A guilty pleasure of mine is that I love eating at American fast food chains in Japan. Not because it's some sort of homesickness of mine, well, maybe. But really, I love seeing how something that's so common to me in the US, gets translated for the Japanese market. I've had McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Baskin-Robbins, even Krispy Kreme all Japanified. And today, while killing a lazy Sunday afternoon in Akihabara, I came across the one chain that, because of it's rarity, I have never had in Japan.
Enter; The King.
Also, notice how McDonalds is right next to Burger King. This is something that, unlike America, never happens in Japan. Again, due to the rarity of BK in Japan. Also, never in America does a "Standing Sushi Bar" separate them.
Anyway, I'll be honest, I rarely eat BK in America. I never really liked it, truthfully. In my opinion, McDonald's is the best fast food in America, despite all the negative attention it gets. The Quarter Pounder With Cheese is the best fast food burger, hands down. At one time, I thought BK's fries were better, but nope. McD's trumps them. I know there's people who swear that BK is the best or whatever. But these people are wrong. I forgive them, though.
Looking at the menu, because I didn't have a favorite at American BK to compare it to, I went with a Japanese specific option.
"The Grill Teriyaki." Grammatical issues aside, it's basically a burger coated in teriyaki sauce with some lettuce and mayo. Actually, putting teriyaki sauce on things at American fast food restaurants is something Japan does all the time. McDonald's has their own Teriyaki Burger as well. Subway has a Teriyaki Chicken sandwich that's completely different from whatever weak crap Subway America pulls with Sweet Onion. I have no idea why McDonald's or BK in America doesn't do this. I'm sure most people would be interested in seeing something soaked in teriyaki sauce at their local McDonald's or BK.
Also, looking at the menu, I noticed something that is also absent from menus at American BKs.
Booze.
For around $4, you can wash down your Whopper with a Heineken, a Highball Coke or Ginger-Ale. What's more, is that it's only $1 to add either to a meal set.
Thanks to America's strictness when it comes to alcohol, it always blows my mind whenever I see alcohol at fast food places. I have never seen alcohol served at McDonald's, but I've seen Asahi Beer for sale at KFC. I know that it's only because I live in the US, and at high school's in France they serve cafeterias, and hell, I've even seen alcohol for sale at mall food courts in Canada. But coming from the nation of "Blue Laws" it still shocks me.
Japan is more open with alcohol then one would expect. Liqueur stores close early, sure. But unless you're looking for something incredibly specific, you'll probably be fine with the selection at any convenience store, which are usually always open 24/7. In addition to beer, most convenience stores sell whisky, wine, and Japanese specific alcohol such as sake, shochu and "chuhai." Less commonly, there are even beer vending machines. On these vending machines, there's no place for an ID to be checked, but IDs are rarely checked at convenience stores or bars anyway. When I go back to America, I can see it taking a while to get back to the rigid laws of the US.
Anyway, back on topic, after ordering the Grill Teriyaki and fries, BK is the first burger place to actually give me ketchup to begin with for my fries. Let me explain, in America, nearly everyone eats ketchup with their fries. If there's no place to get it for yourself, the cashier will ask if you want it. However, in Japan, that concept never really made it over here. And many-a-times, I'll have to ask for ketchup after I get my food because I can never remember that I need to ask for it. Once, while I was eating at McDonald's I wondered what Japanese people do if they don't eat fries with ketchup. Because even at McDonald's in America, I skip the ketchup and go with Hot Mustard instead. I took a look around and found out that the answer was...
Nothing.
Ew.
Not only was BK the only place to give me ketchup without asking, but they even had extra packets and those small ketchup holders by the napkins and stuff. Kudos Burger King. Though, looking around I still saw people eating fries with nothing, so maybe the cashier saw my white self and knew what was up. Who knows.
Burger King in Japan also uses the "Have It Your Way" slogan, just like in America (do they still even use it in America? I don't even know anymore). However, this comes at a price (apologies in advance for the messy picture):
Want cheese? Roughly 30 cents. Tomato? 50. Bacon? 60. Lettuce, onions or pickles for your Whopper or Whopper Jr.? Up to 50.
I know BK in America charges for cheese sometimes, but charging for lettuce onions and pickles? I thought all that came standard? That's like charging for a tape deck in a car. It's 2010 guys. Cut the cheapness.
Finally after getting my food, and getting to the second floor, I noticed a bunch of guys drinking BK Heineken and eating one of those new Pizza Burgers. I guess, they're in America too now. I saw the ad for it at this BK and thought about it, but then I saw that the price was almost $20. Yikes. That's besides the point though. They were drinking their Heineken out of plastic beer cups with the Burger King logo on it.
I've never wanted something so much before. Why? Because they're plastic beer cups with the Burger King logo on it. How cool is that?
Finally, getting to the actual food and instead of wishing for plastic cups. After much consideration, I came to the following conclusion.
Bland.
Again, I'm sorry for uploading kind of a gross picture. I wanted to take a picture of the burger uneaten, but truthfully, there wasn't much to look at. The bun covered the whole thing. Also, the fries were a bit soggy too. Sure, the teriyaki sauce made it taste different, but I felt like it was missing something. On my master ranking of fast food burger places in Japan, BK most likely ranks last (maybe I'll try and compile the whole list one day).
I should have sprung the buck-fifty for cheese and a Highball Coke.
