Sakura Teritama Burger

The Sakura Teritama Burger also affectionately known as the “Cherry Blossom Burger” is just about to hit McDonald’s Japan stores across the country. Spring in Japan is the time for the beautiful Sakura or Cherry Blossoms, which usually start to bloom in late March in Central Japan. This time of the year also sees lots of spring or cherry blossom inspired food and drinks in Japan. One of my favorites so far has been the tasty Sakura Cherry Blossom Ice Cream from Haagen Dazs. To fit in with the season, McDonald’s Japan will release a spring inspired burger complete with sakura pink-colored buns and a sakura mayonnaise sauce.

McDonald’s Japan ‘American Vintage’ 1950s American Diner

McDonald’s Japan recently released their new menu series called ‘American Vintage’. The first in the series is the 1950s American Diner, which went on sale across Japan on January 7th. It features three new menu items, which are the Diner Double Beef, Diner Honey Mustard, and Classic Fries with Cheese. Japan Australia being a burger lover and very curious ventured out to our local McDonald’s to check it out.

Diner Double Beef 

The Diner Double Beef looks very interesting and is served with Chicago-style steak sauce and mashed potatoes. It also includes cheese, onions and an egg. The Chicago-style steak sauce includes roughly grounded black pepper, roasted garlic, and is sweetened with apple juice & raisins as well as flavoured with wine. It was created to resemble a typical meal at a 1950s American Diner, or with that image in mind.

Diner Double Beef

Diner Honey Mustard 

The Diner Honey Mustard comes with a crunchy chicken breast, honey and North American mustard sauce, grilled bacon, cheddar cheese and lettuce. It was created with a harmony of flavours in mind.

Diner Honey Mustard

Classic Fries with Cheese 

Classic Fries with Cheese is your standard McDonald’s French Fries topped with a cheese sauce and bacon flavoured topping. It was created with a typical American Stand or Stadium Snack in mind.

Classic Fries with Cheese

The Taste Test 

What did we think?

The Diner Double Beef was pretty good. We liked the double beef patty and egg which made this burger very filling. The Chicago style steak sauce was tasty with strong bold flavours and very peppery. The real winner for us was the silky smooth mashed potato sauce at the bottom, which reminded us of a creamy mayonnaise.

The American Vintage 1950s American Diner Double Beef

The Diner Double Beef  Out of the Box

The Diner Double Beef Under the Skin

The Diner Honey Mustard lived up to its name and had a nice balance of flavours. The sweet honey combined well with the stronger spicier mustard sauce. This wasn't quite as filling as the Double Beef but was the better tasting burger in our opinion.

American Vintage 1950s American Diner Honey Mustard

The Diner Honey Mustard Out of the Box

The Diner Honey Mustard Up Close and Personal

The Classic Fries with Cheese was a real disappointment. The cheese had that fake processed cheese taste and the bacon flavoured topping didn't taste like bacon at all. You also have to assemble this yourself as you can see in the pictures below. Just stick to the regular fries which are great tasting on their own.

Classic Fries with Cheese Ready to be Assembled

Step 1 Regular Fries in the Box

Step 2 Add the Cheese Sauce

Step 3 Add the Bacon Flavor Topping

Classic Fries with Cheese Fully Assembled

McDonald’s Japan Website

Quarter Pounder Jewelry Premium Burgers

McDonald’s Japan revealed this week that it will offer a special series of premium burgers called “Quarter Pounder Jewelry Burgers” for a limited time in July. Each burger will be priced at 1000 yen (USD$10.00) and will be sold at all outlets across Japan for just one day. The first burger was available today (July 6th) with the next on July 13th followed by July 20th.

You may remember that McDonald’s Japan only just recently launched the Premium Quarter Pounder Burgers with the Quarter Pounder BLT and Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato.

The first Jewelry Premium Burger went on sale today (July 6th) and was the Golden Ring Burger featuring thick-cut smokey bacon, pineapple, beef patty, Monterey Jack cheese and fruity barbecue sauce.

The Golden Ring Quarter Pounder Burger

Next on the list is the Black Diamond Burger on July 13th, featuring a black truffle sauce, Emmental cheese, and grilled mushrooms and onions.

The last will be the Ruby Spark Burger on July 20th, featuring chorizo, avocado and pepper jack cheese.

