You may have heard various stories about special food items at McDonald’s eaten by the staff and not on the regular menu. One such item that is rumored to be a staple among McDonald’s staff in Japan is shio-burger, or plain salt-flavored hamburger. Apparently, this item is quite well-known among McDonald’s fans, so we decided to get to the bottom of what this mysterious hamburger is like.

From the information we’ve been able to gather, the shio-burger is actually a regular hamburger without the ketchup and mustard. So, it’s basically a hamburger with just the beef patty, chopped onions and pickles.

We have even heard rumors that some McDonald’s staff prefer to have the shio-burger without the pickles, which supposedly allows you to enjoy the original flavor of the beef. However, we have also heard that the shio-burger is not officially recognized as an item on the staff menu by McDonald’s and as such, the staff are forced to eat the menu in secret, out of the sight of the store managers.

Curious as to what the shio-burger tastes like? Well, you can actually order one at any McDonald’s in Japan, but you can’t ask for a shio-burger at the counter. You just have to ask for a hamburger without the ketchup and mustard, and you’ll get your very own shio-burger! Of course, you can also have the pickles removed too, if you like.

We actually tried a made-to order shio-burger, and it wasn’t bad at all, as the burger tasted nice and light, and you could really taste the flavor of the beef and also the sweetness of the hamburger bun. If you think that a regular hamburger has too strong a flavor, this may be a good hamburger for you to try!

We’ve also heard rumors about a staff menu that is a variation on the Tsukimi Burger, or “moon-viewing hamburger”, an item that is unique to McDonald’s in Japan.  The tsukimi burger contains a poached egg (with the yolk representing the moon), bacon and a beef patty with teriyaki suace. Now, rumor has it that some McDonald’s staff have the egg in the tsukimi burger fried instead of poached. A teruyaki-flavored hamburger with crispy fried egg actually sounds quite tasty, but unfortunately, we’re afraid this is an item you won’t be able to order , as it involves a cooking the eggs in a completely different way.

You would think that McDonald’s already offers enough variations on its menu, including the  Chicken Tatsuta Wasabi Tartar (Japanese-style fried chicken burger with wasbi-flavored tartar sauce – how’s that for a uniquely Japanese Mcdonald’s menu!), available for a limited time at McDonald’s across Japan. (See our Japanese site for a post on this new menu. ) But I guess we never get tired of thinking up fun new imaginative creations from the McDonald’s menu!
Photo: RocketNews24

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