82 replies to this topic

[torakris]

On Weds, McDonald's Japan is releasing three new sandwiches:

Premium Mac--twice the beef of a normal burger with 2 unidentifiable sauces

Tofu Sandwich--a deep fried tofu patty seasoned with soy, ginger, sesame and garlic served mayo and a special sauce

Omelette Lettuce sandwich--a cheese omelette with bacon lettuce, potato salad and ketchup (breakfast only!)

pictures:

EDITED to remove link since the burgers are long gone, but trust me they were there!

Edited by torakris, 29 August 2003 - 05:12 PM.

[jhlurie]

The phrase "new tastes" has never sounded so unappetizing.

Hey, dig that Honey Lemon Jelly!

[torakris]

Hey, dig that Honey Lemon Jelly!

That is the only thing that looks good!

[smallworld]

Yuck. The only good thing about McDonald's is the fries. When I crave fast food it's Mosburger all the way!!

[torakris]

the second part of their Enjoy New campaign started a couple days ago,
3 new sandwiches and 1 new dessert:


I had their tofu burger today, unbelievably bland, the ginger sauce was quite good but could have used a lot more.

EDITED to remove link since the bugers are no longer available and the link is gone.

Edited by torakris, 29 August 2003 - 05:13 PM.

[torakris]

McDonald's has now entered part 3!

South France Ratatouille burger on a black sesame seed bun

Smoked beef burger

a breakfast sandwich with a grilled omelette, potato salad, bacon, ketchup, special sauce and lettuce

yomogi spring rolls, a Japanese style sweet with red bean paste

check them out here:

EDITED to remove link as they are no longer available


I tried the ratatouille burger today
the heavy on the chick pea ratatouille just did not blend with the double burger and special sauce.......


................not that I actually thought it would.

Edited by torakris, 13 April 2004 - 05:13 PM.

[skchai]

McDonald's has now entered part 3!

Hey. . . Mock them we must, but at least give them credit for trying to create a new menu item that is not simply (1) an existing menu item thrown into the deep fryer or (2) two or more existing menu items piled on top of each another (the two most popular innovation techniques at fast food places worldwide).

Ratatouille (even faux ratatouille), smoked beef, mugwort spring roll (cho-kawaii!) - could you imagine that level of experimentation at U.S. McDonald's? O.K. the sausage katsu thing and the omelette salad thing do fit into to the deep-fried / piled-up paradigms, but still. . .

McDonald's Japan, after decades of extraordinary growth, has gone through a long difficult patch in the past several years. It responded to the post-bubble economy through the discount "set" strategy, which worked for a while. Then mad cow disease came along, and the response was to first cut prices lower even on single menu items, then increase prices again in anticipation of an end to deflation, then cut them again when this failed to materialize. Even with beef consumption picking up again Makudonarudo (which reminds me - have you played the game where you try to find the Japanese "gairai" katakana word that has the most syllables relative to the foreign word from which it was adapted? No? O.K. forget it) remains in the doldrums. Beyond external shocks, the main problem, as in the U.S., seems to be that people have finally gotten bored of the product and enjoy an expanded range of alternatives.

Fujita Den, the Japan operation's founder and a former biz-school case study superhero, was forced to resign as Chairman/CEO few months ago, along with his son Gen (and their pet mice Ben and Zen), due to the failure of these tactics. So now the new management is trying something different. More power to them, as the saying goes.

[torakris]

You just gotta wonder who comes up with this stuff.................


I am really happy with their new change of having choices with your set. Now when you order any kind of burger set you have a choice of one item from column A (fries, salad, mini pancakes, or chicken nuggets) and one choice from column B (cold drinks, hot drinks, soup).

[KNorthrup]

Chicken nuggets as a side with a burger? That seems generous.

[torakris]

Tried the smoked beef sandwich yesterday and it wasn't bad as far as fast food sanswiches go, but i probably won't be ordering it again.

