Malaysia became the first country in Asia on May 26, 2021 to see the launch of the BTS Meal, a special collaboration between the wildly popular K-pop boyband and McDonald's.
Photos on Facebook showed the BTS Meal packaging washed and dried, and subsequently framed on the wall and put on the shrine.
Demand through the roof
With the BTS Meal selling out country-wide in less than a day, the demand was believed to have been driven through the roof by BTS’s loyal fans, also known as ARMY -- and compounded by the Covid-19 restrictions.
McDonald’s Malaysia urged customers to use the contactless delivery function to order the meal due to Covid-19 health measures that try to stop overcrowding.
But both the Malaysia McDonald’s delivery app and online delivery service on the website ended up crashing on the launch day.
Customers were greeted with a message that read: “Hang in there! Due to high website traffic, you have been placed in a virtual waiting room. You will be redirected to our website shortly.”
What meal consists of
The purple-themed packaging with BTS logos are ultimately what fans want.
McDonald’s staff in Malaysia even separated the French fries by putting them in a regular paper bag so as not to stain with oil the paper bag carrying BTS’s logo.
Other customers brought their own food receptacles to preserve the packaging carrying the BTS logo.
In Malaysia, the boyband’s signature order of 10 pieces of Chicken McNuggets, a medium serving of fries, a medium Coca-Cola, and sweet chili and cajun dipping sauces, retails from RM15.70 (S$5).
Malaysia's launch was ahead of Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and even South Korea, which is BTS's native country.
A total of 49 countries in the world will be able to buy the BTS Meal.
McDonald's Singapore postponed launch
McDonald's Singapore postponed the launch of the BTS Meal from May 27 to June 21, 2021 in view of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).
Similar exuberant scenes are expected in Singapore.
All photos via