McDonalds in Japan

I was talking to a friend about McDonald's in Japan and we wondered about their menus. After all, McDonald's (and other such franchises) tweak their menus (and premises and wahtnot) according to the taste of the local folks so what could we expect from this quirky Asian nation?

First of all there were the ads for eatery. I must admit I have only checked out these two but so far, I'm quite satisfied sticking to this initial impression. The ad has two versions, one with a male 'Ronald' and another with a female one. Who knew that clowns could look so … alluring. If anything, this is the way to sell those cardboard-thin burger wannabes (McDonalds, not the sexy clowns). 

I also learnt that the whole atmosphere in the Japanese outlets differed from Western ones. Read Danny Choo's Japan-based blog for full details but let me pick on one point – apparently folks could easily take a nap over there. What! I'm used to folks getting iffy if any of the customers fell asleep in their eatery. It's strange that thisTeriyaki Burger would be normal in some countries.

Then there are the menus. As expected, there were numerous surprises there. And, from what I have read, folks who have tried them out highly recommend it. That's something to keep in mind if anyone's hoping over to an outlet in Japan. Check out these ones:

There's the Koroke Burger. Imagine a sandwich filled with mashed potatoes, bits of cabbage and katsu sauce. That actually doesn't sound so bad.

How about the Teriyaki Burger? It is a pork burger with teriyaki sauce, lettuce and dollops of mayo. This one may lurk around in the 'weird foods of the world' list but it does conjure up images of a yummy sandwich.

Alright, the Ebi Filet-O falls into the above list as well. And while it doesn't sound bad, it might be an acquired taste for some of us. This particular burger consists of shrimp and I can't imagine nabbing this for a fast food breakfast, can you? The shrimp nuggets sound interesting. Called Ebi-Chiki, these ones are the local equivalent to chicken nuggets. By the way, they do have chicken nuggets as well.

Bacon Potato PieI've read about the Japanese Snack Wraps, some of which sound intriguing. I mean how about the Bacon Egg Wrap (with lettuce etc)? There's admittedly a certain charm there.

Perhaps the pride of place goes to bacon potato pie. This actually comes across as a reimagining of a quiche. I just hope this is not meant as a dessert. That would be too weird. Come to think of it, it is adding to the meal (calorie-wise) if you have it with just burger and fries, don't you? I realize I am taking about a fast food joint as I am pondering about the amount of calories in a given snack.

Since I am familiar with the stranger drinks and kitkats available in Japan, the green-tea milkshake doesn't strike me as odd. There are way too many green-tea flavored drinks offered in Japan for anyone to find this out of the ordinary. Would I like a green-tea milkshake though? Maybe not. Yummy milk tinged with the essence of green tea still takes some getting used to.