In Which I Try The Japanese McDonald’s Black Burger

update i tried the Burger King Kuro Diamond black burger as well!

these limited edition black burgers from Japanese McD’s and Burger Kings have recently reached semi-legendary status on the interwebz and i knew i had to hunt them down on my Japan trip. i’ve been here five days and it took me this long to actually find one in the wild, from either chain. during a stop between trains in Nagoya, i rushed down to the McDonald’s in the station and, to my surprise, saw the elusive burger on the menu!

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MY OINKISH PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! as many of you know, i’m a junk food addict, and do enjoy a good fast food burger — i was getting worried i would have to leave for home without sampling one of these.

but yes, this has been a week of black food. yesterday at Owakudani, Hakone:

unlike the celebratory BK version, the McDonald’s one is Halloween-themed (seriously, sometimes i think the Japanese do Halloween better than we Americans), and i have to say, they pulled it off, especially looks-wise once you’ve started eating it.

update: forgot to include this picture of the packaging!

Oops forgot about this picture.

sadly, when i got the burger, it was not as black as i expected, but that didn’t stop me from digging in. i couldn’t tell you what exactly is making all the pieces black, but from what i can tell, ikasumi (the label on the menu) is squid ink — thanks, Google. i suppose that makes sense. if it’s not minerals or sesame turning things black, it’s probably squid ink.

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it appeared to have fried onions(?), a slice of cheese, cheese sauce (a bit spicy), and a black-colored sauce on top of the bottom bun that was really savory/umami-y.

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once you start eating it, though, the Halloween-ness of it all becomes readily apparent. the almost-black and vibrant orange really do evoke images of the season, despite my not being a Halloween enthusiast. the saltiness of the cheese and black sauces and the texture of the fried onion really worked well together.

perhaps one of the best non-bacon-containing fast food burgers i’ve ever eaten, even. (it helps that i’m a fan of nacho cheese.)

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would i eat it again? hell yeah. now to hunt down the Burger King version! wish me luck!

4 Comments on "In Which I Try The Japanese McDonald’s Black Burger"

  1. Awesome! Didn’t even make McDonald’s had one.

  2. if only they wouldve put some of those wasabi kitkats inside

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