Alongside tuna (maguro), shrimp is also another ingredient that we love here in Japan. From fried shrimp, called ebi furai, to Chinese-style stir-fried shrimp cooked in sweet and spicy chilli sauce, affectionately referred to as ebi chilli in Japan, there are a host of shrimp dishes widely loved by the Japanese public. The tasty crustaceans also have a presence in the Japanese fast food scene, and Lotteria’s long-selling fried shrimp burger (Ebi Burger) is just one example. Now, Lotteria has just this week released a special version of their popular shrimp burger, in collaboration with another well-loved Japanese snack that also contains shrimp — the Kappa Ebisen shrimp chips from snack maker Calbee. Well, we certainly had to see how this collaboration turned out, and we had our very own Mr. Sato take on the task!
While the Japanese Internet community’s response when Lotteria announced the release of their new Kappa Ebisen burger seemed generally positive, our team was not entirely convinced, as some of the collaborative items from Lotteria in the past have been … well, quite unique, such as the ramen burger and gum-flavored shake.
Not that this would deter us from trying the new shrimp burger, of course. Mr. Sato sampled the burger for us on the very day it came out, and here’s his report:
The Kappa Ebisen Burger, priced at 380 yen (US$3.22), is made with a shrimp cutlet fried in a crust containing Kappa Ebisen chip crumbs. In addition, the tartar sauce used in the burger contains sakura shrimp, so in theory, it should be laden with enough shrimp flavor to satisfy hard-core shrimp lovers. Now, we’ve already seen that Lotteria can be quite adventurous with their menu, but did this one meet our expectations?
▼Here we have the Kappa Ebisen we’ve been waiting to taste in a red wrapper similar to the package Kappa Ebisen chips come in.
▼And here’s the burger unwrapped! 
▼We take a peek inside to check out the lettuce and the tartar sauce, as well as the crispy looking crust.
▼And yes, we’re ready to take a bite!
And our impression after taking our first bite? We thought the burger tasted great! The actual shrimp cutlet was the same as the ones used in the regular shrimp burger, but the crust was a new creation entirely. The Kappa Ebisen chip crumbs they added seemed to have made the crust amazingly light and crunchy. In fact, if we were to describe the regular shrimp burger as “crunchy,” then we’d have to say the new Kappa Ebisen Bruger was “extra extra extra crunchy“!
And it wasn’t just the texture that impressed us. We could really taste the flavor of the Kappa Ebisen chips in the crust! We found the burger had a distinct aftertaste, almost like a wine, except in this case it was the taste of shrimp chips. After having the burger, we were happily convinced that this was a collaboration worth putting together.
This time, our hats are off to you, Lotteria, and we hope we can see many more such innovative and tasty collaborative items in the future. If you love shrimp and you’re going to be in Japan anytime soon, the Kappa Ebisen Burger will be available until late February, so don’t miss your chance!
Original article by: Hidenori Sato
Top image: Lotteria website
All other photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]