Sometimes Japanese portion sizes are small… and sometimes they look like this.
Wendy’s is often overlooked in Japan, but right now it’s towering over the competition with a new burger called MEGA Wendy’s. The all-caps in the name is certainly warranted, because it’s even bigger than the three-patty Wendy’s Burger USA Triple (known as “Dave’s Single” in the U.S.), with four extra beef patties and four slices of cheese giving it a total of seven patties and an astonishing 2,614 kilocalories.
Our reporter Kouhey has taken on all kinds of big burger challenges over the years, but this one looked so formidable that he spent a long time wondering whether he should even take it on. However, after finding out that the new burger was released nationwide to commemorate its appearance on TV, he realised he may never get the chance to take on such a heavyweight again, so he shrugged off his concerns and headed out to his nearest branch.
After arriving at the Iidabashi Ramla store, located in the Iidabashi Ramla commercial complex next to JR Iidabashi Station, he walked over to one of the self-service kiosks and blinked in surprised when he saw the burger on the menu, branded with a “New Product” tag and standing there like a meat tower.
▼ His eyes widened further when he saw the price – the burger, on its own, was a whopping 3,670 yen (US$23.36).
This was the first time he’d seen a burger this expensive at a chain restaurant, and it was so pricey that he had to check whether he had enough in his wallet to cover it. Fortunately, he did, so he ordered it as part of a drink set, bringing the total to 3,910 yen.
Looking at the stats, the MEGA Wendy’s is approximately 14 centimetres (5.5 inches) tall and weighs 900 grams (1.98 pounds). This was way bigger than Burger King’s four-patty Crown The One Pounder, which Kouhey previously battled with in 2023, so he felt slightly wary of this new opponent, which was in a totally different weight class.
After about five minutes of waiting, Kouhey’s number was called, and when he took the tray over to his table, he felt his muscles activate under the weight of the tray.
▼ “What the heck is this?!” He thought to himself. “Is it an iron ball?”
Even while wrapped in its paper, the burger was already a massive round mass. Looking closely, he could see the words “CHICKEN” and “SPECIAL” printed on the paper, and it was so large that it had been wrapped around the burger several times.
▼ Picking it up, it was seriously heavy – like something you could use for strength training.
Carefully unpeeling the wrap… the monster revealed itself.
▼ Meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat!!!
It truly was a wall of meat. Seven patties were stacked up on top of each other, pushing the top bun upwards. When he lifted the bun, he could see onions, ketchup and lettuce sitting above it all, giving it the character of a burger, but with a mountain of meat underneath.
Looking closely, Kouhey discovered a good amount of cheddar cheese between the patties, and when he gently pried them apart, the melted cheese looked nice and gooey.
Though all the components of a good burger were clearly present, Kouhey was surprised at how the buns seemed so miniscule – the top and bottom buns were completely outdone by the seven patties between them.
▼ Then there was the burger packaging, which was enormous when he spread it out, giving you an idea of just how big the burger was.
At 14 centimetres tall, this is a seriously tall burger, and it was a tall order to eat. As the battle between man and burger began, Kouhey, gripped the burger firmly and brought it up to his mouth…
▼ …but the thing was so huge that he could only eat the meat.
No matter how much he ate, every mouthful consisted of nothing but meat, and sometimes a little cheese. Every now and then, a hint of bun or a skerrick of onion would timidly make its way into the mix, but it felt less like eating a hamburger and more like eating a lump of meat with cheese sandwiched in between.
About halfway through, he took a breather and paused to check the cross-section.
▼ There was still a lot left.
As a seasoned big burger professional, Kouhey knew he was now entering the “flavour-change zone”. This is what he likes to call the stage where your palate gets so tired of the monotonous flavours that you need to add a little something extra to keep you going until the end, and to help with his, he added some habanero sauce, which he’d picked up from beside the register.
Drizzling it over the cross-section of the patties, he wondered what kind of difference the sauce would make to the flavour profile.
▼ Whoah. This was actually good.
The spiciness and acidity enlivened his palate, lifting it from all the meat and cheese that had been weighing it down. After the endless procession of meat, the sauce provided some welcome relief, helping him through the second half. Although the meat remained the star of the show, there was no stopping Kouhey’s momentum now, so it didn’t take long for the tower, which had once seemed impossibly tall, to shrink down to a size that fit in the palm of his hand.
▼ A few more bites and finally, the end came into view.
▼ Then, the final bite.
▼ K.O.!
With his belly now full, Kouhey let a smile drift across his face as he reveled in his sense of achievement at having devoured the beast. Looking back at the timestamps on his photos, he found that it’d taken about 18 minutes between him receiving the tray and folding away the burger wrap at the very end of the meal. Although he had to stop repeatedly to take photos, he’d completed the task in good time, and he could confidently say this is the most amount of meat he’s ever eaten in a single sitting.
In the end, the MEGA Wendy’s was less a hamburger and more of a meat-eating challenge. If you feel ready to take on the challenge, be sure to stop by Wendy’s soon as it’s only a limited-time menu item, and come prepared with an empty stomach to take on the beast.
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[ Read in Japanese ]