why a lot of stores are styled really basic (hungry jacks) while some after over the top with Americana (burger king).
That’s weird, I always found it to be the other way around. The 50s Diner ones were always HJ’s, while BK had the whole clean, sterile look with the blue and white tiling.
Opposite here. The hungry jacks all feel like 90’s McDonalds.
Cheers WhitePointer.
Fun fact, the owner of Hungry Jacks is called Jack Cowin, hence the name Hungry Jacks.
Chuck Wagon in Nth Adelaide is better than both and not much more expensive…
But as always with these “this or this” articles, I’m torn.
HJs for beef.
Mickey Ds for chicken.
All hungry jacks burgers take like the exact same mix of ketchup and mayonnaise.
I just want either of them to get my special orders right. How hard is it to understand that asking for no cheese doesn’t mean add extra cheese?
Mo’ cheese.
Neither. I’d go Woolwich Pier Hotel for burgers, although they aren’t quite as good as they used to be 🙁 or Via Napoli pizzeria for fast food overall (and it is fast – you get a beautiful wood-fired pizza to your table in under 10 minutes unless they are flat out).
The Ultimate Double Whopper is the best lan food. HJs is great for burgers (out of the two), but maccas has better chips and ice creams. Depends what I feel like but I usually frequent maccas more just for dessert (cause who really has dinner there often, besides bogans :P).
I would’ve gladly argued Oportos at one point, but my, they’ve gone to shit the last few years…
I miss the strip sub they used to have. 80% of the time it was a huge soggy mess to eat, but I loved it.
HJ’s for sure, burgers are better, there’s onion rings plus I get to make my own drink. It helps that the local hj’s near home has started putting spices on their fries as well as salt, so there’s almost a peri peri salt thing going on.
I would take a Nandos Wrap or Burger over both of them, However i take Macca’s over HJ’s from a sentimental side of things.
Hungry Jacks – Bacon Deluxe
McDonald’s – Mighty Angus
The only two things I ever get.
I find McDonalds to be far more consistent in quality these days, while hungry jacks is pretty abysmal. Well made hungry jacks that hasn’t been microwaved or sat for an hour though has 10x more flavor than McDonalds.
Who cares? They’re both pretty crappy!
A better question for burgers would be:
New York Minute or 8-Bit?
If you’re in Melbourne, you need to try both of these out ;D
Reminds me of a time I went to McDonalds and the girl serving was wearing a burqa. I don’t care what she wears normally but I noticed it was quite dirty and tattered and a bit smelly and it actually put me off so I walked out and went across the road to Hungry Jacks. At Hungry Jacks there was another girl wearing a burqa. I was happy to see that it was clean and it was even nicely decorated with beads and sequins.
That’s when I realised the burqas are Better at Hungry Jacks.
I laughed hard. Well played, sir.
I’m voting HJs purely because its not Burger King.
KFC Double or GTFO.
On a related note, anyone been to Fergburger in Queenstown, NZ ? I’d put it in the running for the greatest burger joint on earth.
http://www.furgburger.com
Onion rings.
I much prefer Hungry Jacks, although unfortunately we don’t have one where I live.
First one, then the other?
I’ve worked at Hungry Jacks for 6 years, and now subway is like Heaven.
I occasionally eat a burger on my brake but it’s never satisfying. I guess I’ve worked there too long and it’s all crap now, though the Chicken Crunch is pretty darn good.
But…. Subway all the way!
I agree that the Chicken Crunch is pretty good! I’m a Maccas person mostly, but lately I’ve tried the Spicy Jalapeño Chicken Crunch burger from HJ and it just rocks, enough for me to vote HJ instead of my standard choice. Though as Serrels say, McD chips are where it’s at.
Next time ask to have angry sauce instead of Peri Peri sauce and fresh crunch. You will not be disappointed 🙂
Also McD’s fries are way better.
A Maccas Triple Cheese Burger is hands down a pocket rocket of ultimate fast food goodness – cheese, many meats, pickles, sauce and carbs…..The burger has to be, obviously, warm and fresh, but not too fresh that the cheese hasn’t had time to melt.
I only indulge once every 4-6 weeks…promise.
There’s something that hasn’t been mentioned by anyone else.
Also, although I voted for Hungry Jacks, the decor is hideous and kitsch. All that tacky fake 1950s stuff!
Hmm this is a tough one as many others have stated – All round – HJ’s burgers are better (when not assembled by the angry teen).
McD’s definitely has a time and a place and its almost the buttered bread of fast food – staple but nothing interesting about it.
MacDonalds doesn’t make vegetarian burgers, so I’m limited to chips and deserts.
HJ’s Vegie Burger isn’t the greatest… but it’s alrite.
You can’t go past a McD cheeseburger.
