Will our reporter be able to finish one of their dishes in a single sitting?

When I was younger, I’d always end up still feeling a little peckish even after polishing off a regular-sized meal, so my food orders would always skew towards the larger portions. It became sort of an ingrained habit, where my eyes would always immediately drift towards the large size in the store or on the menu. Unfortunately, my stomach hasn’t seen fit to keep up with my desire for more food, and I’m often left feeling stuffed about 70 to 80 percent of the way through my meal. I know I should just order the normal size, but… it’s difficult. However, with Lawson’s 50th anniversary campaign this month, it’s time to throw those worries to the wind and gorge to my heart’s content, as they are running a 50 percent extra campaign with no added cost.

In times past, Lawson used to have a 47 percent increase, but amid a world full of shrinkflation, they have quietly increased the amount to a round 50, which is something food lovers the nation over can feel thankful for. The campaign is spread out over the four weeks of June, with new food items joining the lineup each week, and will end on June 30.

Someone who shares my love for huge portions is our Japanese language reporter P.K. Sanjun, who thoroughly enjoyed the second week’s additions of the Katsu Curry and the Abura Soba with Spicy Soy Sauce (also called mazesoba, a style of brothless ramen where noodles are tossed with a savory soy sauce-based dressing, often enriched with lard or oil).

P.K. loved both items so much, he was keen to give Week 3’s offerings a try, which went on sale on June 16. Among the selection were things like a chicken cutlet bento, a ham cutlet sandwich, and sausage curry, which—while decent—didn’t trigger his desire to run to the top of a cliff and scream “This! Is! Amazing!” into the sunset.

However, there was one product lying in wait for P.K.. One that would astound him with its presence, and shock him with its value for money: The Meat Sauce Spaghetti (646 yen [US$4.46]).

Lawson hasn’t done anything fancy with the meal; it’s a simple doubling of both pasta and sauce. Simple though it may be, it has transformed a once-humble meal into a monster dish weighing over 800 grams (28.2 ounces), and packing more than 1,000 calories.

Holding it in his hand, P.K. was amazed by how heavy it was. How was it possible for a convenience store meal to be this heavy? Cracking out his scales, the entire dish came to an impressive 838 grams.

With so much food, heating it up in the microwave required doubling the cooking time to a whole six minutes. As he watched the pasta rotate in the microwave, P.K. found himself apprehensive about the meal to come. Would he truly be able to finish everything?

Half-expecting that a bigger size would mean a blander taste, P.K. was pleasantly surprised to find that the sauce had a rich quality to it.

As nice as it was, with so much food the flavor did get a little monotonous after a while, so he would recommend any partakers to add some Tabasco or grated cheese to mix it up a little bit.

Getting halfway through, P.K.’s stomach started to complain and threatened to return-to-sender if he persisted in shoveling more food into his mouth, leading him to decide to save the other half for the following day. P.K., well known for his attempts to eat crazy amounts of food, was defeated by an unassuming bowl of pasta, but he still came away from the experience feeling completely satisfied.

For the price, the amount you get is absurd. The Meat Sauce Spaghetti is without a doubt one of the powerhouses of the campaign; just the weight alone is enough to shock you. Even among the lineup for Week 4, starting in the evening of June 23, there is nothing heavier than this meal so it’s definitely worth a try. Just remember to not eat beforehand if you want to down the entire thing in one sitting.

Related: Lawson
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