Fast food fans rejoiced when, a few weeks ago, Rick And Morty creator Justin Roiland finally got his hands on a 64oz bottle of the previously-discontinued Mulan Szechuan dipping sauce from McDonald’s. The Asian-inspired sauce was only officially on the market for a brief period in the late ’90s to promote the Disney movie Mulan, but was thrust back into the spotlight earlier this year when the Rick And Morty writers dedicated a significant portion of the show’s season premiere to shouting about how crazy good it was. Knowing a marketing opportunity when they see one, McDonald’s then reproduced small batches of the sauce, which then sold for exorbitant prices to lucky fans like EDM superstar Deadmau5. But now that the highly-coveted sauce is back, it’s time to find out if it’s really the best sauce on the planet.
Here to make the official ruling are Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon, and the rest of the Rick And Morty staff, who, tasting side-by-side with a control group (McDonald’s Sweet and Sour sauce), will determine whether the Szechuan sauce lives up to its newly ascribed reputation. The verdict? Meh.
While Harmon initially reacts with (potentially faux?) enthusiasm, the rest of the staff responds to the sauce with a mix of “It’s fine” and “I don’t like it.” It’s not exactly the response fans would expect after spending months obsessing over the mythical sauce and launching campaigns to demand the fast food conglomerate bring it back. But Justin Roiland, the man whose love of a sugary Szechuan has been the driving force behind this whole endeavor, is still sticking to his guns. After having his official on-camera taste and doing a classic fake-choking bit, he earnestly states, “It’s really good, I swear. Bring it back please, so we can all die of diabetes!” So, there’s a couple things we can look forward to.