Nether.
Grill’d all the way!
It’s been over a decade since I had either but back in the day I was a Hungry Jacks fan.
Hungry Jacks now have guac in their burgers. Your argument is invalid. That shit’s delicious.
Mark I am on diet, I beg you, don’t make articles with this kind of food!!!
Where is the third option – anything else if it’s available?
We always go oporto if it’s an option. Soooo delicious. And KFC chippies are pretty tasty. But really, today I had an absolutely smashing burger from a little cafe at Curl Curl. So much delicious.
My Mr 3 thinks McDonalds is an ice cream shop. Says a lot about what we buy from there.
In my youth I would have vote for Hungry Jacks – now that I’m in my 30s I’m finding as much as I enjoy eating the Hungry Jacks hamburgers, my gut does not enjoy the oil/grease that typically comes with it.
Whilst the overall quality of most Maccas hamburgers is not as good, they are more consistent with their cooking methods and the result tends to be less oil/grease in the hamburger and a happier gut afterwards.
Also, for those of us on a diet or health kick, but no time to make your own lunch and lack access to good nearby food places (other than Maccas), surprisingly you can actually get a relatively filling, lowish intake meal cheaply from Macdonalds if you know what to ask for.
I’m actually genuinely surprised Hungry Jack’s has won this poll and won it by a considerable margin too with 2/3rd of the total votes. I personally prefer Hungry Jack’s, but I honestly thought there were more fans of McDonalds out there.
Seriously if Im looking for a burger Im more likely going to try a local fish and chip shop.
The kind of places where you can watch them grilling the meat, and frying up the egg and bacon.
If I have to eat fast food, I will go for some KFC. Always love the idea of it before lunch, regret it all afternoon, and completely forget how bad it is until next time I’ve eaten it.
Hungry Jacks has given me food poisoning TWICE in the last 2 years. The burgers ARE NOT better.
I like both, but for me Maccas wins due to its improvement in terms of health and safety. Nowadays they cook on demand so orders are always fresh.
Yet somehow, even when HJ are required to cook on demand during peak hour, their burgers look like they’ve been sitting in the warmer for at least a few hours, and can taste pretty foul from time to time – especially the smaller cheeseburger variations. Around my parts, food poisoning is often thrown in with every one of their meals.
I ate at Hungry Jacks weekly for almost 3 years. That ended at the start of the year when the joint was filthier than a pig stye. Table after table piled with garbage & refuse from the previous slob of a diner. Along with dried stains to show they hadn’t been cleaned in ages with dozens of dead flies all along the window. Most disturbing was this scene repeated itself at other nearby outlets. McDonalds would never allow a franchisee to run a restaurant in a such a disgustingly unclean manner.
As for the burgers, McD’s got the Angus patties least they have thickness & some actual beefy flavour. Hungry’s used to have Angus, but now are left with their thin as coasters grey plasticine patties. Other low points for Hungry’s stale buns, limp fries & lettuce is supposed to be green what’s that white crap they keep putting in their burgers.
Really though McD’s wins by default. Elsewhere in the world places like Wendy’s, In N Out, Carl’s Jr & Five Guys do much better burgers.
Gotta go with Hungry Jacks, I find it’s more filling and satisfying compared to McDonalds, which always has me ordering extras on the side with a meal, I also get hungry again an hour or so later… there’s something in their food that makes me want to eat more and more.
I think a lot of people hating on Maccas haven’t been there in the last 10 years. Give it a shot. I think you’ll be surprised how much has changed.
I’ll admit it’s been a very long time since I’ve ever dared eat HJ’s but those scars don’t heal quickly.
I was about to click McDonalds out of habit, but…. This week due to unexpected late finishes at work followed buy my usual very very early starts, I’ve had to have McDonalds twice this week (there weren’t really other options available). Both times, I stared at the menu with it’s pictures of perfect burgers, and I realised that there was nothing on their menu that I actually wanted to eat.
Hungry Jacks however, despite their quality control issues (which I honestly think have improved significantly over the past 10 years, and still leave KFC off in the distance as the worst offender), makes burgers that I genuinely want to have as a meal. The Peri Peri Crunch for example, and even the simple Whopper with Cheese.
I’m not sure if in a constant effort for consistency McDonalds has taken something away from its burgers, but they just don’t appeal in the way they once did. I must be getting old.
Double arches – no questions asked.
HJ’s may have decent burgers but Maccas has more than decent everything else and the burgers are still very good as well. I would go to HJ’s in a pinch but if given the choice I will go for maccas
when i feel like eating, i love maccas big mac, chicken and cheese, fill o fishs, cheeseburgers and hungry jacks bacon deluxe and whopper and grilled chicken
This was by far the hardest decision I have ever made in my life and I’m a doctor.