There may not have been any Thanksgiving festivities in Japan this past week, but the Japanese language’s ample opportunities for puns gave us two special days to celebrate. Coming on the heels of Knee-High Socks Day was the equally pun-tastic Good Meat Day on November 29.
Good Meat Day gets its name by breaking the date into its individual digits of 1-1-2-9, which can be read as ii niku, literally “good meat.” We decided the best way to commemorate our carnivorous cravings was by hitting Burger King to catch the tail-end of their all-you-can-eat burger promotion.
Although it sounds like some sort of wonderful fever dream, Burger King Japan’s unlimited Whopper deal is totally legit. There are a couple of catches, though. First, you have to finish off an entire large-sized Whopper combo, including the drink, before you can get another burger. Second, your stay in the magical kingdom of Unlimited Burger Land is limited to 30 minutes from your initial order.
Since the promotion started, advice on the Internet has been that the best way to get your money’s worth is by ordering your Whoppers with just the bread and meat. But if you ask us, that’s just throwing your money away. After all, whether you hold everything or get your Whopper with the works, the price is the same. Given the choice between fiscal irresponsibility and extreme gluttony, we’ll take the latter each and every time.
And what of the precious nutrients lost by skipping the lettuce and tomato that the sandwich ordinarily comes with? If we’re going to eat an entire day’s worth of meat in one sitting, we’re going to do it the healthy way.
Proponents of the “hold-everything” strategy say the method is an easy way to cram three Whoppers in your belly in 30 minutes. But could we devise a plan to get four Whoppers without skimping on any of the fixings? To find out, we called upon the best man for the job: our very own Mr. Sato, who never backs down from a challenge, whether he should or not.
This isn’t the first time Burger King has offered all-you-can-eat Whoppers, and Mr. Sato picked up the meaty gauntlet the chain threw down last year, too, where he polished off three of the sandwiches. Confident that we could improve on that performance, we tagged along to watch him do his thing.
Sure enough, as Mr. Sato walked up to the counter to place his order, we overheard another customer ordering his Whopper combo with just the meat and buns. We had an urge to try to make him see the error of his ways, but restrained ourselves. Sometimes, the only way you can help people learn is to let them make their own mistakes.
More importantly, Mr. Sato had already launched into his battle plan, which begins at the ordering stage. You have to finish your drink before you get your burger refill, but thankfully, like most fast-food emporiums in Japan, Burger Kings beverage options included non-carbonated choices like oolong tea and orange juice that are less filling than cola.
Mr. Sato also recommends passing on the heavier French fries and getting your combo with onion rings instead. You won’t smell as good afterwards, but if you came to Burger King to make out, odds are you have some algebra homework you should be doing instead, anyway.
There are two key regulations to remember when trying to maximize your burger count. First, Burger King will cut you off 30 minutes after you place your initial order. However, you have as much time as you want to eat your last burger. So really, in order to get four burgers, you don’t have to finish them all in 30 minutes. As long as you can polish off your third in about 25 minutes you’ll still have enough time get your order in for a fourth, which was what Mr. Sato set out to do.
It’s also important to take into consideration the time you’ll spend in line so you can ask for your next burger. Avoiding peak lunch and dinner times will help out in this regard (as well as limit the number of people who see you cramming fistful after fistful of sandwich into your mouth).
Soon enough, Mr. Sato’s initial order was ready, and it was time to begin.
▼ Let’s do this!
▼ 10 minutes later, all that was left of Mr. Sato’s first combo was our memories of it.
▼ Round two!
▼ By sticking to a steady pace, the second set was done at 18 minutes in.
▼ Third Whopper, coming up!
▼ Hmm….
At this point, Mr. Sato ran into a problem. The Whopper may be a tasty sandwich, but eating three in a row starts to overload your taste receptors. Is there any way to mix up the flavors a little?
Why yes, there is.
At some point in history, Japanese fast food chains hit upon the idea of putting corn chowder on their menus. As part of its cultural adaptation, Burger King followed suit when it came to Japan, and Mr. Sato had placed a separate order for a cup of the soup, which we proceeded to use as a dipping sauce for Whopper number three.
“I wouldn’t say it tastes great, but at you get some variation this way,” he explained between soggy bites.
But would Mr. Sato’s daring, Zen-like strategy of consuming more food in order to increase the number of burgers he could eat pay off?
Of course it would.
Mr. Sato’s cleared his tray for the third time at the 26-minute mark, giving him just enough time to slip back into line and beat the buzzer to order his fourth burger.
Congratulations, Mr. Sato! And thanks for showing us all how to get four Whoppers for the price of one.
▼ Warning: Side effects may include bloating, onion breath, and listing.
Photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]