A quick look at their website shows another new burger, the veggie corroke (croquette) burger with potatoes and 5 other vegetables, but for someone reason it is not available in the Kanto (Tokyo) area.........

EDITED as well because it is no longer available

Edited by torakris, 13 April 2004 - 05:13 PM.

[torakris]

It seems to be fried egg month in Japan right now!

The tsukimi burger (hamburger with a fried agg and bacon) has finally made an appearance this year, along with a sweet potato pie.
The newest breakfast addition is the fried egg on a bagel

check them all out here:

EDITED for the same reason as above...

Edited by torakris, 13 April 2004 - 05:14 PM.

[Jason Perlow]

So its like the egg mcmuffin hockey puck on top of a hamburger patty with bacon? Hell I could go for that.

[torakris]

2 new sandwiches debuted last week

kakunibao
bao being the soft Chinese bread and kakuni being a chunk of long simmered pork belly with a soy based sauce, served witha touch of karashi (Japanese mustard)

gratin corroke burger
this consists or a gratin formed into a croquette, deep fried and then placed into a bun, this makes an appearance every winter

EDITED, you know why

Edited by torakris, 13 April 2004 - 05:15 PM.

[mighty quinn]

gratin corroke burger
this consists or a gratin formed into a croquette, deep fried and then placed into a bun, this makes an appearance every winter

http://www.mcdonalds...motion_h_f.html

this sounds like the "new crabcake sandwich" mickey d's markets on the maryland eastern shore-only without the crabmeat (or whatever crab-like substance goes in it) maybe this would go over in japan!

[smallworld]

My quest for good fast food has failed again- a couple of weeks ago I was too sick to cook dinner and asked my husband to pick up dinner on his way home- I thought I was finally getting the chance to have my first tsukimi burger in years.

Shoulda known- tsukimi burger season had just ended. Had to eat a regular hamburger and crappy cold fries. I think it made me feel worse.

Wish me luck with my next fast food goal- Mosbuger's 'modan-gohan'!

PS, what is it with McDonald's fries? When fresh they're really really good, but after getting cold in a take-out bag they're inedible. Do they get like that just because they're cold, or do they get steamed in the bag, or what?

[torakris]

McDonald's newest debuts tomorrow

The mozzarella chicken katsu

a deep fried chicken patty that is stuffed with mozzarella cheese and served in a bun with lettuce and two sauces, a special demi glace sauce and an onion, mustard, pepper combo.

http://www.mcdonalds...motion_h_f.html

[torakris]

January 3rd saw two more sandwiches added to the menu:

the McRib with BBQ sauce and bacon is making an appearance again

and a new curry roll, a thin skinned egg roll with curry flavored meat and vegetables

http://www.mcdonalds...motion_h_f.html

Edited by torakris, 05 January 2004 - 09:47 PM.

[torakris]

I wonder if McDonald's Japan is struggling because of the American mad cow.....

Recently I have been seeing tons of Mac commercials advertising that they are using 100% Australian beef and then from today they have slashed the prices on Big Macs so that now a Big Mac set is only 390yen ($3.65) that is close to $2 off it's normal price.

http://www.mcdonalds...motion_h_f.html

I think I need to take advantage of this while it lasts!!

[hillvalley]

Five dollars for a big mac????? How much are the fries?

What sort of prizes do you get with a happy meal?

Some of the sandwhches sound great, but I can only imagine what they taste like since it is McD's.

[torakris]

That price is for a set with med fries and med drink (which are actually similar to US size small).
The current toys for the happy set (happy meal in the US):
http://www.mcdonalds...ppyset_h_f.html


EDIT
oops wrong link...

Edited by torakris, 23 January 2004 - 04:56 PM.

