Eat like a kid again.

A few times when dining out with my kids, I can’t help but notice their “kids’ meals” are sometimes better than my regular order. For example, they might get a beef patty, big fried prawn, pile of rice and french fries, seasoned fried egg, a sausage, refillable drinks, and a little cup of jelly to top it all off. I, on the other hand, pay twice as much for a Salisbury steak, three or four thick-cut fries, and a spoonful of corn and peas.

If I had half a mind, I would get one of those kids’ meals for myself. It’s just hard eating out of a plate shaped like an airplane with the national flag of France sticking out of my rice, and I tend to feel self-conscious taking my roly-poly panda plastic tumbler to the drink machines.

▼ A kids’ lunch from Landmark in Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Tokyo — the “steam” coming from the engine is dry ice

▼ An adult meal from Flying Garden; granted, that’s a fair bit of meat, but two pieces of potato? Come on, now.

If only there was a way to combine the quantity and variety of a kids’ meal with the demureness that a sophisticated adult like myself demands from a meal at restaurant chain. It’s seems I’m not alone either, because fried pork cutlet restaurant Katsuya noticed the demand and created the Adults’ Lunch: a kids’ lunch for adults!

▼ The Katsuya menu with the adult kids’ lunch on the far right

For just 690 yen (US$5.35), this meal includes a fried prawn, a chicken cutlet smothered in tartar sauce, sausages, and a rice omelet with curry, all on one plate.

And since adults tend to be busy people, a take-out option is also available with all the same items. This meal will only be available for a limited time, however, but can be ordered throughout the month of May.

Katsuya said that the Adults’ Lunch was designed with middle-aged men in mind, so they could take a break from the grind of daily life and enjoy some affordable childhood nostalgia for a change. Judging by the response online, they totally hit the mark.

“Katsuya! You knew we needed this!”
“Ah! That looks too good!”
“On behalf of middle-aged boys, thank you. Most of us can’t afford lunch for 1,000 yen because our money goes to other people.”
“I want to eat this.”
“Where’s the flag?”
“I think a lot of people want to order the kid’s meal but without all the toys and stuff, but we never ask because we don’t want to be a bother.”
“I’m a woman, but I want this too. That price is great.”
“It’s all good so far, but some jelly would seal the deal.”
“I’d like it in a plate shaped like the Shinkansen, with a Japanese flag, and cream soda.”
“I think middle-aged guys are too worried about their diet to eat something like that. It looks more suited for teens and twenty-somethings.”
“That’s a good price and it looks delicious ԅ(￣﹃￣ԅ)”

Having not grown up in Japan, I can’t really relate to the nostalgia angle of the Adults’ Meal, but I still think it’s a great idea. Maybe now I can finally stop harboring jealous resentment towards my own children for what they get to eat, and taking it out on them through merciless Smash Bros. thrashings.

Source: Katsuya, PR Times, Hachima Kiko
Images: PR Times
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