The most decadent, least healthy, and absolute craziest vegetarian burger we’ve ever tried.
No sooner had we finished digesting the Blueberry Cheese Burger we bought in Tokyo, we heard word of another bold innovation in bun-bound sandwiches. So our crack Japanese-language reporter Mr. Sato headed out the door with his eyes full of sparkle and his stomach suitably empty on a mission to try Japan’s Whipped Cream Burger.
However, the Whipped Cream Burger is apparently too much for Tokyo to handle, and the only place in eastern Japan it’s being sold is at the Yokohama branch of department store Takashimaya. Luckily, Japan’s incredibly convenient train network means that you can get from downtown Tokyo to Yokohama in about 25 minutes, and Mr. Sato arrived at 9:30 in the morning, 30 minutes before the store opens, because he’d heard that lines for the Whipped Cream Burger can get pretty long.
▼ Waiting for the shutter to open
In the past, some of you fine readers have expressed concern over Mr. Sato’s dietary choices, and if you’re thinking that a beef patty is a pretty heavy selection for the first meal of the day, we’d like to put your minds at ease and inform you that the Whipped Cream Burger is entirely meat-free. Of course, the fact that it replaces the beef, as well as any vegetables you might find in a hamburger, with a fist-sized glob of whipped cream means it’s still not the healthiest breakfast, but hey, Mr. Sato was hungry.
The geniuses behind the Whipped Cream Burger are the chefs of Good Morning Table, itself a sister brand of renowned Hokkaido chocolatier LeTAO. While Good Morning Table has a standing branch in Osaka, it’s Yokohama location is actually a temporary gig, located on Takashimaya’s eighth-floor event space where it’s currently holding a Valentine’s sweets fair that runs until February 14.
Despite being one of the first customers in the building, Mr. Sato still found two people already in line at Good Morning Table’s order counter, but he was still early enough to grab one of the 378-yen (US$3.40) Whipped Cream Burgers.
The clerk handed him his pastry, which comes in a box shaped just like the kind you’d get a take-out hamburger in. Holding it in his hand, Mr. Sato was startled by its heft, and after mentally subtracting the negligible weight of the paper packaging, he figured it must be a massive dessert sandwich…
…and he was right!
At first glance, the Whipped Cream Burger looks like a cream puff that didn’t get properly closed off. But the product’s name is totally accurate, as it is indeed a pair of buns sandwiching a billionaire-philanthropist-level generous serving of whipped cream, made with milk from Hokkaido. Oh, and if you’re worried that Good Morning Table hasn’t done their due diligence in exploring every possible way to deluge you with dairy, the whipped cream is topped with sweet condensed milk, and there’s also a hint of mascarpone cheese adding some subtle sophistication (which is the first and last time the word “subtle” can be used in describing the Whipped Cream Burger).
But as shocking as the Whipped Cream Burger is to gaze upon, there’s one more surprise when it comes time to eat it. As he took a bite, Mr. Sato expected it to be as heavy in his stomach as it was in his hand, but that simply wasn’t the case. Maybe it’s because the buns aren’t super-dense, or how airy the whipped cream is, but the Whipped Cream Burger isn’t quite as instantly filling as he’d thought it would be, and the flavor profile has a clean finish that had him ready for another bite again and again.
That said, this is still a dessert that’s like 70-80 percent whipped cream, and is every bit as rich and sweet as you’d imagine (or want, if you’re the kind of sweets fan who’s intrigued by the Whipped Cream Burger concept). It’s a case of gloriously guilty gluttony, but completely honest about what it is, and Mr. Sato, and his taste buds, love it for that.
Related: Takashimaya (Yokohama branch), Good Morning Table Osaka
Photos ©SoraNews24
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