[torakris]

Newest addition to the McDonald's menu,

the fish McDippers, sort of like fish nuggets with a choice of tartar sauce or sweet chile sauce:

http://www.mcdonalds...on_new_h_f.html

[prasantrin]

I went to McDonald's today and saw the McDippers. I was tempted, but went for the Filet-o-fish set instead. I don't plan to make going to McDonald's a habit, but I needed a quick lunch and I wanted to verify a few things:

1. McDonald's in Japan is just like McDonald's of my childhood in Canada. The food is generally freshly made--not microwaved.

2. The french fries are still good--they remain crisp and relatively fresh tasting even after 5 or 10 minutes. In Canada, you must consume your fries within 2 minutes or they're good for nothing but the garbage.

3. This is the most important thing--McDonald's Japan still fries their apple pies!!! I'm in heaven! None of that baked crap they sell in Canada. I took pictures, but cannot put them up on webshots for a couple of weeks (I need more space, first).

Despite my assertion that I will not be a regular at McD's, I may have to go a couple of times a month just to get apple pies...

Edited by prasantrin, 05 April 2004 - 10:00 PM.

[Hiroyuki]

The food is generally freshly made--not microwaved.

I once worked as "arubaito" (part-timer) at McDonald's at Shibuya in Tokyo when I was a university studient, way back in the early 1980s. They never used microwave ovens at that time. Do they use them now?

Edited by Hiroyuki, 06 April 2004 - 02:34 PM.

[prasantrin]

I once worked as "arubaito" (part-timer) at McDonald's at Shibuya in Tokyo when I was a university studient, way back in early 1980s. They never used microwave ovens at that time. Do they use them now?

They do in Canada--possibly in the US as well. The burgers, breakfast sandwiches, etc. are cooked ahead of time and microwaved as ordered. I think Burger King in Canada does the same. Not that McD's was ever top quality food, but there was a time when it was better.

One thing I noticed about the McD's here in Japan is the choice you get with your set--you are not limited to fries but can choose salad, 5 piece McNuggets, or mini pancakes. There was a group of young boys ahead of me--no older than 12 or 13--and I was quite suprised to see that a number of them chose the salad instead of the fries. I can't imagine very many teenagers or pre-teens in Canada choosing the salad over fries. Interesting...

[Hiroyuki]

Thank you, Prasantin, for such a quick reply.

It IS an eye-opener. So, maybe they use microwave ovens in Japan, too. That figures. When I was working there, there were only burgers, french fries, apple pies, and so on. Now they offer a lot other items. It is no wonder that they started to resort to microwave ovens.

When I was working there, they had very silly, strict rules, like, french fries must be disposed of in seven minutes, burgers in ten (?) minutes; you must not keep customers waiting for three (?) minutes or longer, and so on. Things seem to have changed since then, though.

Anyway, thank you again, Prasantin.

[torakris]

For one month only, the teri-tama burger!!

A teriyaki burger with a fried egg, also available with cheese....

http://www.mcdonalds...n_new2_h_f.html

and McDonalds is also running a special during Golden Week of a different value set everyday for only 390 yen (about $3.50) including a one of their burgers a medium fry and medium drink. May 4th is the best deal as the burger of the day is the big mac normally costing over 600yen!
http://www.mcdonalds...n_new3_h_f.html

[torakris]

Did you know that the teriyaki burger at McDonald's in Japan is made with 100% pork and not beef at all....?

[torakris]

Since my kids are all in school now trips to McDonalds have become very infrequent.
About a month ago though, I discovered their new burger the macgrand. It has three varieties, the regular , one with a slice of tomato and a double:
http://www.mcdonalds...otion_tmcg.html

that tomato one is REALLY good! I ate it three times in 3 weeks it has been over a week since I last had one and I am getting cravings......

[Jason Perlow]

Japanese McDonalds seems to have more interesting looking buns. And is that a different kind of Special Sauce?

[torakris]

Japanese McDonalds seems to have more interesting looking buns. And is that a different kind of Special Sauce?

Actually those buns are just for this particular burger, and the bun is quite good. The special sauce is also special to this burger and it is sort of mayo and grainy mustard mix, it has a nice kick that I like.