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Fast-food chain Lotteria is the place to go to if you want some famous Japanese beef and a side of real wasabi!

Each year since 2010, Lotteria has come out with “luxury” hamburgers in honor of November 29, the “day of good meat” – designated so because the combination of one-one-two-nine can be pronounced to sound like the words “good meat” (ii-niku) – and meat lovers in Japan can rest assured that this year will be no exception.

So what meaty creation can we look forward to later this month? This year it’s going to be the Matsuzaka Beef Hamburger, and it’ll be available for just three days, from November 27 to 29.

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Matsusaka beef comes from black-haired Japanese cattle (kuroge wagyu) grown in the Matsuzaka region of Mie Prefecture, located roughly in the central area of the Japanese main island. The beef is rich with marbled fat and is one of the best-known brands of beef in Japan, along with the famous Kobe beef.

Sounds yummy, right? Well, Lotteria has turned that beef into a hamburger consisting of a 125 gram (4.4 ounce) beef patty using 100-percent Matsuzaka beef, along with a soy sauce-based onion sauce, plus a slice of tomato and onion. Mmmmm….!

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The hamburger also comes with a package of raw water-grown wasabi from the Amagi area of Izu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, located on the Pacific Coast of the Japanese main island. You can add the wasabi to your liking for a spicy, refreshing flavor that should compliment the sweet onion sauce well.

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And since this is no ordinary burger but a Matsuzaka Beef Hamburger, they’ve also designed a special box and bag that should make it look extra nice if you’re giving the burger as a gift.

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They also include a small card with the burger, shown below, which explains a little about the product and how you should first eat the burger as-is, and then go on to add the wasabi in small amounts, to bring out the flavor of the Matsuzaka beef.

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The Matsuzaka Beef Burger will be priced at 2,000 yen (US$20) with a regular-sized drink. It’s certainly no ordinary burger, both in terms of the beef used and the price. It’ll be available only for three days from November 27 to November 29, so make sure to mark your food calendar!

Will the Matsuzaka Burger prove tastier than Lotteria’s Kobe Beef Burger from almost a year ago? Only time, and some very scientific taste tests, will tell!

Source: Nikkei press release via Narinari.com
Top image: Nikkei press release (Edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Nikkei press release