Sir, can I have some more?

In any country, McDonald's usually has one burger or meal that caters towards the local McDonald's loving population.  In Thailand, this takes form in the McRice Burger… does that sound tasty to you?  Having spent a total of about 2 years in Thailand, this was the first time I can remember eating a McDonald's meal (maybe the other times were just too tramatic). Just like eating any other McDonald's meal, I wasn't surprised when I got an unsettling feeling in my stomach…

You know the kind: like you ate too much, but don't know how to get rid of this bloated feeling – the only way to relieve the pressure is to either move around to distract yourself and let the food digest.  My McRice meal was a package of a McRice (Chicken) Burger, french fries, and Pineapple pie… all washed down with a nutritious cup of Sprite.

I know McDonalds' wants to go the healthy root with its burgers and other food on the menu, but when they have their McDeal Meals that are generally unhealthy, it doesn't really matter what kind of food they're selling.

Just to have some contrast with Thailand's McRice Burger, my friend and I went to Cha-am over the weekend, a small beach about 3 hours south of Bangkok, and ordered some Thai food for dinner.  Being at the beach, we decided to pig-out on seafood, and that's just what we did.  I ordered a Tom Yom soup with seafood, and she ordered two salads: a green mango salad with shrimp, and a basil cockle salad (DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT A COCKLE IS?  I THINK ITS A SHELLFISH, BUT NOT SURE).  The soup was just right… a little sour but just the right amount of sweet and saltiness that balanced everything.  The salads were a tad on the spicy side, especially the cockle one, but very fresh.  I could almost taste the ocean.  

So which meal would you have if you were in Thailand?