The burgers cost 1000 yen (USD$10.00) with no French fries or soft drink, which can be added for an extra 200 yen (USD$2.00).

You will need to hurry as these have been very popular and the Golden Ring Burger was sold out around lunch time at a lot of outlets around Japan.

Japan Australia was intrigued by these new burgers, so headed out today to track down the Golden Ring Quarter Pounder Burger.

The Golden Ring Quarter Pounder Burger

The Golden Ring Burger is served up in a special jewelry box container and bag with ribbon. We felt like we had just made a purchase at Tiffany’s or something! It certainly is a luxurious start to a meal and made us feel very special. It was only available today and was sold out quite quickly so we had a little difficultly tracking one down, but managed to do it after a few stops.

The burger comes in a special jewelry bag with ribbon

Jewelry box container with the burger inside

Tip: You better hurry in on July 13th if you want to try the Black Diamond Burger.

The Golden Ring Burger features thick-cut smokey bacon, a slice of grilled pineapple, a decent size beef patty, Monterey Jack cheese and a fruity barbecue sauce with more than 10 different spices. These are all contained with a crunchy bun topped with poppy seeds.

How does it taste?

We were very happy with the taste and it was one of the best burgers we’ve had this year anywhere. The first thing we noticed was the thick cut smokey bacon, followed by the sweet pineapple which compliments the fruity barbecue sauce perfectly, and keeps the beef patty nice and moist. We also really liked the bun that was soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Some people will say that 1000 yen is too expensive for a burger. Yes, it probably is, but when you factor in the whole experience it was very worthwhile in my book. Already looking forward to the Black Diamond Burger next week.

Featuring thick-cut bacon, pineapple and fruity barbecue sauce

A medium size set will cost 1200 yen (USD$12.00)

McDonald’s Japan Website

Premium Quarter Pounders at McDonald’s Japan

McDonald’s Japan has just released some new premium quarter pounder burgers to its menu. The burgers will have 150% more burger patty than regular burgers on the menu and will come in two types: The Quarter Pounder BLT and the Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato. The Quarter Pounder BLT combines the famous BLT sandwich with McDonald’s own Quarter Pounder Burger. While the Quarter Pounder Habanero Burger is designed to offer you a harmony of deep flavour and delicious spice.

The burgers went on sale across Japan on June 24th and will be available only for a limited time.

Premium Quarter Pounder BLT and Habanero Poster

McDonald's have also used the famous Japanese soccer player, Keisuke Honda to help promote the new premium quarter pounders, with the slogan "Bite". I guess he can't wait to sink his teeth into one of these new premium burgers.

Keisuke Honda promoting the Premium Quarter Pounder campaign

Bite into the new Premium Quarter Pounder Keisuke

The Quarter Pounder BLT Burger includes a 100% beef patty, smokey crispy bacon, cheese, fresh lettuce and tomato, a lemon flavoured sauce as well as a mustard sauce. It is available for 520 yen (USD$5.20) in Gifu. This makes it the most expensive burger McDonald’s has ever offered here in Japan at over 500 yen.

The Quarter Pounder BLT Burger

The Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato includes a 100% beef patty, fresh lettuce, onion and tomato, cheese and a spicy sauce made from the habanero chilli pepper. It is available for 480 yen (USD$4.80) in Gifu. This is definitely the fiery partner of the BLT with lots of heat and spice.

The Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato Burger

These burgers being promoted as premier burgers lead Japan Australia to McDonald’s to give them a try. We do love our premium/gourmet burgers after all.

What did we think?

The Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato – the spice hits you straight away and is a nice sensation that keeps you coming back for more.

The Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato Burger even has a fancy box

The Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato opened up

A close up of the Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato

The Quarter Pounder BLT – very filling compared to both the regular Quarter Pounder and the Habanero with a lot more ingredients. It comes with lots of sauce and the patty is nice and juicy. Definitely our favourite of the two burgers.

