As we’ve declared before, convenience stores are one of the many things Japan gets awesomely right. And out of all the conbini in Japan, one of the greatest things housed within the walls of popular convenience store, Lawson, isn’t found on the shelves, but nestled safely behind the counter. Yes, their perfectly plump, consummately crispy fried chicken dubbed “Karaage-kun” costs a mere 210 yen (US$2.05) for hot, salty bliss. With a heart full of love for Karaage-kun, we could barely contain our jealousy upon learning that Mr. Sato, the most…unique reporter from our Japanese site, was invited to the Lawson headquarters to try out their new grilled Hokkaido corn-flavored Karaage-kun.
And so Mr. Sato marched down to crispy chicken HQ, still rocking his post-apocalyptic haircut, to try our most favorite convenience store snack. Little did he (or we) know that he would also be presented with an ultra-top-secret fried chicken unfit to be consumed by children younger than 15 years of age.
- Their lips are sealed
Upon being presented with the R-15 rated chicken, Mr. Sato innocently asked, “So what kind of chicken is this?” to which the head of PR responded, “Umm, we’re not really allowed to tell you.” Mr. Sato couldn’t quite figure out why they were being so secretive, but the people at Lawson went through the trouble of making up a batch for Mr. Sato, so it wasn’t as if he could say no to trying it.
- Time for a taste!
Mr. Sato decided to take it easy and went for the Karaage-kun in the blue carton, which is safe for comfort food fans of any age to consume.
It had the savory fragrance of soy sauce along with a strong umami flavor. It reminded him of April’s special Karaage-kun flavor, Phantom Chicken Wing, but without a peppery kick.
▼ April’s Phantom Chicken Wing flavor
Mr. Sato moved on to the red carton of mystery fried chicken that bore the ominous “R-15” label.
▼ Peering down at the black and red box, Mr. Sato became a little nervous.
▼ Poker face.
The first bite wasn’t nearly as bad as he had thought, but as he munched on the delicious nuggets, their spicy flavor intensified. “This would be so good with beer!” he exclaimed, hinting at his need for something to put out the fire that was growing in his gullet.
- Coming soon!
The blue package Karaage-kun will be on sale at Lawson convenience stores across Japan on July 1 and the red will soon follow on July 15. We’re sorry to inform our readers, but that’s all the information we have on these top secret snacks. You’ll just have to wait until next month to see what all the secrecy is about!
Photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]