Japanese rice specialist turns the Whopper on its head, but was it worth it?

Back in 1987, Japanese burger chain Mos Burger changed the fast food scene by adding the Mos Rice Burger to the menu, with grilled rice patties taking the place of burger buns.

▼ Mos’ Rice Burger remains a classic to this day.

The chain’s penchant for rice burgers has been firmly cemented in the consciousness of the public ever since, but this year, it’s being given a run for its money as Burger King has teamed up with a longstanding Kyoto rice merchant to create the Kyoto Whopper.

Rather than placing the rice on either side of the filling like its rival, Burger King sandwiches the rice patty inside instead. While some diners might call this an abomination, others will see it as an innovation, so we decided to pick one up and try it to see which side of the divide it falls on.

▼ Are you ready, world?

▼ It’s time…

▼ …to say hello…

▼ …to the…

▼ …Kyoto Whopper!

Yes, that’s right, folks — the Kyoto Whopper has a rice patty nestled in between the buns. According to Burger King, the concept behind the Kyoto Whopper was a desire to create a Japanese-American burger that will surprise the world, and it definitely does that, with the help of Hachidaime Gihey, a Kyoto rice merchant founded in 1787, providing the rice patty.

Priced at 990 yen (US$6.36), this is a pricey burger, and apart from the rice and special sauce, it stays true to the Whopper with its flame-grilled beef patty, tomatoes, lettuce and onions.

If we had to sum up the taste in one word, we’d describe it as awesome. It puts a Japanese spin on a Whopper in a subtle way that doesn’t interfere with the other ingredients. However, according to our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun, it’s simply “not bad at all”, and the subtlety of the rice means it doesn’t actually need to be there.

P.K. is a harsh critic, though, and he admits that the burger does seem to be more popular with foreign palates, according to what he’s heard. For him, Mos Burger’s rice burger can’t be beat as it allows you to taste the rice. Here, the rice was hidden beneath the other ingredients, so in his opinion, it’s simply delivering extra carbs without a whole lot of taste.

That being said, he’d like to tip his hat to Burger King and Hachidaime Gihey for commercialising a whole new type of rice burger, even if it was a power play. That’s the kind of thing he loves about Burger King, as the way it prods its rivals keeps everyone on its toes, resulting in more innovation on the fast food scene.

It’s a pretty historic occasion to have a burger named after a city too, especially one as famous and steeped in history and tradition as Kyoto. When you think about it, the blend between tradition and innovation in this burger is a great representation of the city it’s named after, but you’ll want to get in quick to try it, as it’s only available at the chain for a limited time.

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