The Quarter Pounder BLT Burger with its fancy box

The Quarter Pounder BLT opened up - you can really see the size of it

A close up the of Quarter Pounder BLT Burger

McDonald’s Japan website 

Check out the other McDonald’s burgers in Japan we have tried in 2013:

• Golden Burger Week – BBQ Beef and BBQ Chicken
• TeriTama Burger
• Texas Burger
• Pork Tatsuta

Ramen Burger at Lotteria Japan

Lotteria is a fast food chain in Japan that is often overshadowed by its big rivals McDonald’s and MOS Burger. Lotteria always has an interesting menu with a great variety of choices and some unique burger selections. This month they released their latest creation: The Ramen Burger.

The Menya Musashi Ramen Burger has been developed in collaboration with the famous Japanese ramen restaurant chain “Menya Musashi”. The chain is popular for its ramen broth which is made from katsu dashi (bonito stock). The Menya Musashi Ramen Burger features such ramen staples as disposable chopsticks, ramen broth, and even an option for “Kaedama” or a second serving of noodles. The Menya Musashi Ramen Burger is on sale for a limited time only from May 20 until mid-June.

The Menya Musashi Ramen Burger

What’s in the Menya Musashi Ramen Burger? It consists of ramen noodles that have been seasoned and lightly grilled (in replace of your traditional patty). It is topped with mayonnaise and chashu (barbecued pork) in sweet brown sauce. The ramen broth is made from katsuo dashi (bonito stock).

ramen noodles topped with mayo, sweet brown sauce and chashu

The famous ramen broth made from katsuo dashi

The Menya Musashi Ramen Burger is available for 634 yen (USD$6.30) and extra noodles (kaedama) will cost you 100 yen (USD$1) each.

How does it taste? It doesn't taste as bad as we expected. The ramen noodles are tasty but a little oily and remind us of yakisoba. I thought they would be more カリカリ (crunchy). The sauce is probably the best part of the burger with the mayonnaise and sweet brown sauce proving to be a tasty combination. The chashu is fatty just like good chashu should be and the ramen broth is very good and has a strong flavour. We ended up eating half the burger and then putting the rest of the noodles and chashu into the ramen broth to enjoy it that way. Two different types of meals in one.

The Ramen Burger in all its glory

A great way to finish the burger with the noodles and chashu in the broth

What do you think? What you be willing to give the Menya Musashi Ramen Burger a try?

MOS Burger Tempura Rice Burger

MOS Burger (モスバーガ) is a popular Japanese fast food chain that originated in Japan. MOS stands for Mountain Ocean Sun. MOS Burger is famous for their original burger, which is called the MOS Burger.

They are also famous for their unique burgers such as the MOS Rice Burger, which they have been serving now for many years. The rice burgers use a bun made of rice mixed with barley and millet.

Last month on April 23rd they launched their new Tempura Rice Burgers, which will be available for a limited time (until the end of October). These are more than your typical burger as the tempura is sandwiched between grilled rice which acts as the buns and hence the name “rice burger”.

The two new Tempura Rice Burgers are:

Ebi Shinjo ~ Fried Shrimp Dumpling Tempura Rice Burger 

The fried shrimp dumpling contains grated shrimp and onions, which are fried in tempura batter and then topped with a Japanese style sauce that contains oroshi (grated daikon), with added ao negi (green onions) on top. This is all sandwiched between two plates of grilled rice.

The Ebi Shinjo costs 350 yen (USD$3.60)

Ebi Shinjo Tempura Rice Burger

Kisetsu no Yasai Kakiage ~ Seasonal Mixed Vegetable Tempura Rice Burger 

The tempura in this burger contains various vegetables such as onions, edamame beans, and sweet corn. This is all fried together in crispy tempura batter and topped with an original wasabi and seaweed sauce. The tempura again is all sandwiched between two plates of grilled rice.

The Kisetsu no Yasai Kakiage costs 280 yen (USD$2.85)

Kisetsu no Yasai Kakiage Tempura Rice Burger

How Do They Taste?

We tried the two new rice burgers and give them both the thumbs up. The rice bun is very much like a yaki onigiri and the fillings were tasty and reminded us of Japanese dishes like Ten-don (tempura on rice) and Kakiage-don (mixed vegetable tempura on rice). We would definitely have these again.

Ebi Shinjo Tempura Rice Burger

Close up of the Ebi Shinjo. You can see the oroshi and ao negi

Kisetsu no Yasai Kakiage Tempura Rice Burger

Close up of the Kisetsu no Yasai Kakiage Tempura Rice Burger

Visit the MOS Burger website for more details