Join us as we track down the elusive burger to find out if it’s worth the hype.
Our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa has been travelling the world recently, and during her travels she’s been popping into McDonald’s in different countries to see what special exclusives they have on the menu.
Her last overseas journey took her to Singapore, where she found herself heading over to the golden arches again, with hopes that she might find some unusual menu items based on local favourites like Chili Crab and Bak Kut Teh, a popular pork stew.
As soon as she stepped inside her nearest McDonald’s in Singapore, she headed over to the touch screens to peruse the menu, where she found that the price of a Big Mac is $5.95 SGD, which works out to about 604 yen (US$4.31) — significantly more expensive than Japan, where Big Macs retail for 410 yen.
Ikuna wasn’t here for a Big Mac, though, as she wanted to try a local exclusive. And she soon found it in the Hokkaido Salmon Burger, which was so popular it had sold out.
Surprised to find that McDonald’s Singapore’s regional exclusive burger was actually one that sang the praises of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture, Ikuna was now determined to get a taste of it.
So she visited a number of other McDonald’s locations, only to be told they’d also sold out.
Staff described the limited-time burger as one of their most popular menu items, and although it’s appeared on the menu previously, its popularity is still at an all-time high.
When she spoke to some of her friends in Singapore, Ikuna found that they too often had trouble getting their hands on one of these sought-after burgers, and they told her to buy it straight away if she ever found it in stock.
Thankfully, after a couple of days, Ikuna was finally able to find the burger, and she took her friends’ advice to purchase it immediately.
▼ She also followed her friend’s recommendation to try the Iced Milo as well.
Adding a salad on the side to feel less guilty about her fast food feast, Ikuna was excited to try everything on her tray, especially the burger, which had been about as hard to catch as a wild salmon.
Picking up the burger, Ikuna stopped to admire the black-and-white sesame seed topping on the bun, before taking a big bite.
The piping hot salmon cutlet inside the burger really stole the show, boldly differing itself from that other fish burger on the menu, the Filet-O-Fish. The salmon was fresh and flavourful, and the buns seemed a little sweeter than normal, making for a great combination with the BBQ-style sauce.
It was a fantastic burger, and Ikuna could understand why it was so popular. If she lived in Singapore, she’d be purchasing this on the regular, and now that she’s had Milo with her McDonald’s, she’s wishing both of these items would come and make a home on the menu in Japan.
As luck would have it, the McDonald’s where Ikuna ate had a Mos Burger branch nearby, so she popped over there to see what they had on the menu too.
▼ Mos Burger might be a Japanese fast food chain, but it boasts many stores in Singapore as well.
Asking staff what their most popular burger was, they told her it was the Seabass Burger, but alas, it had sold out.
With Hokkaido Salmon Burgers at McDonald’s and Seabass Burgers at Mos Burger, Ikuna’s head was spinning with all the new fast food possibilities. It just goes to show that overseas travel can broaden not only your mind, but also your taste buds, and over in Thailand, you can even enjoy Japanese curry at McDonald’s!
Photos © SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]