While nowhere near as unfortunately named as their Adult Cream Pie, McDonald's Japan has decided to ramp up their pie offerings, this time with a savory stew pie just in time to brave the winter cold.

The new Beef Stew Pie is made is made by slowly simmering beef and vegetables such as potatoes to bring out their flavor in a savory stew made all the richer by Fond de Veau veal stock.

The Beef Stew Pie is marketed under the slogan "Pie wa Ai da", or "Pie is love" in English, in a humorous romantic campaign as Christmas is viewed a bit as a couple's holiday in Japan. Each pie comes in a package featuring one of five romantic pie-punned slogans as well. The commercial shows off the theme of the campaign:

Sincere its release earlier this month, McDonald's Beef Stew Pie has been getting quite a bit of praise and positive reviews online, with many praising the rich flavor and meaty volume of the pies as authentic. However, we found a common consensus among those praising the winter treat, and that's that the Beef Stew Pie is best enjoyed with a pair of McDonald's French Fries.

Wanting to test out the combination for ourselves, we set out to our nearby McDonald's to acquire the two.

Our Beef Stew Pie came with the loving message "Embraced lovingly. Pie is love."

Opening up the pie, we found it to be as pleasantly voluminous as many who tried it had said, and were welcomed by the aroma of slow-cooked meat and vegetables. The pie's casing is actually quite crispy and flakey, so when biting into it, the rich stew flows quickly and directly out of it.

Now the moment of truth. What we anticipated as the meaty equivalent of dipping your fry into a Frosty turned out to be a delicious success! While we expected (and were rewarded with) coating the classic crispy McDonald's fries in a hot stew of meat and veggies, the mild sweetness of the Fond de Veau veal stock actually gave the feeling of eating a gourmet set of fries.

We recommend dipping your fries in while the pie is still piping hot, as not only do you get the full beefy and slow-cooked flavor of the stew, the heat actually softens your fries quite pleasantly!

If you're in Japan and hoping to brave the cold with McDonald's Beef Stew Pie, we definitely recommend picking up a set of fries to enjoy it with!